Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 50
Date: Wednesday, 30 December 1998
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 50
Wednesday, 30 December 1998
Today's Topics:
Big Express/25 O' Clock Demos CD for sale or trade
Canadian 10 inch of Ball and Chain
my best buys for 1998!
more XTC dreams
various and sundried tomatoes
misheard lyrics (to "Jump")
1998 in the Valley of the Chalkhills
Attention Cooking vinyl
98 picks
LOVED All That Jazz!!!
Chalkhills Convention in Canberra/ A Possible Rarity
Oh, That's Why
Jazzed about Chalkhills
Producer Procedure
Humble Daisy
Back orders
RE: Self Produced XTC?
Best of '98
i got tb 4 xmas [hack-wheez!!!]
in like Flynn
Jazz
Joel
TB, or not TB...
Administrivia:
Tim Harris has contributed chords to "Pale and Precious".
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Chalkhills is compiled using Digest 3.6b (by John Relph <relph@sgi.com>).
So circling we'll orbit another year!
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 01:57:05 -0500 Subject: Big Express/25 O' Clock Demos CD for sale or trade Message-ID: <19981229.015707.-187887.8.blorp@juno.com> From: blorp@juno.com (philip e kasiaras) Greetings! Sort of new to this list, but have been a HUGE XTC fanatic since Drums & Wires was released. I even like Go 2 & Mummer! (How could anyone not?) I was wondering if anyone is interested in buying this CD or better yet trading me either other CD's or cd-r's of XTC material? XTC -DEMOS 5- 'THE BIG EXPRESS' AND VARIOUS DEMOS (Extatic) EX-005 1)All You Pretty Girls 2)Bought Myself a Liarbird 3)Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her 4)(The Everyday Story of) Smalltown 5)Train Running Low on Soul Coal 6)You're the wish you are I had 7)Reign of Blows (Vote no Violence) 8)25 O'Clock 9)Bike Ride to the Moon 10)My Love Explodes 11)Spy in Space 12)Jump the Cup 13)Oceans Daughter (Soundtrack) 14)Familiar 15)Primal Gawery 16)Aqua Dream I'm most interested in recent demos for AV of course, but will consider all offers. Thanks! Philip blorp@juno.com
------------------------------ Message-ID: <006701be330f$c78598e0$765791d2@johnboud> From: "John Boudreau" <aso1@mocha.ocn.ne.jp> Subject: Canadian 10 inch of Ball and Chain Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 18:41:59 +0900 I have in my collection a Canadian 10 inch single in album-type jacket of Ball and Chain . Side 2 has No Thugs In Our House and Punch & Judy . Can anybody tell me how rare this is ? Re: all the talk about drummers of late , well , I can tell you from long , hard experience that drummers are generally under-appreciated even by their fellow musicians , so it does not surprise me in the least to hear that many of you out there don't listen to the forgotten skin beating heros . ALL of XTC's drummers were excellent and it is pointless to compare them . It would be like comparing , well , oranges and lemons . John Without deviation from the norm progress is not possible ...
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19981229160423.15151.rocketmail@attach1.rocketmail.com> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 08:04:23 -0800 (PST) From: nross <phoenixyellowrose@rocketmail.com> Subject: my best buys for 1998! Okay... I've tried to think of a lot of new stuff I've got... but there's not much there so I'll give you a top 10 of what it is I did buy or receive: 10) John Coltrane: Giant Steps (I think that is the title) 9) a greatest hits Red Hot Chili Pepper CD 8) a greatest hits Crowded House CD 7) a greatest hits Otis Reading CD 6) Metallica's Black album 5) a greatest hits Lynard Skynard CD... comments anyone? 4) Brian Setzer Orchestra: The dirty boogie 3) KATE BUSH: The whole story 2) Siouxsie and the Banshees: The Rapture (not the best of their stuff) 1) ALL of the XTC stuff I own, including Transistor Blast! have a great New Years! I can't wait to see what I buy in 1999!
