Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 82
Date: Sunday, 7 February 1999

          Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 82

                 Sunday, 7 February 1999

Today's Topics:

                   L'Histoire Se Repete
                          Uncut
                Re:- AV1 in UNCUT Magazine
                   Peel that transistor
              Why buy the new XTC album?....
                      Re: John Peel
                  Finn End Of The Wedge
                          Uncut
                     My AV1 Blackout
            Thanks...but not to Brendan Kiley.
                         Re: Rand
                      Re: XTC survey
                        duff songs
                       23 and 3-11
                      Re: Paranoiac
                    Nature! Shocking!
                Froom, VH1 and more radio
                     CDNow sale/Froom
                    I Loved That!!!!!
                  Omnibus.....Stupid????
                   Just Paper And Iron
                          Kinks
                      I HEARD IT!!!!
                    Sugarplastic show
                  Oops, I Meant "Shaun"

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He must be happy in his work.

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

Message-Id: <199902051609.RAA05748@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 17:14:28 +0000
Subject: L'Histoire Se Repete

Dear Chalkers,

An interesting question was asked:

> What would appear as the sound of the 90's if Andy Partridge had
> made "The History of Rock'n'Roll" now ?
>
> My guess is that it would be a hip-hop rhythm...

And your guess is absolutely right.

As it happens, a radio jock once asked Andy the same question and he
replied that it would probably have to be a James Brownish, hip-hop
kinda rhythm and then gave an impromptu "human beatbox" performance
of what he had in mind.

Can't be bothered to check the station or date right now but i do
have it on tape somewhere.  Anyone who is interested in a copy should
either get a life or email me privately...

yours in xtc,

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

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

Message-ID: <003601be5124$cc406f80$775208c3@default>
From: "Squidly" <squidly@clara.net>
Subject: Uncut
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 16:30:00 -0000

Don't know whether this has been mentioned yet, but in
this months "Uncut" magazine, there's a review of Apple
Venus an Andy partridge "Favourite Things" feature and
on the free CD there's a somewhat gorgeous track from
Apple Venus called River of Orchids.

Now how exciting is THAT ?

If I'm feeling generous and anyone wants it, I might be
persuaded to type out the features.........

Love Will.....xx

A Home-page of sorts is at :-
http://www.squidly.clara.net/
HOBLINK for LGB Pagans information at
HOBLINK@squidly.clara.net
Casualty mailing list at holby-subscribe@egroups.com

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

From: Simon_Auger@mandg.co.uk
Message-ID: <0025670F.00325EAD.00@smtpmta.mandg.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 09:16:15 +0000
Subject: Re:- AV1 in UNCUT Magazine

De-lurking for the first time ever, just had to tell someone I guess that
the latest issue of UNCUT magazine, features Apple Venus Volume 1 as their
record of the month. They gave AV1 a massive 5 stars out of 5. They also
had a separate feature interview with AP talking about some of his
favoutire things (Toy Soldiers, Almond Tea etc). Anyway, the final cherry
on the cake was the opening track on the cover CD which was 'River of
Orchids' which I promptly played and could not believe how great it sounds.
If this is an indication of the quality of the rest of the album then I can
hardly wait for Feb 22 to arrive (only 17 more days to go). I must have
spent about 2 hours last night just listening to the one track. If you are
one of the few Chalkhillians, like myself who has resisted the lure of
demos, then I think I can safely say you will be in for a real treat.

Bye for now, returning to Lurkerville.

Simon

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

From: martin.clinton@dnb.no
Message-Id: <199902050941.BAA01104@sgi.com>
Subject: Peel that transistor
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 10:40:42 +0100

Lemoncurry wrote:

>I may be a culturally inferior Kraut-eating twat for not knowing this, but
is it John Peel speaking on Opening Speech on TB or is it an impersonation ?

Its AP doing an impersonation...pretty good one too...

All the best

Martin

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

From: martin.clinton@dnb.no
Message-Id: <199902050951.BAA09258@sgi.com>
Subject: Why buy the new XTC album?....
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 10:50:45 +0100

....when you can get most of it on 'sampler' CD's!! Last night in WH Smith's
(a chain of newsagents) in Barking, I saw a magazine called 'Uncut' and that
has a free sampler CD, with a track by the lads on it called "River of
Orchids".

