Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 60
Date: Friday, 15 January 1999

          Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 60

                 Friday, 15 January 1999

Today's Topics:

                     Black Sea Review
               ULTRAMARINE/XTC connection?
          The Shaw Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave
            Tyranny? You've got to be kidding
                    Of Rush and Radio
                Skylarking Gold Ultradisc
                      Any volunteers
               The tyranny of the stupid...
                   Re: This World Over
              The Duncans Bracket My Racket
                    Japanese LE of AV
                          Raygun
                   Re: Dave's Departure
                      DG is crap !!
               Re: David Oh For ****'s Sake
                        MP3 Demos
            Re: Just about all I can take...!
                 And Annudah Ripping Yarn
                       Oh deary me.
                     Re: Stadium Dogs
              Some Responses: 56,57,58 & 59

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

From: Matt_Kaden/CAM/Lotus@lotus.com
Message-ID: <852566F9.005ABACF.00@mta2.lotus.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 11:23:11 -0500
Subject: Black Sea Review

XTC
Black Sea

As is evident on the cover, this band is now an army, a squadron, a fighting
unit. Judging by their countenance, they are angry and they're standing
behind what they believe in 100%. This suspicion is confirmed when the band
breaks into track #1 - "Respectable Street". How can they be so mad and so
comical at the same time? Once again there is far more in here than there
needs to be; they go all the way and cram so much into these recordings and
generally work far beyond the call of duty. Their use of effects is
self-indulgent and incredibly effective. It's refreshing to hear a group
with such conviction use flanging and delay and get away with it without
fail. They have a great sense of timing, as well as spacing, and this is
key. The effects, along with supplementary sounds, illustrate the line of
the lyric and the same is true of the musical flourishes from musician
extraordinaire Dave Gregory: what we get in the end is an idea taken to its
full extreme, illustrated and accented by injections of explosive oil paint
splotches. "Towers of London" conjures up moods initially stirred by The
Beatles, though with an entirely new sound. An outstanding accomplishment on
all counts. "No Language In Our Lungs" is a surprise to everyone, including
those in the band I suspect. Although it's played with the usual crashing
force, this is the first song by XTC to receive 'ballad' status. The words
are about the loopholes in communication and the frustration in ultimately
not being able to translate what is going on with your emotions. A brilliant
performance and perfectly captured by producer Steve Lillywhite... Overall
the sound is more metallic than their past records. The drums sound a bit
obtrusive from song to song but this is good or bad depending on who you are
and what you want out of life. These revolutionaries have released yet
another revolutionary batch of powerful entities, full of melodic illusions
and genuine inspiration.

***** 5 stars out of 5

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

Message-ID: <369E1E66.9D67E6F7@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 11:42:14 -0500
From: AUTOreverse <autoreverse@hotmail.com>
Organization: http://come.to/autoreverse
Subject: ULTRAMARINE/XTC connection?

Hiya peeps,

While recently reading through the TRANSISTOR BLAST booklet (checking
out the Terry Cambers typo, actually) I spied that someone named IAN
COOPER mastered all the tracks (at Metropolis Studios, London).

Could it be that this is the same IAN COOPER who is one half of the
brilliant duo ULTRAMARINE?!?!? Or is this just yet another case of
wishful thinking on my part?

I mean, after seeing that our BARRY ANDREWS had engineered some Peel
Sessions on the CHAMELEONS "Peel Sessions" CD, I figure that anything is
possible. More or less.

Ian C Stewart
bizarre depiction: http://come.to/bizarredepiction

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

Message-ID: <900822C71730D2118D8C00805F65765C2F3CC8@EINSTEIN>
From: Jill Oleson <oleson@moneystar.com>
Subject: The Shaw Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 11:32:58 -0600

"There's a time to live and a time to die,
I smoke Elvis Presley's toenails when I want to get high"
   -- Paul Leary, Butthole Surfers, in the song
      "The Shaw Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave"

Okay, Chalkers, let's face two things:
1.  Elvis Presley has achieved a cultural icon status
many of you will never understand.  And that's okay,
just don't diss him on his birthday.  ;)
2.  Sometimes Chalkers are laughing as they write
items to post to the group; sometimes other Chalkers
laugh as they read them.  Both are eminently doable.
Try it sometime.

noselo llij
de la isla de tejas

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

Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 11:13:56 -0800 (PST)
From: Benjamin Lukoff <blukoff@alvord.com>
Subject: Tyranny? You've got to be kidding
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.990114105422.24051A-100000@locutus.alvord.com>

> From: "Molly Fanton" <mollyfa@hotmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 00:06:34 PST
>
> I hate people like you who say things like that.  I wish I could do
> that, but I have bills to pay.  I'm not a millionaire, like some of you
> think you are.  I just don't really understand how can anybody afford
> things with bills and stuff like that.  Or are most of you people that
> life at home with their parents and don't have to bother with bills.  I

I happen to know for a fact that at least three people on this list, and I
suspect many more, are not millionaires, do not live at home with their
parents, and do have to pay bills each and every month.  But that
assumption isn't what bothers me...