------------------------------ From: Thynk2much@aol.com Message-ID: <3b280ec1.36893288@aol.com> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 14:50:32 EST Subject: more XTC dreams Since Ben shared his dream.... I dreamt last night that I was leaving work and Andy Partridge was in the parking lot standing next to his car, and he told me it wasn't working. I offered him a ride home (boy, that would take a while!), and he accepted, and I told him he could drive if he liked. So he got in the right side of the car where the steering wheel was. (I'm from Los Angeles, we *usually* drive from the left seat. :-) ) Then on the ride home he was very upset, telling me how worried he is that Apple Venus isn't going to sell very well. So I snuggled up next to him on the front seat, running my fingers through his hair (hair? now you KNOW it was a dream!) telling him "don't worry, you have lots of fans out there, I know it will do just fine." Hmmmm. Leslie
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36893530.13D4F1FE@tmn.com> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 15:01:52 -0500 From: John Schoneboom <schone@tmn.com> Subject: various and sundried tomatoes First, to Matt from a couple of digests ago, when we had a bit of back and forth about Lennon and christlike figures and that sort of thing: I hear you. I had a gnawing sense that I was being unfair when I sent the message but I had been on such a roll that I couldn't stop myself. As soon as the phrase "Spanish Inquisition" entered my head it was all over, even though it had very very little to do with anything. Once I start spouting old Monty Python routines, all my friends know to leave the room for a half hour. I have gotten better about that with age, as my memory often mercifully fails me, leaving me smiling stupidly but unable to speak. (There may be something to this anti-drug business after all, and yes I realize that wasn't your point.) Secondly, not only did my wife, who detests XTC, surprise me with a christmas gift of Transistor Blast (*love* the neon cases, what's ya prollem ya clumsy bastids), but she also gave me permission to *play* them on our stereo while she was on the premises. And not only that, but after a few songs on Disc Three she allowed as how she thought they might be all right after all, at least during that early period. I didn't even have to proselytize. When Disc Four went on and they were playing stuff from a bit later, she repeated her opinion that they were all right way during "that period." I declined to point out the change in periods. The seeds have taken root. By this time in 2010, she's likely to be *craving* Black Sea. I'll let you know. your pal, John
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3689372D.12AC3BE1@pobox.com> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 15:10:21 -0500 From: Jefferson Ogata <ogata@pobox.com> Subject: misheard lyrics (to "Jump") Plausibly misheard XTC lyrics: Chomp chomp Go ahead and chomp chomp Thinking of these lyrics while listening adds a new, humorous dimension to the song. Try it! -- smtp: Jefferson Ogata <ogata@pobox.com> http://www.pobox.com/~ogata/ finger: ogata@pobox.com ICQ: 19569681 whois: jo317@whois.internic.net
------------------------------ Message-Id: <s688f526.057@dineout.org> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 15:28:08 -0500 From: "Jason Hauser" <JHAUSER@dineout.org> Subject: 1998 in the Valley of the Chalkhills A machine was made in an elevated vain, to rid the rust of a complicated pain, to post on the hills, the main gain attained, the children knew all of the Partridge plain. The machine sought fame in the heads of the lame, soon Relph the Great put an end to the shame, with O'Bannon in tow, and Hetherington game, and other wise folk of Moulding mind same. The machine's soft brain had a yellow belly stain, seeing weepy dreams of a burning Bob Crain, Oleson and Phipps drowning in champagne, Dom and Harrison ground into Chow Mein. The machine grasped and grunted, pleased to see the day, all is well in Chalkhills, the children fast at play, The Gotts and the Bartletts, two famillies' dismay, it all goes to shit in the Y2K. Happy New Year, fellow freaks! ChuChu
------------------------------
Message-ID: <19981229203620.11826.rocketmail@send102.yahoomail.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 12:36:20 -0800 (PST)
From: Jon Rosenberger <wile1coyote@yahoo.com>
Subject: Attention Cooking vinyl
In Digest 49 someone wrote
(2) Assuming there will be singles (and there must!)... I'm not
sure about the first single, but perhaps 'Your Dictionary'
(with a suitable radio edit) would grab the attention of the
masses. Follow that up with 'Easter Theatre' (to be realeased
around... Easter), and then absolutely definitely 'Harvest
Festival' for a killer final single. (Though it really should
wait until harvest time, in which case maybe we need another
single to plug the gap - no real preference, maybe one of
Colin's?). That little lot should take us nicely up to Vol.2.