This means that if you subscribed to Q and Mojo and bought Uncut you'd
already have 3 tracks - Yoinks!! OK, so this isn't 'most' of the album, but
isn't it a bit strange for SEVERAL tracks to be bandied about in ADVANCE of
the album's release?

All the best

Martin

P.S. By the way, I resisted the urge to buy Uncut, as I didn't want to spoil
the 'Big Day' when AV1 finally arrives

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

Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 09:52:09 -0500
Subject: Re: John Peel
From: "Brian McCall" <mccallb@steelart.com>
Message-Id: <19990205095124.03b0c830.in@steelart>

Lemoncurry wrote

>I may be a culturally inferior Kraut-eating twat for not knowing this,
>but is it John Peel speaking on Opening Speech on TB or is it an
>impersonation ?

Impersonation, and a damn fine one at that -  By Mr A. Partridge

Bri (lurker until now)

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

Message-Id: <s6bb06f9.076@parliament.uk>
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 14:57:01 +0000
From: Dominic Lawson <LAWSOND@parliament.uk>
Subject: Finn End Of The Wedge

>>Aside from Neil Finn's admittedly gorgeous voice(I
suppose you think Squeeze is sappy too, though admittedly Paul McCartney can
be), his songs are anything but sappy.

OK, maybe "sappy" was a bad choice of word. I actually quite like some
Crowded House stuff (esp. "Woodface"), but I was merely pointing out the
differences between those of us who tend to prefer the more melodic side of
music and those of us who come from an altogether more noisy and shouty
background. I'm firmly in the latter camp, but have absolutely no problem
with "a nice tune". Neil Finn is clearly a much revered songwriter and
singer and although I do find some of his stuff to be a bit on the MOR side
of things, I freely acknowledge his gift for coming up with memorable
melodies. Fair enough? You never know, I might even check his solo album
out following your recommendation. I'm just more likely to listen to Orange
Goblin or Anal C*nt.

Incidentally, I really like Squeeze. Admittedly, their albums have never
quite matched up to the best of their singles ("Pulling Mussels" being a
particular favourite) but, one or two atrocious tunes excepted, they've
always struck me as being a cool band. I even cleaned Glenn Tilbrook's
hotel room once, when I was a menial skivvy...

>>The Guardian published its list of the alternative top 100 albums, a
list topped by Nick Drake,and there was no XTC to be seen.

True, but why does this surprise you? That whole "alternative" thing was a
big misnomer anyway. The list was packed with albums by the same artists
that always appear in the usual Top 100 lists, along with lots of stuff
that music journalists consider to be oh-so-very-cool.  A genuinely
alternative list is frankly beyond the mental scope of the average
journalist.  They're all so committed to toeing the line of "cool" that
they only have a limited number of artists to choose from anyway. XTC have
no chance whatsoever on these occasions, despite the fact that, IMHO, at
least 3 of their albums would appear in my own list (yes, I know, why not
all of them? Answers on a postcard...). No doubt we could all come up with
our own list of albums that we adore, but which rarely achieve critical
acclaim or acknowledgement.  Being an anal kinda guy myself, I have
compiled a list of my favourite 50 albums of all time (for my website, so
it's not entirely pointless) and I doubt if any of them coincide with, for
instance, the NME's view of what constitutes a "classic" album. Ah well,
never mind. In truth, the day my taste starts to coincide with those
wankers is the day I start enjoying that screeching moose off Ally
McBeal......AND IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!

>>That wozn't Dom that called u an r-sol, that woz me that called u an r-sol,
u r-sol.

Hey, that's my bird you're slagging off! Do you mind?!?!? Outrageous!

>>I think that Papersnow is the worst piece of crap I've ever listened to
(even worse than President Kill and Washaway).

For someone who obviously likes XTC, you have a very peculiar approach to
constructive criticism. Come on, "the worst piece of crap I've ever
listened to"?? Surely not. Either you've only ever heard XTC (and trust me,
there are actually other bands around...) or your critical faculties have
gone AWOL. Yes, our beloved heroes have released the occasional nugget of
poop (and it's called "My Weapon" in case anyone has forgotten), but
"President Kill" and "Washaway" can hardly be described as crap. Buy some
cotton buds and clean your ears out. Only one of my ears works, and even I
can tell that "Washaway" is a cracking slice of Chas'n'Dave tomfoolery. I
don't know, there ain't no pleasing you.....