> understand this is a forum for people to talk about XTC, but do you
> really have to remind us who can't afford things like the different
> versions of AV?  I'm really getting sick of it.  I joined this list to

...what bothers me is that because you yourself can't afford something,
you can't comprehend how anybody else could possibly spend money on it,
and therefore you want them to shut up.  Nobody who is talking about the
Japanese import of AV is doing so to make you feel bad...

> talk about XTC, and not to bost about what version of AV I got or how
> many copies of TB I bought.  I mainly came to talk about the band, and

...and they're certainly not trying to boast.  The discussions on this
list can't always be to your liking, you know.

When I read the other musical newsgroups and mailing lists I subscribe to,
I don't wish the members would stop talking about the multitudes of
expensive bootlegs that they have that I can't afford.

You came to talk about the band?  So did everyone else; and the various
formats of their new album is certainly on-topic in my opinion.

> how I appreciate it.  But this is my own opinion, and I like you guys
> have every right to voice it.

I don't think anyone's denying your right to voice your opinion, but how
can you at the same time tell us to stop voicing ours?  How can you say in
one part of your post that we have every right to voice our opinions, and
then in another say we shouldn't talk about a particular subject that you
don't like?  I guess it would make sense if we (or, rather, they, since I
haven't posted to this thread up until now) were doing it just to boast,
but that's simply not the case.

BDL

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

From: "Jim McGowan" <jmcgowan@cms.dbc.com>
Subject: Of Rush and Radio
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 11:17:36 -0800
Message-ID: <000c01be3ff2$8b8d95a0$df0bd9c7@jmcgowan.dbc.com>

First, I'd like to apologize to all politically sensitive Chalkhills readers
who can't tolerate playful swipes at pompous charlatans like Rush...

Uh, wait! Let's try that again:  I'm sorry! I too listen to Rush
occasionally, if only for the cool bumper music...

Now for the Obligatory XTC Content:

WillJ4comm@aol.com wrote in Chalkhills 5-58:

> Attention TVT, be sure to send a promo copy of Apple Venus to
> KCRW radio in Santa Monica, California if you haven't already.

Hear, Hear!  And also send a copy to 103.1 FM (no call letters yet), a new
station here in L.A. that's showing real promise. I've already heard Dear
Madame Barnum, Peter Pumpkinhead, Generals & Majors and (of course) Dear God
in the few weeks they've been on the air.

James McGowan
jmcgowan@cms.dbc.com
Capital Management Sciences
Los Angeles, CA

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

From: Catinosboy@aol.com
Message-ID: <4b4a9bbc.369e465d@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 14:32:45 EST
Subject: Skylarking Gold Ultradisc

Just purchased the Gold Ultradisc of Skylarking, thinking I would get some
sound improvement, and the damn album sounds as shitty as Geffen's!  And I
understand that these CD's are only as good as the master tapes were, but the
album HAD to sound better than this.  Is anyone who has this version as
disappointed as I am?
If you have answers, PLEASE e-mail me.

Brent Jones

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

Message-ID: <204640794C39D211A21700805FA735211AA164@ahqex1.rei.com>
From: Steve Sims <ssims@rei.com>
Subject: Any volunteers
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 11:42:35 -0800

Yes Virginia, there are stupid questions.  And this is one of them.  On the
version of "Battery Brides" recorded at the Hammersmith Palais: the guitars
are very nicely separated by channel, left and right.  Who is playing on
which channel?  I assume it's Dave on the Les Paul on the left...

-Steve

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

Message-ID: <19990114204223.28974.rocketmail@web1.rocketmail.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 12:42:23 -0800 (PST)
From: nross <phoenixyellowrose@rocketmail.com>
Subject: The tyranny of the stupid...

Molly, Molly, what you post
I do enjoy you the most
The many opinions you utter
Make so many people mutter

But, really, must you write this stuff
Of opinions that for you, seem rough
And claim to all "opinions we rightly own"
Yet scream when others' opinions roam -
from your own.

uh... okay I'm not a poet... But, really Molly:

> I hate people like you who say things like that<

Is such hate necessary in this forum, "can't we all just get along".