Of course, I haven't actually heard any of these songs. Ahem.
I thought I had read somewhere (Paul's Andy Interview?) that there
weren't going to be any singles. What is the scoop?
Jon Rosenberger
------------------------------ From: weslong@usa.net Message-ID: <19981229204405.12905.qmail@www05.netaddress.usa.net> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 20:44:05 Subject: 98 picks Word Chalkheads: My most listened to list of '98 includes 6 1998 releases, some pre-release thingys, and some earlier releases that I was turned on to in '98: 1998... Rufus Wainwright: vaudevillian piano with string arrangements and a swooning voice....quite dramatic. Jeff Buckley/Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk.: Apparently not only the good die young, the best do too. John Schofield/A Go Go: gut-bucket-baby! w/Medeski Martin & Wood....that's a helluva backing band. Elliott Smith/XO: Well, the wagon wasn't quite full, so I jumped on it too....as should you. William Pears: French Beatle based pop band with a touch of...hmmm, who the hell is it....Haircut 100?...neat schtuff. Belle & Sebastian/The Boy W/The Arab Strap: They're simply not happy unless they are screwin' up perfection! PRE-RELEASE FAVES.... XTC....yup, still listening to all the Apple Venus demos. Jason Falkner.....his new studio work is amazing, though I understand that he has re-vamped some/all of the tunes since my copy of Amazing The Survivors....even changed the title. If you haven't listened to this guy....do so now! (former Jellyfish/Grays) OLDIES I WAS TURNED ON TO IN '98.... The Hang-Ups/So We Go Kronos Quartet/Black Angels The Moles/Instinct Brendan Benson/One Mississippi Brazil Classics 1(compiled by David Byrne) Those were my most listened to of '98.....thank you, and good night! Wes
------------------------------ Message-ID: <900822C71730D2118D8C00805F65765C26063D@einstein.moneystar.com> From: Jill Oleson <oleson@moneystar.com> Subject: LOVED All That Jazz!!! Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 14:51:14 -0600 Thanks to Duncan Watt and his insightful essay on Jazz in Chalkhills Digest #5-49. I loved his analysis and his description of sounds, rhythms, and styles. I could almost hear the music he was writing about, which is quite a feat! Perhaps Duncan is the wordsmith--the anomaly--who can also dance about architecture. Someone grab a video camera an coax him into trying. (Tutu optional.) Jill Oleson
------------------------------ From: Iain.Murray@hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au Message-Id: <4A2566E9.007C0033.00@mta.hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au> Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 08:48:00 +1000 Subject: Chalkhills Convention in Canberra/ A Possible Rarity On Monday, December 28th, an impromptu Chalkhills Convention took place in the dark and dingy basement that is the South Pacific Rugby Club in Canberra. Basically, this came about because both Paul Culnane and I live in Canberra, and Duncan Kimball has relatives here. So, picture the scene.....three strangers (and you don't get much stranger than me or Paul) with a common love for XTC, sitting in a grotty pub (which was just about the only place open, as Monday was a public holiday), having a few drinks and talking about music as if we'd known each other for years. We gotta do this again, preferably with more people ; so if anyone in the general vicinity of Australia wants in, e-mail me privately. While at the afore-mentioned drinking session, Paul recommended that I go upstairs to the music store and buy this XTC album I'd seen in the second-hand vinyl rack. Since it was only $7, I figured I might as well - then he told me of its "highly sought-after" status. It's a copy of "English Settlement" on vinyl, which is a single LP instead of a double. Over the course of the afternoon, we racked our few still-functioning brain cells to determine which tracks had been cut, which was a bit hard because the running order was completely different to the CD with which I was familiar - not only had some tracks been omitted, others had mysteriously moved from the end of the album to the first half. Anyway, here's the running order as on the single LP : Side One : Runaways Ball And Chain Senses Working Overtime Jason & The Argonauts (no changes so far, but then.....) Snowman Side Two : Melt The Guns No Thugs In Our House Yacht Dance English Roundabout All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late) So, the missing tracks - "Fly On The Wall" (how anyone could leave this out is beyond me), "Knuckle Down", "Down In The Cockpit", "Leisure" and "It's Nearly Africa". Hmmm..... Iain "Someone should give Sting a good clip over the ear and tell him to stop singing in that ridiculous Jamaican accent" - Elvis Costello.