Dom.

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

From: "john gray" <jt.gray@btinternet.com>
Subject: Uncut
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 18:05:36 -0000
Message-Id: <E108pbi-0003fu-00@tantalum.btinternet.com>

The March issue of 'Uncut' magazine has a feature called
'Andy Partridge's Consuming Passions' , where AP talks
about a few of his favourite things , plus a free CD with
'River of Orchids' from AV1

JG

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

From: WillJ4comm@aol.com
Message-ID: <11044c68.36bb4056@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 14:02:46 EST
Subject: My AV1 Blackout

No news, just thoughts and views today:

Well, thanks to KCRW radio in L.A., I've now heard three finished tracks
off AV1: River of Orchids, Knights in Shining Karma, and Greenman. Add to
that my demo copy of harvest festival, and I've now heard about 1/3 of
AV1. For all of you who have avoided the demos, etc., you are truly in for
a delicious feast.  And to make sure I don't "fill up" too much before the
grand meal on Feb. 23, I too have imposed my own AV1 blackout.

After taping the 3 tracks off a little boombox at my work over the past
week, I took them home, and listened to them at sizable volume this morning
while getting ready for work: River of Orchids twisting about itself, all
sorts of interesting turns ands circles and a vocal performance by Andy
that sounds at times like Colin; Knights in Shining Karma, what a beautiful
track -- I was so pleasantly surprised by this one, because I haven't heard
any discussion of it here, nor any mention in any of the reviews, so I
thought this might be a throwaway or relatively weak track -- not at all,
the melody and words (not to mention guitar) are breathtaking, and I find
it invading my head many times a day with its simple mightiness...awesome;
and finally greenman (I finally understand the title!), with a very
interesting perspective on its subject matter (namely the gender), an
incredible build, great use of orchestrations, and RIDICULOUS bass and
great backing vocals from Colin (if that is a bass, many cool effects and
pops, reminds me of Beastie Adam Yauch on Sabotage) -- a truly inspired,
majestic, epic, glorious and inspiring track. After hearing these, I can
hardly wait to hear the arrangement of Harvest Festival in crystal clarity,
it will be gorgeous.

There is no doubt this album will be great -- from what I've heard so far,
it's fantastic. I have avoided specific descriptions of the songs here for
all of you who have patiently waited, and I must congratulate myself on my
restraint, because the temptation is great to discuss every aspect of them.
Suffice to say, it's a new sound, standing on the shoulders of what's come
before but simultaneously standing nicely on its own.

So after Greenman ended, I turned off the tape deck, and began my 18 day
blackout until I hold the new CD in my hands. The echoes of the melodies
have not faded yet, nor will they likely be gone by release day, but I'm
now preparing myself to hear Andy and Colin's work as they've decided to
present it, in polished, finished form. I even started taking out my xtc
catalog from my car/work cd holder, but then thought, "What am I trying to
do here, build excitement or torture myself?" As the intro to Punch & Judy
burst into my head, I happily refiled all my xtc cds into my bag -- a
steady diet of existing xtc will help to build the anticipation even more.

So begins my 18 day odyssey, the final, delicious wait. I've had a taste of
the food as it came out of the oven. I've had a peak at the table,
immaculately, beautifully set. I can smell the wonderous, mouthwatering
aroma of the impending feast. I'll enjoy the rumbling of my mind, soul and
tummy until I get into my car with my brand new copy of AV1 in hand, pop it
into the cd player, and launch into engulfing bliss. Bring water, ears
bring water!

"Isn't it a shame it's only one day of the year?"

Thank you, Andy and Colin (and Dave!): Christmas will come at least twice
this year, and the first occurance is just days away. And if Fuzzy Warbles
and AV2 appear (I'm not holding my breath but hoping wholeheartedly), I'll
be singing Deck the Halls from February clear through to December 24.

Will

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

From: weslong@usa.net
Message-ID: <19990205194213.11671.qmail@www02.netaddress.usa.net>
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 19:42:13
Subject: Thanks...but not to Brendan Kiley.