> I joined this list to talk about XTC<

It seems to me you joined this list to pass out your email address,
and to advertise your radio show.

>and not to boast about what version of AV I got...<

Who was boasting, Molly? I think the poster was trying
to explain to you the value or the enjoyment one can get from
owning the Japanese version, with the extra tracks.

Molly, I am NOT going to buy the US version. I don't want to spend
$30 either.  If others want to buy the Japanese version...
great! Let them... its probably worth it.  Why say more? Why not
accept the constructive criticism?

You've left yourself open to the comments of people who have, in the
past, bit their lips in an attempt not to berate (spelling?) you.
I think you are a very very interesting member of this list...
Try not to get huffy at comments... just have fun with them.
Remember... you are fairly annonymous. In the end, it shouldn't matter
what people feel about your opinions. AT THE SAME TIME, REMEMBER
OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THEIR VERY OWN OPINIONS AND THEY WILL EXPRESS
THEM.

-a fellow poster, Nicole

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

Message-Id: <199901142212.XAA07358@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 23:20:55 +0000
Subject: Re: This World Over

Dear Chalkers,

Lady Cornelia, High Priestess of the Church of Dave said:

> Talked to Dave again a few nights ago, and he said that yes
> indeed, the Transistor Blast version of This World Over is the
> same one from The Big Express.

WOW! I think we better keep this to ourselves a bit... if Virgin
finds out they'll sue our Heroes to hell !

yours in xtc,

Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse
 http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/
     or http://come.to/xtc

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

Message-ID: <369E6529.1453A4BB@intermetrics.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 17:44:10 -0400
From: Harrison Sherwood <sherwood@intermetrics.com>
Organization: Intermetrics, Inc.
Subject: The Duncans Bracket My Racket

> From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: Issues from the tissues

> Well Ken, I think you're on the right track, but I would suggest that in
> terms of Andy's "stage fright", today's secret word is "Valium". If I
> recall correctly from my reading of Chalkhills, the onset of Andy's
> panic attacks/stagefright/whatever 'coincided' almost exactly with the
> suddenly cesssation of his years-long use of tranqillisers, prescribed
> to him during his teens, at the time of his parents' breakup. Amazingly,
> it seems it never occurred to him, or anyone else that he should stop
> taking them ... until ... you guessed it ... 1982!

A masterful diagnosis, Dr. Kimball, lovingly stitched together from bolts of
the finest broadcloth. Unfortunately, there is a single loose thread that,
when tugged vigorously, causes the entire suit to unravel, leaving the
wearer clad in one of those barrel-and-suspenders outfits so beloved of bad
cartoonists the world over.

The trouble is the simple fact that Partridge's Valium use stopped in 1980,
not '82. "Chalkhills and Children" (p. 106) says "when the [1980 XTC tour]
was in LA Marianne decided to flush his tablets down the toilet."
Conspicuously absent from Twomey's rather perfunctory paragraph on the topic
is any explanation of Marianne's *motive* for throwing away the pills: why
that particular day and not some other? Was this some petulant act on her
part--or was the drug coming between them in ways we can't know about? (The
day, BTW, must have been either February 21, 22, or 23 of 1980, which is
when the XTC Tour Dates page says they were in Los Angeles that year--see
http://reality.sgi.com/chalkhills/live.html. Marianne flushed Andy's pills
at a particularly high point in XTC's history--it was on those three days
that, according to Twomey, they broke the house record for attendance at the
Whiskey-A-Go-Go.)

The end of the Valium addiction happened only about halfway through the
band's touring history. They continued to tour incessantly for a full two
years after that--go to the page cited above, skim the list of dates, and
imagine the toll on the body and mind that such a grueling schedule would
take--particularly on a person who was becoming acutely aware of the
monumental monetary screwing he was getting from his management, and, one
suspects, of the howling emptiness of the road life.

What's particularly interesting about the Valium addiction is how it
started: The elder Partridges' marriage "collapsed" in 1966 (not
permanently) owing to John's infidelity, and Vera became violent and erratic
and had a "nervous breakdown" of her own. Andy, twelve years old,
understandably became "nervous and excitable" and increasingly in trouble at
school. After he began the course of "treatment" (which in today's Prozac-
and Ritalin-fueled culture seems more like a horrible "chemical lobotomy"
than an honest attempt to redress a young boy's anxieties) his interest in
academics disappeared altogether and he began to fail at everything except
art, where he continued to excel. It is also at this point that, according
to Twomey, Andy actually began to pursue, rather than simply daydream about,
music. (See "Chalkhills and Children," pp. 15-16.)

