Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 88
Date: Wednesday, 26 April 2000
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 88
Wednesday, 26 April 2000
Topics:
Apple Venus double LP
In defense of Wasp Star
Oh, the Chalkhills pile up!
Rush to judgement
Karmic Delight
napster
YOU CHOSE POORLY
Mad ramblings on old posts
Re: I, Drum-Running, Am Clobbered Round
RE: Weak albums - or weak tracks?
War Dance
The Singing Penis
Re: Closing Argument
Re: I drum running...
XTC on WBOR
But i LIKE rush!
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 16:18:43 -0700 (PDT) From: John Relph <relph@cthulhu> Subject: Apple Venus double LP Message-ID: <200004252318.QAA25517@mando.engr.sgi.com> Hey there, I was thinking about "Wasp Star - Apple Venus Volume 2" and it occurred to me that it is the second half of a double LP. Perhaps not a novel thought, but what that brought to mind was this question: If one put "Apple Venus Volume 1" and "Wasp Star" together, how would one order the tracks to make the best possible listening experience? I will not attempt to construct such an ordering at the moment, and I'll let the question rattle around this mostly empty braincage of mine for a few weeks. At least until the new album is released and we have all listened to it enough to get familiar with it. Enjoy! -- John
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 16:47:26 -0500
From: Jan Keith Weller <jweller@megsinet.net>
Subject: In defense of Wasp Star
Message-ID: <v04210101b52bbf1cc880@[216.214.204.78]>
Time to delurk:
I've been subscribing to this list for a couple of years, content to
use it to check up on the progress of upcoming releases, and ignoring
(for the most part) the overwrought analyses of XTC's output, which,
to quote my wife, demonstrates that the regular contributors to this
list "jia pah syaow eng" ("have nothing better to do after they eat,"
in Hokien, a relatively obscure Chinese dialect, although it is
prevalent in Singapore and Penang).
The impetus for my surfacing is the recent criticisms leveled by some
against "Wasp Star," which I have finally heard for myself, thanks to
an advance copy from TVT (not Napster). This is by far the LEAST
disappointing XTC release in my history of listening to the group,
which dates back to "Drums and Wires," which I heard, by the way, at
the time of its release, unlike some recent converts.
I truly cannot understand how anyone with any taste can dislike this
album, although one such person blasted "River of Orchids," which I
think speaks for itself. This is, overall, the most consistently
satisfying XTC release since...I don't even know which album to site,
since they all, in their own way, are incredibly gratifying (I will
admit to being less-than-crazy about "Nonsuch," despite its
occasional moments of brilliance, which puzzles me since at least one
poster has likened it to "Wasp Star," to which I hear no similarity).
I have only listened to this album once all the way through, but it
strikes me as both commercially viable (please, let this be the one),
and at the same time, typically idiosyncratic. "Church of Women,"
with its deliciously "off-key" vocals, is reminiscent of "English
Settlement," and "You and the Clouds" is one of the catchiest things
Andy has ever conceived! That's just to name a couple of tunes; each
one has its own, inimitable charm, and there is not a loser in the
bunch. So those of you have not had the pleasure yet, have no fear of
the spoilers. This is absolutely in the best tradition of XTC, and
yet advances their art, as each of their albums always does. And for
the cynics in the bunch: get a life.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 20:04:55 -0400
From: "Diamond" <arnos@nantucket.net>
Subject: Oh, the Chalkhills pile up!
Message-ID: <200004260008.UAA23540@nantucket.net>
I got back from Florida TWO DAYS AGO, and I JUST finished getting through
all my chalkhills... I was gone for a week, and bought a bunch of music, so,
If you don't mind, I thought I'd share it with you... But, before I do, I
think I should admit something.... in buying these CDs, I've betrayed our
beloved XTC... how? Well... Every single one of these albums was bought
from... *gulp* Virgin Megastore... I know, I'm giving money to the enemy...
but the prices were cheap, and the selection plentiful! I couldn't help
it... I'm sorry...
Now, Here are the albums:
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
~~Probably the strangest album out of this group of CDs, and yet, one of the
most gratifying... There's some duds on here, but even these "duds" are
interesting because, most of the time, they're toungue-in-cheek, and are
SUPPOSED to sound strange... and there are plenty of great songs on this
large collection, too.
The Eels - Electro-shock Blues
~~FABULIOUS album... I LOVE IT! Almost as much as I loved the new one,
Daisies of the Galaxy... Incredible pop writing...