Chalkies:

Thanks to all who have emailed me, or posted here, ideas for my Feb 16th
interview with Partsy....keep 'em coming!

I'm very much behind on my Chalk-readings...so, that being said
(written)...has anyone seen the AV 1 review, there's a copy of it on
Chalkhills, done for the U of Washington Daily, by Brendan Kiley?
Well....check it out! It's easily the most uneducated attempt at a review
that I've ever read! LAUGHABLE...& sadly, I'm sure that TVT also sent that
chap a press release with the advance copy; which, had he taken the time to
read, would've cleared up his ignorance about AV 2's release date....check
out his River Of Orchids quote!!!...uhhh, I'm pretty sure that's not what
Andy is singing.

As always...looking for trades!...& I've got shloads of schtuff to trade
with...

Wes

Optimism's Flames:
"http://members.tripod.com/~The_Last_Balloon/index.html"

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

Message-Id: <v03110705b2e0ffdf52a4@[18.156.0.43]>
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 15:10:21 -0500
From: josh getman <jgetman@MIT.EDU>
Subject: Re: Rand

>based on the writings of author Ayn Rand (was it called Libertarianism??
>Racking my brains here).

It's called Objectivism.  I think that, in some respects (personal
freedoms, limited government involvement, individualism), Libertarianism
can be said to comply with the tenents of Objectivism.

XTC content:  Yes, Patridge looks a little goofy in the baseball cap on
VH-1, but the "weeping Frenchman" imitation was priceless.

Josh

----------
Josh Getman
MIT Technology Review

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

Message-ID: <36BB44CB.7F40@bhip.infi.net>
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 15:21:54 -0400
From: Brian <mattone@bhip.infi.net>
Subject: Re: XTC survey

Tschalkgerz!

>"Living Through Another Cuba" (I'm glad they never did another song
remotely like this one).<

Them's fightin' words, hombre... *hOcK* *SPIT*

Now, I'm a jus' gonna hafta go 'n finish me that MIDI file o' dat dere
song 'n send it ta John 'n announce its whereabouts in these here
halleyed cyberhalls over an' over agin, much t' yer chagrin...

Nope - you shore din't pick ones we'z all agreein'r bad, dude...

--
 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: <000701be5146$b4ac3da0$183d63c3@default>
From: "David McGuinness" <dmcg@btinternet.com>
Subject: duff songs
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 20:32:44 -0000

Hi folks - some comment required here I think ...

>I think the worst XTC song is probably either yeah, "War Dance" (wow,
>that song has stupid lyrics.  Even stupider than "Omnibus".), "Cross
>Wires" (I know, we can't take these early Colin songs seriously, but
>what exactly the h$ll is the deal with "Cross Wires"?)

War Dance - fair game in my book: a little embarrassing.
Omnibus - lyrics are fanciful, yes; stupid, no.  And the best drum intro
ever.
Cross Wires - OK, a crap piece of songwriting, but an utterly splendid piece
of music.  For me the two versions of Cross Wires on TB are worth the price
alone.  Complete nonsense of the most inspired and inspiring kind.

My vote in the dodgy song category would probably go to Hold Me My Daddy -
great lyric, but the melody doesn't carry it and the harmonic structure is
just too damn stodgy: leave that tonic alone ...

That's my twopenceworth for the time being, except that I'm heartbroken that
I'll now have to wait until next year for a proper recording of Church of
Women.

-David
dmcg@btinternet.com

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

From: Kimberly Martin <kimbriel@arches.uga.edu>
Subject: 23 and 3-11
Message-ID: <SIMEON.9902051553.A@default.cssites.uga.edu>
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 15:38:53 -0500 (Eastern Standard Time)

For the few who care:
	Anyone familiar with the "23 enigma" (Robert A. Wilson) should
take note of this:  AV1 is the 23rd release listed on the XTC
discography, as listed on websites such as Amazon and Music Blvd.  AV1
is going to be released on Feb. 23.  Coincidence?  A Golden Apple is
one of the symbols of the Discordians (all hail Eris!).  I'm really
hoping there's gonna be a golden apple on the cover of the new album so
I can feel there's some kind of esoteric synchronicity going on here.
Plus, that's odd that 311 are mentioning XTC in their interviews as an
influence; there's 11 tracks on AV1, and AP was born on 11-11.
(there's 3 11's for you again!)
Ahh, well, enough of that!
--kim