I'm not at all surprised that Andy resisted giving up Valium for 13
years. He probably perceived it as an old friend, a reliable barrier between
him and madness, a lifesaving magic spell that helped him through the horror
of his mother's breakdown and served as a crutch while he himself fought the
natural fears of his transformation to manhood. It wouldn't be outside all
likelihood that he regarded the drug as an aid to creativity rather than a
barrier--much the way pot smokers insist so irrationally that reefer makes
them more creative. (We hear of fairly heroic drinking going on during the
touring years and before, and you have to wonder how the mixture of booze
and Valium affected things. If medical propaganda is to be believed, we're
lucky to still have him with us today.)

I won't deny that ceasing Valium use may have contributed to a long
depression that culminated in the "stage-fright" episodes. But ask yourself
this: Do you think Andy would have refused to perform on stage if he
_hadn't_ given up Valium two years before?

-------

Fredo: I will go to my grave insisting that Django Reinhardt was the
greatest guitarist who ever lived. And like DavidOh, he did it with many
fewer fingers than he was born with.

Say, Mr. Bass-Playing Francophone Person, maybe you can enlighten us: What
does "Gribouillage" mean?

-------

Marie, the smart money sez if you did a little investigating, you'd find
TAFKA DavidOh is equipped with the full regulation set in the digits
department.  Juuuuust a hunch, there. Check his post in #5-29 for a hint.

-------

They're saying over in rec.audio.pro that if you take a green magic marker
and color around the outside edge of an audio CD, it'll make the multi-bit
converters in the MASH system oversample all the way up 11.3MHz while
comb-filtering the image spectrum from 24kHz to 64kHz and flanging the pulse
width at the output of the DSP. What this does is, it removes all that
fascistic digital coldness and brittleness, and restores to the music
exactly the magical syrupy _gemuetlich_ rosy-glow quaaludes-and-Colt-45
delicious orgasmic lovesexy hot-chocolate-and-marshmallows
Lantz-flannel-nightie lower-midrange *warmth* found between 225 and 229
Hz--the very frequencies that were ordered removed by the Blue-Ribbon
International Audiophonic Morality Task Force back during the first Reagan
Administration. You remember, Ed Meese and the Heritage Foundation and Sony
and them? God, they *hated* vinyl--blamed all the excesses of the Sixties on
"the evils of Communistic Vinyl Warmth." J. Edgar Hoover was way ahead of
his time on this one--betcha didn't know the development of digital audio
was _bankrolled_ by the FBI. I mean, remember what the oil shortages of the
Seventies did to the price of records? Can you say *Clampdown*? QED,
Mr. Limbaugh!

As an added bonus, that green-pen trick restores all those vital scratches
and pops and hisses and skips and jumps that contribute so much joy to the
vinyl experience. And best of all, when your stoned-as-shit cretin roommate
gloms his stupid drunken sweaty fingers all over the surface of your
green-penned CD copy of Uriah Heep's "Demons & Wizards," it ruins it just as
fast as if it were a vinyl LP, circa 1973. Nirvana, man.

The green-pen trick on a CD-ROM (not an audio CD) will make Tomb Raider play
up to 13 times faster--and I'm not even gonna talk about what it does to
Lara Croft's superstructure--hubba hubba! This has been proven in laboratory
tests, so don't give me a bunch of shit about it.

The only valid way to listen to music is on a Close-n-Play. A 1969 *Barbie*
Close-n-Play. *That's* warm. Now shut up.

-------

Hey Duncan Watt: Does the Devil sing consistently a quarter-tone flat?

Harrison "Summoned by drum rolling surf/As laughing fish compel/Hey!/The
young boy woken in me/By clanging diving bell/JACK!" Sherwood

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

Message-ID: <003301be4036$4c65bc60$7b5791d2@johnboud>
From: "John Boudreau" <aso1@mocha.ocn.ne.jp>
Subject: Japanese LE of AV
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 12:21:43 +0900

Just got a fax from my guys in Tokyo re: APPLE VENUS . They faxed a copy of
promo poster with Happy New Year Message : "  From XTC to all our friends in
Japan . We hope you have a really happy New Year and that you buy our new
album APPLE VENUS which is released in 99  "  .

Running order of AV is :

1) River Of Orchids
2) I'd Like That
3) Easter Theatre
4) Frivolous Tonight
5) Greenman
6) Knights In Shining Kharma
7) Your Dictionary
8) Fruit Nut
9 ) I Can't Own Her
10) Harvest Festival
11) Last Balloon
*****   PLUS BONUS TRACKS !