------------------------------ From: JStrole@aol.com Message-ID: <683b718f.36894f9a@aol.com> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 16:54:34 EST Subject: Oh, That's Why Well, my fellow chalkhillians, Saturday was the day I finally found Transistor Blast in my local Tower. Good price ($43.00 on sale) and I might add my purchase was registered into SoundScan by buying it there. I got the 4-disc set home and found that for a re-issue set the packaging really isn't that bad. I looked at the discs themselves and noticed they were manufactured by Nimbus. Well that explains alot to me. You see I work for a classical/jazz record label and our CDs are made at Nimbus' facilities. I know the CDs we've ordered have taken over 2-months for them to turn around. I wonder how many problems TVT ran into. I also noticed some of the Drums & Wireless tracks seemed to be remixed, I know for a fact that "No Thugs In Our House" doesn't have that annoying distortion every time Colin hits a bass note with Terry's bass drum. "Garden of Earthly Delights" sounds amazing. The Barry Andrews concert stuff is better than the studio tracks for the most part (especially "All Along The Watchtower"). As with Drums & Wireless before it the two CDs of BBC sessions certainly give you an interesting mix of old and new material, I'm glad they didn't just put it all in chronological order. I have to say, though, this set will make me miss David Gregory's contribution to the group's sound. I'm sure Andy can handle all the guitar bits, but there was definitely a Ying to Andy's Yang that David poscessed. In a much better way than Barry Andrews, (IMO). XTC and Jazz thingy met with one interesting response. The only jazz influenced song is "The World is Full of Angry Young Men"? What about "Ladybird," "Blame The Weather," most of the Homo Safari Series, "I Remember the Sun," "Miniture Sun," "The Man Who Sailed...," "Another Satellite," "Omnibus" and in a weird free form/reggae way Scissorman". I'm sure there are more and hey I know none of these will give Miles or Coltrane a run for their money, but for pop songs you must admit the jazz influence is there. As far as converting spouses to XTC: that's what dating is for! The first thing I did for any girl I wanted to see again was make them an XTC assorted tape. I mean for those people who send this list a posting every day, you are immersed in this (this isn't a criticism) and anyone who spends time with you better like these Swindonians. Otherwise they don't like a part of what makes you; you. There are people who have sports teams tattooed on their arses, Star Trek episodes memorized, refuse to eat certain foods or vote for certain political parties even if they don't believe in the candidate. You like XTC (and I may add you're not harming anyone), seems rather sane now doesn't it. Whew, that's all for now Harry
------------------------------
Message-ID: <368956ED.AAF278D4@erols.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 17:25:49 -0500
From: Todd and Jennifer Bernhardt <toddjenn@erols.com>
Subject: Jazzed about Chalkhills
Hi, 'hillers:
Dan Phipps asked:
> Wow!! Someone else on the list here actually
> digs Brand X, too???!!!???
You bet -- the playing of all personnel is good, but Percy Jones especially
is a muthafucka on bass. And yeah, it was probably Phil's phinest hour.
Plus, you've got to respect any band that Michael Palin would like enough to
write liner notes for.
> Alan Holdsworth is pretty worthy of holding a
> guitar, as well. His work with the first "edition"
> of the supergroup UK (Eddie Jobson, Bill Bruford,
> and John Wetton) was awesome, too!! Good show!!
Check out Bruford's first two solo albums ("Feels Good to Me" -- co-produced
by Brand X's Robin Lumley -- or "One of a Kind") for even better examples of
Holdworth's playing. Or find "Believe It" or "Million Dollar Legs" by Tony
Williams' New Lifetime. Beware of Holdsworth's solo stuff, though -- he's a
better player than writer, IMO.