Kraftwerk - Radio-Activity
~~strange german techno-pop... what more could you want? this is my first
time hearing Kraftwerk, although I've heard about them for a while... I'm
very pleased with what I hear, although there is an absence of actual
_songs_ on this album, really only about 4 of the tracks are real songs....
still good, though.
Supergrass - Supergrass
~~I think I should admit here that their last album, In It For The Money, did
absolutely NOTHING for me... I couldn't get into it at all... but when I saw
the video for Pumpin On Your Radio on M2, there was no stopping me... This
album is terrific... I've had "What went wrong in you head" stuck in MY head
all day!
The Folk Implossion - One Part Lullyby
~~The person who recomended The Folk Implossion to me told me that this album
was awful, but I forgot, and bought it anyway... and I disagree with him
entirely... I like it very much. I've listened to it twice, and, although
it's not as good as Dare to Be Surprised, it is really rather good.
David Byrne - The Cathering Wheel
~~I FINALLY got this... I've been looking around foir a while for this one,
finally found it at Virgin. I've only listened to it once, but I really
liked it.
Joe Jackson - Night Music
~~Only listened to the begining of this while falling asleep, but I'm ready
to start delving into it more... sounded good to me, what I heard.
The Loud Family - Attractive Nuissance
~~Only listened to the first 5 songs on the plane back from FLA, don't really
remember, but I think I generally liked it.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Have A Ball
~~I bought this one on a whim... it's actually rather good, and that's coming
from someone who is not a big fan of punk (not The Clash-type punk, modern
day punk/alternative). This is the only one of these albums I DIDN'T buy
from Virgin, and also the most expensive...
Ironically, I also bought a copy of Chalkhills and Children from Virgin
Megastore. I sat in the book section of the store for an hour, and read the
first four chapters... had to buy it cause I had to keep reading... almost
done with it now... great book.
And I bought a copy of High Fidelity, the book. Haven't read it yet.
Well, that's about the summery of my Florida vacation. Oh, and I went to
some place called Disney World, too... but I forget all about that...
I'd like to say one thing about Nonsuch. I've always considered it i very
solid, just-plain GOOD XTC album, but never really thought of it as one of
their best... yet, when I made a compilation tape for someone recently (for
the newely-introduced Sarah Faye, digest #6-80) I found that the album that
had the most songs I wanted to include on it was, oddly enough, Nonsuch...
"rook," "The disappointed," Pumpkinhead," "Then she appeared," "Ugly
Underneath" were all included, and I wanted to include more, like Crocodile,
That Wave, Bungalow, Omnibus, My Bird Performs, and Humble Daisy, but didn't
have the room on the compilation for it... I realized that Nonsuch is FULL
of FANTASTIC tunes! It's hit-and-miss ratio is far better then Skylarking,
or Oranges and Lemons, yet I concider those two better ALBUMS then
Nonsuch... I'm not sure why this strange phenomenon is.
Another strange phenomenon is that the three most argued-about albums seem
to be Nonsuch, Mummer, and The Big Express, and almost no one likes all
three of those albums. Personally, I love Nonsuch and The Big Express, yet
find very little value in Mummer. Almost everyone on this list seems to love
two of those albums, and hate the other. It's strange how that works.
That's all, this very long post was brought to you by Fresca, the Grapefruit
Soda, and the only soda I drink.
Kevin Diamond
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/79/the_french_electric_all-st.html
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/84/bass-cleff.html
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/85/starving_artists.html
--
"No one in the world ever get's what they want, and that is beautiful.
Everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful"
-John Linnell (of They Might Be Giants) / "Don't Let's Start"
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 21:31:14 -0400 From: fheaney@erols.com Subject: Rush to judgement Message-ID: <016b01bfaf1f$1dde0600$a0e2a4d8@default> > 10. You've seen a Rush gig (-55 points) Don't make me start defending Rush now. > 20. You have a child named Getty (-75 points) Your deliberate misspelling of "Geddy" does not convince me that you really know that little about Rush -- I suspect you are really a closet "Moving Pictures" owner. Admit it! -- Francis "Rush for a change of atmosphere." -- Big Audio Dynamite
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 22:07:15 -0400 From: "Cheryl" <mcgregoc@mindspring.com> Subject: Karmic Delight Message-ID: <001c01bfaf24$258f6060$a404f7a5@mcgregocmindspring.com> Hola amigos: Todd "slyfox" Bernhardt listed out: >Boarded Up: Neither (it's Andy and Colin walking around, knocking on >the back of guitars, etc.) Ahhhhh! Really?! Cool! You punk! Damn you for ruining the mystery!!!!!!!!!! ;^) Robert Kulick unloaded: >Napster naysayers should re-examine their constipated view and let the free music live. Nothin ain't free in this world. Someone somewhere pays. You want free music? Turn on the flipping radio. Re: Ultimate Fan Test Ummm, if you done one or..okay two of the items multiple times do you multiple the points? Michael D. Myers observed: >Now, this is not the best-written paragraph I've ever read, but isn't it >curious that R. Stevie blasted in here a few weeks ago, essentially putting >down the new XTC album, then bugging out because someone asked him what his >motivation was? Next thing you know, here's this article linking him with >Andy. Wow, it's like cosmic, man! What did the Beatles say, the love you take is equal to the love you make? It's like Karma! Hiya Mike! Hope you are well. :) I uncontrollably hit the link to the KFOG site and downloaded the snippet of I'm The Man... Oh my god! That little bit has left me gasping for more. The clarity was of course horrendous, but I still screamed with delight and was amazed at the catchiness of the tune. I can't help but ramble. I've been teased into a delighted frenzy here. HEY! Whatta think of that!? Cheryl
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 22:10:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com> Subject: napster Message-ID: <20000426051040.12448.qmail@web2105.mail.yahoo.com> yawn
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 23:37:39 EDT From: WESnLES@aol.com Subject: YOU CHOSE POORLY Message-ID: <61.3032513.2637be83@aol.com> Powerpop10@aol.com wrote: Maybe I expect to much. I dont know. But I do think it's perfectly normal to criticise a bands output while liking the majority of it. Mummer and Big Express have some cracking tracks but some pretty average stuff does rear it's ugly head: ((((((((((liarbird, reign of blows, wonderland etc)))))))))) SHUT YOUR WRETCHED PIE TRAP YOU RIDICULOUS PRICK! wes"I don't see a damn smiley face"LONG http://members.tripod.com/~The_Last_Balloon/index.html
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 21:19:01 -0700 From: "John Keel" <jbkev1@ev1.net> Subject: Mad ramblings on old posts Message-ID: <007701bfaf37$513bd140$4859d1d1@sony.com> Whew! Okay, I just got through cutting & pasting my way through about two weeks worth of digests in order to respond to those posts I feel the need to clutter up your screen with (my God, did that make any sense?). Here we go . . . In all the discussion about the merits of "Nonsuch" and the rest of the XTC catalog, let me start by saying this: How in the hell did NO ONE mention "Black Sea" even once during this dialogue? My God, people! Okay, "Black Sea" was the very first album I bought back when it was new on the shelves, so maybe I'm partial, but - for me - it stands as the most perfect front-to-back XTC work of all. Now, I LOVE "Oranges & Lemons" also, but every other record - while admittedly containing gems of priceless beauty and wonderment - has at least one flaw. I'm actually embarrassed to admit that while I've loved the singles I have of off them for years, I've just bought "Nonsuch" & "Skylarking" for the very first time in the last two weeks and there are definitely songs I just can't get into - mostly on "Nonsuch". On the flip side, "Wrapped in Grey" has become one of my all-time favorites and my current personal anthem; "Books are Burning" is wonderful and a few cuts on "Skylarking" are really great (and I must say I think Todd's production is near perfect - I'm glad Andy finally came around on that). But "Black Sea" is priceless IMHO. And while we're on the subject of great albums, uh . . . people keep posting about how great the new Elliott Smith CD is and, well, I don't hear it. He makes me sleepy, but maybe I should try again. Let's see, what else? Oh, Molly, what about having fans send in their favorite song collections and play those at your listening parties. No one will have any idea what songs are coming up next and hearing cuts up against songs we're not used to may open up new insights or feelings about the tracks. Just an idea and I'll be happy to contribute. Deborah Brown asked those of us who had an advance on "Wasp Star" and had gushed about it here in Chalkhills to give our impression now that we've had a few weeks to sit with