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

Message-Id: <199902051622.QAA089.46@GATEWAY.TIRERACK.COM>
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 16:20:55 -0600
Subject: Re: Paranoiac
From: "William Loring" <bloring@tirerack.com>

Chris2 said:
>
> Can anyone tell me if XTC's Barry Andrews is the same guy who made
> the completely marvellous 'Win a Night Out With A Well Known Paranoiac'
> or not ? Apologies if this has been covered before or is completely
> obvious to those in the know

Phil will likely beat me to this, but:

Check out Phil Hetherington's Sheikback pages for info on Barry
Andrews, and WANOWAWKP (wow, what an acronym!).

The main page is here:

http://www.emdac.demon.co.uk/phil/shrkindx.html

The page refering to WANOWAWKP (I used it _twice_, cool!) is here:

http://www.emdac.demon.co.uk/phil/shrk/barrya_d.html

...bill (no sig file today) loring

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

Message-ID: <000e01be5150$24773be0$f06dcec0@t24806009694.DOA.STATE.LA.US>
From: "John Voorhees" <griffon@earthling.net>
Subject: Nature! Shocking!
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 15:40:26 -0600

Well, obviously not everybody likes the cover art, but I think it's smashing
and appropriate for the man who worships at the Church of Women.
But it also occurs to me that this album is challenging to the powers of
censorship on two important points:  one, that cover may actually have to be
put in a plain brown wrapper in the Southern US or it's going to be
boycotted and burnt in stacks.  And it's a picture of a peacock feather, f'r
cryin out loud.  (side question: is it actually a photo, or just
photorealistic.
Number two: Andy spells out his fuck-strations in Your Dictionary.  But that
may be legal by FCC standards.  And if it becomes a single and squeaks by
radio censors , it could be Dear God infamy all over again.
These boys just don't let up, do they?

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

From: ElizaS33@aol.com
Message-ID: <a296c33e.36bb67cc@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 16:51:08 EST
Subject: Froom, VH1 and more radio

Tyler said:
>>Give a listen to the Finn Brothers album to

hear Froom botch a nice bunch of songs.<<

Actually, they botched those pretty much on their own. Production credits go
to Neil Finn, Tim Finn and Tchad Blake.

"Where Are They Now?" has been busily setting world records for crappy
journalism since its inception. I thought the XTC piece was unusually *good*
for them... I mean, look at Squeeze's segment, where we got the life story of
Jools Holland (not that he's not a fascinating man, mind you) and Squeeze
themselves got "his former bandmates, who still perform together." Or Wall of
Voodoo... although several former members of the band have been doing very
cool things that have even been *reported* on VH1, they mentioned nobody
except Marc Moreland (not that he's not a fascinating man, mind you), who is
currently scoring porn soundtracks. XTC got off lucky!

>From the wonderful world of trade magazines... apparently, WMTT (I think)
radio is beside itself with glee over AV1. They claim to be getting their
biggest phone response in history. Where *is* this station? I don't know.
Apparently I missed some of the prerequisites for reading HITS magazine,
because they kind of mentioned it like the reader was supposed to know
already.

Elizabeth
The Gallery of Indispensable Pop Music
homepages.infoseek.com/~popgallery
www.frigidisk.com \ the coolest cds on the Internet

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

Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 16:58:21 -0500 (EST)
From: Eric Loehr <loehr@javanet.com>
Subject: CDNow sale/Froom
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.96.990205164406.9973A-100000@kona.javanet.com>

Tyler Hewitt wrote:

> the cd now webpage (www.cdnow.com) is having a $10.00 off sale. The
> sale ends 2/15, and the item has to be over $19.99 in price. For those
> of you who don't have TB yet, their regular price is $45.99, so you
> could buy it for a little over 35 bucks.

Tyler -- thanks -- Did you link to this through another page? The discount
doesn't show up for me when I go directly to www.cdnow.com

Also:
> Subject: Mitchell Froom? the Mitchell Froom? the perfect producer for XTC?
>
> Chris Vreeland wrote:
>
>  Would he (Mitchell Froom) not be the perfect producer for XTC?
>
> I've thought about this before. Froom is THE hot producer right now,
> and while I'm intrigued at the prospect, I don't really know how
> Froom's murky, noisy, drum-heavy sound would mix with XTC. Could be
> really tasty, or a wreck. Give a listen to the Finn Brothers album to
> hear Froom botch a nice bunch of songs.