To Duncan:
No page downs necessary, mah man. Great essay on the true and ever-elusive
nature of jazz (and all intelligent, moving music). Writing like that helps
keep me subscribed to this list.
A quick reminder of what Andy told me last February about his fondness for
jazz:
_________________
TB: Have you listened to a lot of jazz, do you find yourself influenced by
jazz? I've always heard that in your music, and I didn't know whether that
was something that you actively pursue or something that you just ended up
soaking up while you were growing up.
AP: I think I did listen to a lot of jazz when I was younger. My father had
bebop records around the house Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson, basically the
straighter side of bebop. Then a friend of mind got me into much more
out-there kind of stuff Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, and much more kind of scribbly
jazz, which I liked immensely. And then I sort of blundered into stuff on my
own, like Tony Williams' Lifetime. Their album _Emergency_ is one of my
all-time desert-island disks, I think.
TB: It _is_ a great album.
AP: That is so thrilling, that recording. And I think, I don't listen to so
much jazz now, because I tend not to listen to much music now. I think it,
what happens is, when you don't have the facility to make music, you soak it
up. It's like you eat. And then when you have the facility to make music,
you can then crap out all you've eaten. So I'm probably getting rid of all
the musical stuff that went in me when I was younger.
_________________
To Ben Gott:
Weird, man. I had a dream about Andy in which he said the same thing about
you. ;^)
John Greaves said:
> Happily my copy of Transistor Blast was intact and with booklet. I have a
> new appreciation for the "Barry years" after hearing the live stuff of that
> time. Good stuff.
I agree wholeheartedly. Mine arrived, suitably enuf, on Xmas Eve very intact
and playable. I immediately got Disk #3 on the CD player (since I have most
of the other stuff already) and was impressed by the playing as well as the
sound quality. _Damn_ they were good live. Like listening to old Beatles
recordings, it's nice to hear XTC's roots as a bar band that could get a
crowd all riled up.
Veronica Kyle Robertson said about "White Music":
> And the cool thing is that it has all those additional tracks
> *I've* never heard. I remember reading about them in Song Stories and
> wondering about them. I can't believe I went so long without hearing
> them!
Let's not forget that the CD also has _lyrics_ -- indispensable stuff when,
if you're like me, all you had before was a blank white album sleeve and two
challenged ears to help you figure out the lyrics in, say, Crosswires.
On to '99!
Todd
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199812292249.XAA27058@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 23:56:18 +0000
Subject: Producer Procedure
Dear Chalkers,
> >> If they're pretty close to starting on Volume 2, I wonder if
> >> it will be the first self produced XTC album.
> > Speaking of which, why haven't XTC released a self-produced
> > album yet?
How about English Settlement?
The official production credits for that album are of course shared
between the band and Hugh Padgham but in reality it was self-produced
and Hugh "just" engineered it. The shared billing was agreed upon to
trick Virgin into giving them the go ahead.
I think this is also explained somewhere in Song Stories but i can't
be bothered to find it right now so go out and buy your own copy! ;)
yours in xtc,
Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse
http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/
or http://come.to/xtc
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199812292249.XAA27062@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 23:56:18 +0000
Subject: Humble Daisy
Daer Chalkers,
Rats! I'm afraid i won't qualify for this year's Trainspotter Of The
Year award. I'm afraid that Joel "yeah I don't post much" Flaxman has
beaten me at the post:
> Also did anyone notice that the notes for TB list Terry Cambers (no
> h) as Drums up to late 82?
You are absolutely right and what a cock up!
On the other hand, if they do get it right in future editions, this
one could turn into a valuable rarity! ;)
But isn't it funny how we all read it and didn't notice???
I remember 'talking' with Paul C. about how nice it was that TC got
full credits in the TB booklet so i must have read it.
Could it be that after all these years of XTC fandom, my brain is so
used to seeing it spelled right that it compensates for an obvious
typo like this one and just passes over it?