Today is a national holiday so cannot contact Pony Canyon Records for more
info on bonus tracks and tomorrow is Saturday so will phone them on Monday .

Have a great weekend ,

John In Japan .

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

Message-Id: <199901150453.UAA07738@mail.rapidnet.net>
From: "J & J Greaves" <jgreaves@rapidnet.net>
Subject: Raygun
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 20:44:59 -0800

Is there anyone out there (with the time and desire) that would mind typing
out the Raygun article, so those of us who can't find the magazine can get
a chance to read it? ( anyone but David Oh that is! )    : )

many thanks to anyone who might want to do this
John

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

From: gregoryw@hello.net.au
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 14:09:13 GMT
Message-Id: <199901151409.OAA27836@mail.hello.net.au>
Subject: Re: Dave's Departure

Dear All,

Can't say that I agree with previous postings (ie # 5/55) regarding
Dave's departure.

Having heard the demos, knowing that AV1 will be a quantum change
from the normal guitar/keyboard/drum/bass format, and given that
Dave's unfortunate exit was based, in part, on his perceived lack of
contribution towards the current project, AV1 *will* sound different.
How could it be otherwise?

Andy P. and Colin M. still form the songwriting foundation for xTc,
upon which Dave provided textures unique to his musical vision, as did
TC and BA when they were members of the group.  I await AV1 with
unbridled impatience.  In Oz, we will probably see it sometime in the
next millenium, via slow boat from China.

Examples of splits to support above?  Hey, this could be fun.  Lets
see: Genesis w/o Peter Gabriel, then w/o Mike Rutherford, then w/o
oh who cares!  Wall of Voodoo w/o Stan Ridgway; Faces w/o Rod
Stewart; Abbott w/o Costello; Bulls w/o Michael Jordan.

Life goes on.

gRegoRy

"Jazz is not dead, it just smells funny"  -  FZ (Roxy &
Elsewhere,1974)

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

Message-ID: <000601be4061$1816b7e0$635108c3@w8k1p3>
From: "Dave Hall" <goldwing@clara.net>
Subject: DG is crap !!
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 18:58:35 -0000

He's not really but I was lost for a subject, I'm moved to add my tuppence
worth to the DG leaves XTC vein, Dave is an accomplished guitarist who has
produced some excellent moving pieces but at the end of the day it's all
phrases and riffs he's borrowed from others (which he often reproduces in a
better form than the originals). Andy Partridge is an innovative genius who
will continue to produce the music that is just out of phase with the rest
of the music industry and that I admire so much. I was sad to see DG leave
but I don't think it will dramatically alter Andy's music.

ps I love TB, I never really liked `Life begins at the hop` until I heard
the BBC version.

Dave Hall

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

Message-Id: <s69f220f.037@parliament.uk>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 11:08:47 +0000
From: Dominic Lawson <LAWSOND@parliament.uk>
Subject: Re: David Oh For ****'s Sake

>>>it seemz 2 me that I've gotten up a few people'z nozes with my posts

No, not really. In fact, many of us find you mildly amusing, but not for the
reasons you obviously expect.

>>>it also seemz 2 me that sum r only concerned with style & not content

No, not really. Furthermore, I doubt if anyone really cares what you think
since you apparently "don't give a fuck" that people find your pretentious
"style" both unoriginal and hugely tedious. You're not annoying - just
dull. Yes, certain words can be replaced with numbers or other symbols. Get
used to it. Pretending that you always type like that is pathetic. It must
take far longer and the effort is entirely wasted. Tw@.

>>>yeah, stop picking on me or I'll hafta tell me mum

No, stop it, I might shit myself.

>>>i couldn'ta summed it up any better

You surprise me.
* -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyway, sorry to everyone else on David's behalf. I realise it's not my
place to say it, but he's obviously far too far up his own sphincter (which
might account for his inability to see the keyboard properly) to admit when
he's out of his depth.

>>>This is the best XTC album since Drums & Wires

Oh Ozzy, yes! Let it be true!
Don't get me wrong - I love all the albums (and the rest of the stuff too
now - THANKS DON!!!!) but D&W has always been something of a favourite. I
suppose it's a bit daft to compare it with, say, Nonsuch, but in terms of
how often I play each album, D&W comes top every time, by a considerable
distance. If Apple Venus is as arse-wideningly glorious as I suspect it will
be (and personally I'm itching really bad for Vol.2 as you would expect)
then this is going to be a fucking great year.