Gotta disagree here -- the Finn Brothers album (great album!) *is*
somewhat murky and not exactly overproduced, but I think it sounds great.
I do like Froom's production, but having said that -- he didn't produce
the Finn Bros. album anyway -- it was produced by Tchad Blake (usually
Froom's engineer) and Neil & Tim themselves.

Froom's production style is not for everyone -- check out the archives of
the Crowded House or Richard Thompson lists for LOTS of dissenting
opinions.

Eric Loehr

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

From: "Michael Harvey" <mdharvey@home.com>
Subject: I Loved That!!!!!
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 18:21:55 -0500
Message-ID: <000201be515e$528cfde0$8dfe0218@cc321554-a.mcmb1.mi.home.com>

Hello Chalkers,

I was in my car at lunch today listening to NPR, in Detroit that's WDET FM
101.1, and at noon Martin Ban Dyke (sp??) comes on announcing some of the
stuff he will be playing during his show. Well he said he would play some
new XTC and I nearly had a head-on collision. I have only heard two MP3's
of demos from AV1 so I was determined to make my lunch hour last as long as
necessary. You have to love this guy, because as I was bracing my self for
a long, frustrating wait, the very first thing he plays is "I'd Like That",
man!!! All I can say is I can not wait!!!!

By the way on the subject of producers, I hear Ray Davies is producing Big
Country's latest and think he would be an absolutely PERFECT match for
Andy and Colin. What do y'all think?

Take care Chalkfolk!!!

Michael Harvey

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

From: "Michael Harvey" <mdharvey@home.com>
Subject: Omnibus.....Stupid????
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 18:34:57 -0500
Message-ID: <000301be5160$24a42500$8dfe0218@cc321554-a.mcmb1.mi.home.com>

I can't pretend I didn't see this!

Michael Davies wrote:
I think the worst XTC song is probably either yeah, "War Dance" (wow, that
song has stupid lyrics.  Even stupider than "Omnibus".), "Cross Wires" (I
know, we can't take these early Colin songs seriously, but what exactly the
h$ll is the deal with "Cross Wires"?), or "Living Through Another Cuba" (I'm
glad they never did another song remotely like this one).  I hope I've
picked ones we can all agree are bad.  (ha)

Stupid???? I just don't understand what the hell that is supposed to mean.
I have no problem with your taste, only YOU have to live with I, personally
I love "LTA Cuba". But calling "Omnibus" stupid is overstepping the bounds
of "opinion.

"But it mean to say you can't look"

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

Message-Id: <199902052344.AAA15005@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 00:51:16 +0000
Subject: Just Paper And Iron

Dear Chalkers,

A rather disturbing message from this months Record Collector:

"Two readers contacted Record Collector to confirm that yes, a 7
inch picture sleeve of Science Friction does exist, and they
provided the pictorial evidence to prove it! Both collectors
obtained their singles within the last three years, with one being
purchased for the knock down price of #300."

(hah! i paid less than #100 about 2 years ago...)

"The record comes with the old-style blue Virgin label , and Delga
Press are credited as the printers who were responsible for this
treasured picture cover, which can now command a price in the region
of #1000"...

Gasp...

Of course we all knew it is pretty rare but a thousand Pound
Sterling for one piece of plastic? Incredible, but R.C. usually knows
what it's talking about so it's probably true.
Guess i'd better get some extra insurance...

yours in xtc,

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

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

From: CCooli9575@aol.com
Message-ID: <39a6b81e.36bb8264@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 18:44:36 EST
Subject: Kinks

>Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Kinks output through the late 70's and
>80's, when they became a bit 'formula heavy rock' for my liking but there
>are a few gems tucked away even on on these, and a lot of them are
>favourite albums of many on the Kinks Preservation Society digest,
>particularly the younger US contributors, so it's worth giving everything
>a listen.
>Geoff...M

  I'm on the Kinks list as well as this one, and right now the list is all
afflutter about Dave Davies' solo tour promoting his new compilation CD
with rarities, demos and a bit of new material. He's playing in Montpelier,
VT, 20 miles from my house tomorrow(probably yesterday by the time this
makes it to the digest), and I will surely be there along with a bunch of
crazed kinks kultists who go around following the Kinks and their various
permutations all over the country(and globe in a few cases). Anybody on the
East Coast, he'll be touring for a couple more weeks still; e-mail me
privately if interested in the rest of his itinerary, or even more
eficacious, go to www.davedavies.com, and they should have an updated list
of tour dates.