Must be something like that... any experts on the list?
yours in xtc,
Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse
http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/
or http://come.to/xtc
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199812292327.PAA08664@law-f87.hotmail.com> From: "Molly Fanton" <mollyfa@hotmail.com> Subject: Back orders Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 15:27:08 PST I just cancelled my order of Transistor Blast from CDnow.com. I did ask my brother to look for it when he goes to London tomorrow. I'm not a patient person, and I wanted to order a couple of other things on CDnow, since my sister gave me a $50 gift certificate. Hopefully, my brother got my e-mail before he leaves for London. I know I'll get it soon. Does anybody know when AV is supposed to be coming out? I'm just curious. I've read sometime in Feburary, but I could be wrong. Man, I wish they would release it soon. Molly http://www.angelfire.com/mo/mollyfa/index.html
------------------------------ Message-ID: <B9B4268C8F87D11195DC0000F840FABE04A4E166@DUB-MSG-02> From: Peter Fitzpatrick <peterfit@MICROSOFT.com> Subject: RE: Self Produced XTC? Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 16:02:53 -0800 in the last digest Jason wrote : >>I chalk it up to the rest of the band not wanting to give andy complete >>control of the prodcution. It seems that Dave was most wary of this >>whereas Colin as usual doesn't seem to give a shit. he doesn't "seem" to give a shit but I can assure you he does : during the session for "Frivolous Tonight" he was basically running the show - very much producing and conducting. Kinda interesting to see Andy take a back seat - injecting ideas sure, but Colin was very much giving a shit.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03020900b2af3d99bba3@[207.103.83.79]> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 22:00:05 -0500 From: "Kevin P. Kelly" <kevkelly@voicenet.com> Subject: Best of '98 Ok, right into it.. "Combustication" - Medeski, Martin, and Wood. Jamming at a higher level. Billy Martin is THE SHIT on a kit. "John Scofield A Go Go" - Combine one of the most innovative guitarists with the aforementioned MMW and the treat is ours. "Feeling Strangely Fine" - Semisonic. Overplayed, but good clean pop. "Tock" - Yazbek. More fun from the swift, tuneful independent. Try cranking track 3 in a crowded room and watch the multitude of dance styles ensue. "Mutations" - Beck. The guy has balls to do what he wants. And he is tasteful in doing so. "Behind The Front" - Black Eyed Peas. Trip hop meets Win Ben Stein's Money. "Sketches From My Sweetheart The Drunk" - Jeff Buckley. Ok, not all of it. But some of the most achingly beautiful singing ever committed to wax. Great piece on jazz appreciation, Duncan. You remind us that the expanded awareness that results from listening to a lot of music is the glue that holds us here at Chalkhills. Oh, and kudos to all you Neroids, I enjoyed the music. Especially Peter Fitzpatrick, Gantry, Rick Leighton, and Lunchbox. If Richard has any tapes left, I urge those of you who haven't heard this stuff to snag a copy. Cheers, Kev =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= kepeke =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.2.32.19981229223105.006b43ac@mail.interlog.com> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 22:31:05 -0500 From: David Oh <davidoh@interlog.com> Subject: i got tb 4 xmas [hack-wheez!!!] yep, it'z true! me wife (gotta luv 'er!) got me 'transistor blast' 4 xmas! she had great difficulty locating it here in toronto & paid thru the nose 4 it, but she made sure i got a copy. what a great gal she is! even tho i have most of the material (on 'drumz & wireless' & 'bbc radio 1 - live'), it'z great 2 hear the other material that was previously unavailable. i've only listened 2 discs 1 & 2 so far, but u can b sure i'll hear the rest... so, a belated merry christmas 2 all & happy new year, 2! it should b a great year... we get not 1 but 2 new xtc albums! kewl! cheers, davidoh "if you celebrate mediocrity, you get mediocrity" - frank zappa celebrate excellence! \ \ _ \ /\ \ /| \ / \ |_| /__\/ _\ \/ |/__\ \_/ | |
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 15:09:18 +0000
From: Sebastien Maury <MAURY.SEBASTIEN@a2.abc.net.au>
Subject: in like Flynn
Message-Id: <E1007ISJ3F1FU*/R=A1/R=ABCNET/U=MAURYS6G/@MHS>
I think I may just scrape into 1998-I'm at work. It's the 30th. Sniff. Thank
you to everyone for all the marvellous recommendations not only over the
course of the year, but especially during the last month or so. I
particularly enjoyed Duncan Watt's passionate treatise on "jazz" which I've
just read, and Keith's wonderfully eclectic pop etc kaleidoscope. Until I
discovered this mailing list late last year, I had been neglecting "pop" a
little in favour of contemporary classical and romantic (esp out of the way
late 19C piano concerti, forgotten symphonies and choral works, along with
film music). I have risen to the bait on more than one occasion (most
recently in favour of Prince), and after John Irvine posted a few weeks ago
that he was "burned by OK Computer", I was so shocked I got it out and wrote
down all the things I liked about each song. There was much writing. It
ranked as one of my favourite albums of last year if not the last 5. But
there you go. Flawed admittedly, but I feel partly because it aimed so
high. Actually, I'd be interested to hear which song it was that you liked,
John ("ONE good song - yeeps"). Diversity man, I told myself afterwards.