it. Well, my opinion pretty much stands firm from my original review. I still love & adore most of the cuts on the record, although I will admit that Colin's songs don't hold up to as many repeat listenings. I have yet to listen to it through headphones uninterrupted which I hope to do soon, but I still think it's a wonderful album. I totally agree, however, with Jonathon Rosenberg that the lads may have hit bigger if "Wasp Star" had been released first. Alas, we'll never know for sure and I have high hopes that the new disc will still be a big hit. For the record, I love "Wounded Horse" and think it's perfect that someone said it sounded like Jason & the Scorchers, I think "Drums & Wires" is the ultimate XTC logo/cover and the guy who went into such detail about the covers of "AV Vol. 1" & "WS" has WAY too much time on his hands. Okay, let me wrap this up. Have any of the SoCal fans thought about having a "Wasp Star" release party somewhere? As a LONG-time XTC fan but a newbie to Chalkhills, it would be great to meet other fans in town. Any suggestions? Also, an interesting point was brought up by my girlfriend just a few minutes ago. Is Virgin screwed the lads so badly all these years, why did they end up in the Virgin Megastore for their last signing appearance? I have to admit, it's a valid question. Sorry for all the words and as always . . . thanks for listening. John
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 23:06:11 -0700 From: "Drew MacDonald" <drewmacdonald@mediaone.net> Subject: Re: I, Drum-Running, Am Clobbered Round Message-ID: <000701bfaf45$85e2c9e0$ac841818@we.mediaone.net> Congratulations to Harrison Sherwood on his insightful and well-written rumination on the future of music distribution (Digest 6-87). I think he's right about --well, just about everything he said, particularly his observation that online delivery "is the most important development in the history of music since radio." The only point at which I depart from Harrison is in his overly-pessimistic predictions about "edited" portals that may take over the gatekeeping/filtering role now played (however poorly) by the traditional commercial-music structures. Harrison seems to fear that such portals would inevitably be compromised and/or corrupted by "payola," negating their ostensible role as independent guides to worthy music. But let's not forget the nature of the technology itself. The listen-first, try-then-buy opportunity available to the consumer of digitally-delivered music is, in itself, a "gatekeeping" function. In other words, any corporation or individual trying "push" music through a supposedly-independent portal is doomed to failure if nobody likes the music being pushed. I believe that corporate-whore portals would quickly be recognized as such, and that good music would still be able to reach us (which is not to say that corporate = always bad or "independent" = always good.) At any rate, it does indeed seem that the days of the super-rich pop stars are numbered (so to speak) by digital music delivery, just as the $25 million movie-star paydays will go away soon after CGI technology gets good enough and cheap enough to build a Mel Gibson from scratch. But that's another thread... I see that Dr. Dre also filed suit against Napster today. Though I myself finally got to preview all the Wasp Star tracks via Napster -- with the cooperation of a group of Chalkhillers calling ourselves The Disappointed (hi, guys!) -- I find myself siding with Dre and Metallica on this one. People of conscience like us, who will buy the Wasp Star CD when it comes out and for whom the downloads are promotional previews, nothing more-- are probably in the minority of Napster subscribers. There is a generation of kids growing up thinking that they should be able to obtain art without ever compensating the artist, and I just can't go along with that. Maybe it's an age thing. Drew
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 10:36:08 +0100 From: "Smith, David" <David.Smith@tfeurope.com> Subject: RE: Weak albums - or weak tracks? Message-ID: <802EE5D7277AD21188D10008C728D44803255E11@TFSECMSG02> Here's a not-particularly radical spin on the "Good album Bad album" debate that has recently begun to smoulder with the Nonsuch postings. IMHO Nonsuch is easily the best album XTC have ever produced - but it's just that, an opinion - but (a point already made) it does have one excruciating moment. In this case it's "War Dance". It makes me cringe. I absolutely hate it (sorry!). That aside, I really don't find any weak links on it - some of the songs slated on recent postings are actually favourites of mine, in particular "Rook", "That Wave" and "Then She Appeared". Anyway, on to that not-particularly radical spin . . . (at last). It got me thinking about my XTC collection and I realised that there's usually one track on every album that I skip - usually thinking "how the hell did that make it past XTC quality control". Examples are "Cuba" from Black Sea, "Runaways" from English Settlement, "Pink Thing" (O&L), and the aforementioned "War Dance". Can't think of any more right now, but my point is . . . errrr . . . can't we all get along? No, sorry, what I mean to say is beauty is very definitely in the eye (or in this case the ear) of the beholder. Anyone who gets the ick 'cos some other bugger doesn't get his or her particular favourite is missing the point - oh dear, another point to think up . . . . errrr . . . errmmmm . . . actually, this one's easy - if we all liked exactly the same stuff to exactly the same extent, what a boring place this forum would be. I'd LOVE someone to have a go at making me like the songs mentioned above, but I very much doubt it will happen. But hey, if YOU like them, that's what really matters innit? Peace, love and listen to some Prefab Sprout (in particular "Jordan, The Comeback") if you've not done so for a while. Smudgeboy E-Mail: david.smith@tfeurope.com