Finally, I just want to insert my own unique oar into an age-old debate. I
realise that many of us are occasionally guilty of straying from the subject
of XTC. OK, this is a bit unfortunate since the digest is supposed to be
solely about the band, or at least to related topics, but I have to say that
without the occasional foray into irrelevance, Chalkhills could easily
descend to the uninspiring levels which ruin so many other similar forums
(or should that be fora?). For instance, since we've been getting REM-ed up
of late, I checked out an REM discussion page recently and was amused to see
a very strict code of conduct that completely forbade any off-topic
discussion and, more worryingly, any debates on subjects like "I prefer
Reckoning to Murmur" or "Up sucks" or whatever. The debate itself was dull
as pish and everyone seemed scared to say anything remotely controversial. I
would have lasted about ten seconds.  Call me old Mr Bellicose, but surely
these kind of topics are the bread and butter of our discussions? I see very
little point in banning any kind of debate, as long as it originates in the
realms of XTC. If it strays elsewhere then so what? As human beings we find
it hard to stick rigidly to a subject. I've made a few good pals from
Chalkhills, in a relatively brief amount of time, and I doubt this would
have happened were we restricted to probing analyses of chord changes and
deconstructions of the lyrics to "Human Alchemy". Sometimes we just need an
outlet for our thoughts, and although this might not apply to some of you,
most of us have enough room in our brains to cope with more than just
XTC. Or Black Sabbath.

Mind you, when Apple Venus comes out, everything will change, you mark my
words! I'll need some new pants, for a start...

Dom.

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

Message-ID: <19990115134129.25494.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Bill Davups" <schtorposk@hotmail.com>
Subject: MP3 Demos
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 05:41:29 PST

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Pavilion/9209

This week: "Harvest Festival"

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

Message-ID: <369F39B2.5A54@bhip.infi.net>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 08:51:05 -0400
From: Brian <mattone@bhip.infi.net>
Subject: Re: Just about all I can take...!

Tschalkgerz!

I've been lurking, and now I de-lurk:

DavidOh defends himself here with a rather poorly thought-through
premise: content over style. That's cool, I can dig it, but wouldn't
have known unless someone told me, 'cause I sure as heck stop reading
after I hit that first 'z' in the wrong place, so I missed the
brilliance.
And this is the problem, David: why be so fab and cool to a bunch of
online nondescripts that you'll likely never come face-to-face with in
the ONLY method you have of communicating with us? Your posts are very
difficult to read, period. If you want us to dig you and your content,
deliver it in a way that more closely follows the rules of normal
written English.

Please?

--
 BRIAN THOMAS MATTHEWS
* Digital & traditional illustration/animation
* Caricaturist-for-hire
* RENDERMAN ~ One-Man Band Ordinaire
SAPRINGER CENTRAL ~ http://www.angelfire.com/fl/sapringer
mailto:mattone@bhip.infi.net

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

Message-Id: <4.1.19990115082019.00930290@pop-2.iastate.edu>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 08:36:15 -0600
From: John A Lane <jal@iastate.edu>
Subject: And Annudah Ripping Yarn

Chalkapaloozas:

In the spirit of the New Year, shedding the last vestiges of self-indulgence
on the internet, I'd thought I'd share my Top 5 list (don't want to be a
glutton) and then proceed with XTC content below.

Ze List

1. Nairobi Balkan Trio - "Haus Haus" - a German band whose music can best be
described as a cross between Brian Wilson, Emo Phillips, and Ethel Merman,
with a dash of Misfits thrown in.  Critics have called them the heirs to The
Residents.  The recurring use of doggy-squeak toys will reveal all.

2. The Biles - "Yesterday's Headlines Today" - alternating between
psychedelic & mosh rock. The first time I heard them, I thought of The
Beastie Boys. The second time I heard them, I thought of Donovan.  I'd be
interested in knowing what *you* hear in them!

3. Buddy Clayton - "The Yellow Cab Years 1945-1973" - known in suburban
Chicago blues circles as 'The White Howlin' Wolf', this war vet came home &
left his love of polka aside & picked up an out-of-tune 12 string to comfort
him.  This box set comes with extensive liner notes in a 40-page booklet.
Woody Guthrie once said of him, "If there was no me, there'd be him. Wish it
were true, 'cause he deserves it more than me."

4. The Hoppers - "From Here To Winesburg, Ohio" - yet another band that'll
probably take a lot of criticism for its influences, but if you can look
beyond the obvious aduration of Ringo (pre-White Album), Mancini, and Queen,
then you'll learn to love it just as much as I do.