Luckily I didn't post my essay on the album...!
I've noticed some sneaky people slipping in some Part (insert accent) and
other stuff in these top10s! Great idea, but I think I'll limit myself to
sort of vaguely popular/rock/etc. Still, I'd be very interested in what
people bought classically, as I buy about 6-10 classical CDs a month. Maybe
mail me privately. Anyway, in perverse (well OK, reverse) alph order:
1. You Am I: #4 Record. Joyous, rocky and brassy, this follow up to the
XTC-tinged Hi Fi Way was pretty much a return to their harder-edged raw live
sound. Replete with hooks.
2. Yazbek: Tock. Everything I love about pop music. Silly and tuneful.
3. Rufus Wainwright. Gorgeous voice, worth it for the opening 6 mins alone...
4. Papa Wemba: Molokai. Conceivably not up to the sublime level of his
previous effort, nevertheless Papa is a legend. Have seen him live twice in
Sydney and Adelaide and the man is funky. French African music which makes
my heart soar.
Oh, and incredible voice.
5. Libido: Killing Some Dead Time. These guys may be Scandinavian??? Fell in
love with the single "Overthrown" on Australia's 2JJJ. Album is surprisingly
good collection of powerful and muscular pop. Interesting.
6. Lenny Kravitz: 5. I love multi talented musicians. Although variable,
Kravitz is capable of planing high (Icarus-like?). This is so much better
for me than Circus from a few years back I was SO relieved to hear how fine
the songs were on this album.
7. Kome Kome Club: Pushed Rice. The swansong of this manic yet cultured
Japanese big-pop-band. Generous brass, heart-thumping choruses, lyrical
twaddle and the odd tidbit of bad English thrown in. I love them. Lead
singer's voice is just too smooth...
8. Neil Finn: Try Whistling This. Perhaps my fave...Neil is God.
9. Cordrazine: From Here to Wherever. A spoonful of jazz, a pinch of
Buckley-angst, the briefest soupcon of pop-chops and there's the weird (yet
so Adelaide) Cordrazine. Quite disturbing.
10. Barenaked Ladies: Stunt. Don't own Gordon yet, but have heard it, and I
think the energy on this comes pretty close to it.
Honourable mention: Francis Dunnery: Let's go do what happens; Maxwell:
Embrya; Prince: New Power Soul; Massive Attack: Mezzanine; Spacehog: Chinese
Album; Red, Hot and Rhapsody; N'dea Davenport.
Things to buy in 99: Garbage: Version 2.0; Costello/Bacharach; Cardiacs
(thanks Dom); Eels; Prince: Crystal Ball; Nick Heyward; Duffy; REM: Up;
Beck: Mutations; TMBG: Severe Tyre Damage.
Now to find the money for all that.
Bonne annee a tous et toutes!