  I've seen him live once already- he really rocks, in a garage band sense,
real raw and punkish. Not bad for a fifty-year old.

Chris

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

Message-ID: <36BB8AF3.8FA606C2@gate.net>
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 19:21:07 -0500
From: "Mark D. Irvin" <mdirvin@gate.net>
Subject: I HEARD IT!!!!

I heard it!!!!!!!  My local music shop let me borrow the promo copy
during my lunch break today.......so sweet the sound......February 23
seems months away..........

XTC song of the day:  The entire Apple Venus Volume One
nonXTC song of the day:  who cares...?

Mark

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

Date: 05 Feb 1999 17:24:25 -0800
From: "Melby, Mary Beth" <Mary.Beth.Melby@disney.com>
Subject: Sugarplastic show

Chalkhumans:

Non-XTC content to follow.  Scroll down if you care little for
Sugarplastic...

Since it was Chalkhills that circuitously (KL you know what I mean)
introduced me to XTC I thought it might be of interest to some to note that
I finally got to see them play live here in LA as part of the Poptopia
extravaganza last night.  I tried to see them last year, but the club's
power went out, and all I got in return for my effort was an acoustic set
from the Candy Butchers (NY band) complete with half of "Earn Enough For
Us," but they forgot the lyrics halfway through.

Suffice it to say that the year+ wait was worth it and for a trio they do
an amazing job of recreating their fabulous songs live.  They've got a new
drummer now, and I believe will be back in the studio sometime soon.  Since
I own both of their existing cd's (Radio Jejeune and Bang, the Earth is
Round) and many of the songs were not familiar I can only assume that I was
hearing some freshly written tunes.  Masterful, one and all.

All of the other bands that I saw sucked with the exception of Fonda whom I
had never heard of before, but they were brilliant.  Anybody out there know
anything about this band?  I'm going to have to search out their cd as it
just can't be passed up.

XTC content - Damn you, Mark Strijbos.  I was PATIENTLY waiting for Apple
Venus.  I haven't heard a note of the demos and I haven't caught them on
radio yet.  18 more days of waiting and you had to post the artwork for
AV1.  BRILLIANT!  I don't know what it is, but just looking at that peacock
feather has thrown me into exquisite torture.  Maybe I can just go to sleep
for eighteen days and it will seem faster that way?

MB

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

Message-ID: <36BB5A98.A691AB44@erols.com>
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 20:54:50 +0000
From: "Neal H. Buck" <nealhbuck@erols.com>
Subject: Oops, I Meant "Shaun"

CHs,

As I said, it WAS 20 years ago, and "Sean" did not look right to me
(Cassidy, of course - I couldv'e gone downstairs and look at my LP, but
I was too lazy). Sorry!

While I'm here, in response to the poster who will be interviewing AP on
2/15, I've always been interested in how fame & fortune happens
(arguments to the contrary aside). That is, how much is it a matter of
happenstance, just "I was doing my thing, and bam! there it was...," and
how much a plan set out with determination & perserverance, i.e. "I
decided I wanted to be a rock n' roller, and nothing would stop me!"

Ben Gott: "If your girl don't treat you right, then you get her friend,
heh heh heh heh heh heh" - Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five,
"Rappers Delight"

Michael Davies: You just trashed some of my favorite songs! "Cross
Wires," "Living Through Another Cuba," "Omnibus" are great music, man.
All lyrics don't have to be Shakespeare, ya know (as long as they're not
Kravitz - but that's a pretty wide berth). I also liked "War Dance,"
along w/"Smartest Monkeys," another one that gets dissed here often.

Now I'll sit back a couple of posts and see what happens. 'Til then,
Neal

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

End of Chalkhills Digest #5-82
******************************

Go back to Volume 5.

7 February 1999 / Feedback