AND now for the XTC content:
* Just got off the phone with Colin, and while he was reluctant to send me 
an advance copy of AV ("I already gave me last to an American fan who popped
'round. Said he was from Sheepshead Bay!"), he said he would airmail me a
small packet of old, chipped guitarpicks! Am I in heaven or what!

Waiting by the mailbox,
John
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jal/doublebrian.html
"Take care to avoid the heavy stuff...." -- High Llamas
@+@+@+@+@+@+@+@+@+@+@+@+@+@+@+@

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

Message-Id: <199901151454.GAA05385@f30.hotmail.com>
From: "Amanda Owens" <daveizgod@hotmail.com>
Subject: Oh deary me.
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 06:54:43 PST

No bruhaha today, just flat out responses! (Sorta, my hotmail's not
working right, so I can't post full responses w/what I'm responding to.)

Well Dave, don't flatter yourself. ;)

Duncan-Boasting schmoasting. I wish there was a way you could all get
calls or what have you, but could you imagine what phone bills would
look like? I feel guilty when Dave calls me b/c I have to think of all
the money getting spent on his part!

Whoever asked me for more detail-Truth is, Dave and I talk about such
incredibly banal stuff. We really don't talk about XTC too much, and
it's hard for me to keep track of what we do talk about b/c we swtich
topics so much during the course of coversations. But he did ask me for
a jambalaya recipe during our last conversation. In fact, we talked
about food during the whole thing.

Tis all for now,
Amanda C. Owens
"People will always be tempted to wipe their feet on anything with
welcome written on it."-Andy Partridge
XTC song of the day-Omnibus
non XTC song-True Faith-New Order

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

Message-Id: <199901150957.JAA037.77@GATEWAY.TIRERACK.COM>
Subject: Re: Stadium Dogs
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 99 09:58:02 -0600
From: William Loring <bloring@tirerack.com>

Dom posted:

>He mentioned that his dad used to play in a band with someone from XTC -
>Stadium Dogs or something similar - and that he was pals with most of the
>band.

Wasn't Barry's first post-XTC band called "Restaurant for Dogs" or
somthing like that? I'm at work, so I don't have my old 7" singles from
that era handy...

Regards,

William (Andy) Loring         bloring@tirerack.com
The Tire Rack                 http://www.tirerack.com

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

Message-ID: <19990115150443.17428.rocketmail@send105.yahoomail.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 07:04:43 -0800 (PST)
From: Jon Rosenberger <wile1coyote@yahoo.com>
Subject: Some Responses: 56,57,58 & 59

Some responses: Sorry about the number but for some reason I got three
posts at one time and a fourth less than 8 hours later. I think my
mail server is having problems again. I tried to be brief.

Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 56
The disappointed / Are growing every second.

Well quoted John!

*_____________________________________________________________________
Per wrote:
Do you think that vinyllovers live in the past?

I agree with Per and several others here. Vinyl is still the best
media for pure sonic clarity. However I do like the convenience of CDs
and the ability to play them in my car. Never could get that turntable
to stop skipping!! ;)

To Summarise: To each his own.
*_______________________________________________________________________

Jon Rosenberger
Subject: I just don't get it?

Having reread my post and some other responses to Molly's original
post, I realised that at the very least mine lacked tact and at it 's
worst it was pretty aggressive and thoughtless.

I am not changing my position but I don't like the way I said it.

I apologize Molly, I seem to have forgotten the days when I didn't
have enough money to cover the things I needed let alone the things I
wanted. Thankfully that is no longer the case, and I hope you have
that good fortune in your future as well.

If the Japan release does indeed have additional tracks, you can be
assured that you will find a copy in your mailbox from me.
*_______________________________________________________________

Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 57

Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 06:20:15 -0500
From: Cooking Vinyl <Cooking_Vinyl@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: Transistor Blast
Message-ID: <199901120620_MC2-6656-964@compuserve.com>

Yo Cooking Vinyl!

Since you are obviously monitoring this List maybe you could come up
with some kind of a cool Chalkhills only XTC offer for the fans here.
We really are the biggest supporters of this band. A chalkhills only
Special Numbered Limited Edition Vinyl version of AV1? Or a cool print
or poster? Mouse pads? Key Chains? XTC Rubber ducks? Something?
Anything!

(Obligatory Joke coming) We could take a hint from Dom's area perhaps
and have the band mix their blood into the ink for the LP jackets.
That was Kiss right Dom?

Just a thought.

*___________________________________________________________

Rob. wrote:

What happened to all the talk about how we can help the band?  Pathetic!