Seb.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19981230071311.14339.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Catherine Piazolla" <notangos@hotmail.com> Subject: Jazz Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 23:13:10 PST Please let me add to Duncan Watt's chapter (if that's possible....ooops!), and say to any XTC fans still under pop's shadow that there are quite a few jazz artists out there willing to give you atleast a big a dose of creative, clever tonality (and atonality) as our Swindonians if you give them half a chance. But see, the thing about much modern jazz is that it's abstract, individualistic--in spite of its collective spirit. For XTC fans, you may not do better than to start with Miles Davis. Like Sinatra and Kubrick, this is a man who appeals to hips and squares alike. Perhaps you know "Kind of Blue," but his albums can be as different as, say, "Go 2" and "Skylarking." He had several distinct periods, and your tastes will determine which one was his best. "KOB" falls under the broad heading of his "cool" period, but it could also be classified as modal bop. He played a kind of hard bop with his 60s quintet (w/Shorter, Hancock, et al), and abstract fusion later in the 60s and 70s. In the 80s he played a kind of pop-jazz heavily influenced by his admiration for Prince (!). And don't forget that he began his publicized career as a unique bop trumpeter touring with none other than Andy Partidge-hero Charlie Parker. If you're curious, I suggest starting with "KOB," especially if you are new to jazz in general. For the more adventurous, you can't go wrong with any of his 60s quintet albums, such as "Nefertiti" or "Miles Smiles." For the experimental, "Bitches Brew" was just rereleased in a box set form, and documents his foray into avant-funk in the late 60s and 70s. He was quite an artist, and will undoubtedly register highly when the next generation's music history books are written. For XTC fans, modern jazz offers more than you might think. As Duncan Watt said earlier, the kind of music classified as jazz is vary far ranging, even more so today. John Zorn, Uri Caine, Dave Leibman, Tim Berne, Don Byron, Dave Douglas, and Roswell Rudd all make very different music, and are all considered jazz (and all in NYC!). But to make a test case, Uri Caine has recently released discs of circus band arrangements of the music of Mahler and Wagner. If you look for, it will come... Good luck. Catherine
------------------------------ Message-ID: <01BE33E6.F68AAA90@e2c2p45.scotland.net> From: Robert Wood <wobbit@bigfoot.com> Subject: Joel Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 11:16:03 -0000 Belinda talked about her (musical) loves... >> and even - huge breath but honesty can't be a bad thing cos he wrote a song about it when I broke up with someone who suffered from a lack of it - Billy Joel - there I've said it. << Don't be embarrassed about liking Billy Joel, he's written some of the finest pop songs ever heard. The Stranger and Glass Houses are albums that still sound fantastic and just about all of his other albums have sublime moments. I'll never forget that scene in Moonlighting with the dance sequence to "Big Man on Mullberry Street". Fantastic.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <368A4034.B938854@bond.net> Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 10:01:11 -0500 From: mondacello <mondacello@bond.net> Subject: TB, or not TB... ... is THAT the question? I picked mine up on Monday at a small independent store here in Kitchener, Ontario. It was actually the first time I've seen it. I know it's only been out a few weeks, but none of the large Canadian chains (HMV, Sam's, Music World and Sunrise) seem to be stocking it yet, here in town anyway. Needless to say, I was delighted and in an almost trance-like state when I picked it up. And the price, $59.99 CND, was a very nice surprise indeed... I was expecting it to be much more. Another nice surprise is it hasn't been dropped yet, so everything is intact (thanks to all for the warnings of the packages fragility). I hadn't heard any of these recordings previously, so it was a truly mesmerizing experience. It had my wife shimmying about the kitchen, and my youngest son grooving away whilst enraptured in some new Playstation game. One of my proudest moments was when my fourteen year old came home from a friends and asked "Is this XTC?" after hearing a few verses of 'Newtown Animal in a Furnished Cage'... the years of brainwashing are finally paying off. The sound quality and performances are amazing, and I dare say, breathtaking. So if you've been wondering (if there are any left out there without there own case of TB), the answer is an emphatic YES! An aside to Mary Beth Melby... please let me know if you've received the tapes I sent you, and thanks so much for the book! ~Mark Kirk~
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #5-50 ******************************
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