Is it pathetic to buy all of the releases of a product? I think I have
probably put more bread on the lads plates than the average guy on the
street and if that is pathetic. Then yep, that is what I am. Card
carrying pathetic.

*______________________________________________________________________

Duncan Kimball wrote:

I suggest that Knopfler be killed and his skin be tanned
and used to line Buddy Guy's guitar case.

Wow! You must have a deeply hidden fetish for Mark Knopfler.
Actually I think your attack is a little groundless as Mark is one of
the better guitarists to emerge from the 70's/80's rock era. I find
his music to be neither boring or insipid simply pleasant and average.
Actually I consider "Alchemy" to be one of the finest live
performances ever recorded, if you are interested in keeping an open
mind about music you might want to try to find a copy.
Oh and by the way this has nothing to do with XTC.

I did like the insight on the Valium withdrawl symptoms though. That
is a piece I had never connected in my readings on XTC and I think it
is a very plausable theory.

*____________________________________________________________________
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 58

Karl Ovre wrote:

Many people have been woried about Apple vol 2 without dave. Andy p.
said
some time ago that Dave did get to lay down a good deal of guitar
tracks on
those songs before he left, so there's no reason to worry until the
album
after that.

This is the second time that I have asked this. I thought most of
Dave's pre-departure contributions were to songs on AV1. How much work
was actually done for tunes on AV2 by Dave?

Amanda or Mitch? Someone who really knows? I don't mean to doubt you
Karl, I would just like a little reinforcement of your opinion.

*_______________________________________________________________________

JD Mack wrote out a list of tunes to be included on XTC Anthology One.

 Great Job JD we need more of this kind of posting. I applaud your
effort.
*__________________________________________________________
Duncan Kimball wrote:

In brief ... BOLLOCKS!!

For a fuller exposition of the reasoning behined this view, please visit
my argument page, such as it is, at :

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/5812/cd_lp.htm

Very interesting reading. I disagree with some of it but it really is
a good argument. Check it out if you haven't already.

*____________________________________________________________________

Catherine Piazolla" <notangos@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Natural Life Cycle Of Mailing Lists

Wonderful Post Catherine. We could all learn a lot from this. Oh
except you and you and of course you and that guy in the back there
and.....

Read it again and apply your own posts to it. I know I am guilty of
some of this stuff.

And in keeping with that new thought process:

My email is an open door if anyone who reads this has any questions
they want answered. I probably know someone offlist who knows the
answer if I don't so if you are uncomfortable posting then please feel
free to drop me a line. Wile1coyote@yahoo.com

That includes anyone just wanting to chat too. Please? Anything to
keep me from doing what I get paid to do. Which I am not doing right
now, actually very successfully.
*______________________________________________________________________
Steve Bristol Wrote:

friend of mine called at Andy Partridges house
and came away with an advance copy of Apple Venus.

I envy you folks who can just stop by for a spot of tea. (green-eyed
with jealousy)

Congrats Steve
*__________________________________________________________________

Mr. Stijbos wrote:

So bloody beautiful it almost made me cry.

I can picture it now. No one deserves this more than Mark. I would
gladly wait another month for the LP if it meant Mark got to hear it
before me. I am glad I didn't have to.

Glad you got one Mark and now if they would just open the process up
to the rest of us.
*____________________________________________________________________

Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 59

From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com>
Subject: Big audio dynamite breakthrough

Obtuse and unfunny not to mention you are getting progressivly more
off topic Duncan.

*_____________________________________________________________________

Mr. Friedman wrote:

p.s. he's already busy at work on the followup to Remoulds which is
going to be a double album of progressive rock from '70-'72 to be called
"21st Century Dinosaur Egg".

That is great! Any idea of a release date. What label. Is Dave
shopping for a record deal on his own? What is going on for Mr.
Gregory?  Between you and Amanda all I get are snippets and my
interest is starting to boil? Somebody please come through with some
more good news about him.

*________________________________________________________________

From: Iain Murray <twentiethcenturyfrog@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: The Very Model Of A Newsgroup Personality

Now that's funny! Stings a bit too. Thanks Iain.  Your own composition?

This marks the end of my opinions.

Thanks for reading them.

I have one other question, I have seen a recent magazine interview
with Andy referenced here twice recently in which he apparently has
less than kind things to say about Dave. I am having trouble finding a
copy of this, could someone please let me know where to find it.

Thanks Again and I wish you all a pleasant day.

Jon Rosenberger

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

End of Chalkhills Digest #5-60
******************************

Go back to Volume 5.

16 January 1999 / Feedback