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 11:55:29 +0100 From: "Davies, Huw (TPE)" <Huw.Davies3@Wales.GSI.Gov.UK> Subject: War Dance Message-ID: <7209B69A281BD4119EE50001FA7EA975AEADC6@WOMAIL2> I am going to leap to the defence of "War Dance" here, although only in a half-hearted way. It's not one of Colin's best songs by a long way, but I think you would appreciate this song more if you see this song as more about the Falklands War rather than the Gulf War which I suppose is what most people assumed it was about. The lyrics mean more in context of the Falklands War and anyone who lived in Britain during that time would understand what the lyrics are atacking: the grotesque patriotism that there was, the attitude of the media, etc. Political songs are always hard to do and I think it was an admirable attempt at one. One problem with "War Dance" is that it suffers by being placed on Nonsuch between "Then She Appeared" and "Wrapped in Grey", two of the most sublime songs that XTC ever recorded. Most songs would struggle in such a position. I don't think Nonsuch is overarrated, but then we are only talking about it within our small circle of devoted XTC fans. In the wider musical community it is neither overrated nor underrated, just ignored. Huw Davies http://members.tripod.co.uk/davieshuw
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 06:43:12 -0500
From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net>
Subject: The Singing Penis
Message-ID: <l03130301b52c815858ff@[208.13.202.110]>
>In a message dated 4/22/00 11:50:11 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
><owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> writes:
>
>> I personally find Oranges And Lemons overrated. If it had been the first
>> XTC album I ever heard I wouldn't be as into them as I am now. However, the
>
>O&L WAS the first XTC album *I* ever heard, and I'm as into them as I am now.
>
>So there.
>
>- - -
>Reverend Jody L. Barnes
Different strokes for different folks. Can't argue with personal taste.
For me, though Nonsuch isn't a perfect album either, it flows better, to
these ears, I can even sit tolerantly through "Wardance" and the "singing
penis"(Andy's description of the synthesised clarinet on the chorus)which
is the closest thing to a bad track. ON O&L, only "Here Comes President
Kill Again" is a truly weak track. I could never get into that one.
Otherwise it's a problem of sequencing and flow, and the bright digital
production isn't my cup of tea. I had that problem with a couple of the
more sequenced tracks on Skylarking too("That's Really Super, Supergirl,"
for example). Far more effective are the tracks that use real strings, such
as "1000 Umbrellas," which XTC learned well from and applied to Apple Venus
1, which sounds to me a combination of synth looping and live playing.
Personally, I prefer analog and natural to digital; O&L is a very digital
album, and I understand XTC felt the need to sound current at the time, but
it also dates the album right to 1989. Again ,can't argue with personal
taste.
Christopher R. Coolidge
Homepage at
http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html
"A Great law protects me from the government. The Bill of rights has
10 GREAT laws. A Good law protects me from you. Laws against murder,
theft, assault and the like are good laws. A Poor law attempts to
protect me from myself." - Unknown
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 07:03:42 -0500 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: Re: Closing Argument Message-ID: <l03130302b52c89363209@[208.13.202.110]> >CLOSING ARGUMENT (NOT A SONG TITLE, BY THE WAY) - Taking into account I've >listened repeatedly to only 6 of 11(?) songs - none of them Colin's -to my >ears this is unlike any other XTC album to date, and I mean that in the most >positive sense. Ignoring lyrical content for a moment, the six songs I have >listened to sound - in a word - happy. In two words - stupidly happy!!! Hand >claps feature prominently in Church of Women, Stupidly Happy and Standing in >For Joe (which I've only heard 30 seconds of) and last time I checked hand >clapping was an expression of joy. > >I wish I could tell you that I missed Dave's playing, cause I've enjoyed his >immeasurable contributions in the past - but it just isn't the case. This CD >should prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Andy's guitar playing is >original, innovative, quirky, and concise. Assuming all the guitars I'm >hearing on these 6 songs (and trust me they are layered thickly) are played >by Andy, he is a force to be reckoned with. > >I could go on and on, but I can hear those MP3 files calling me back. I hope >I haven't bored anyone with this first post. I'll come back again soon if >you'll have me. > >And I'll sign off: > >Repenting in Montreal I got the same impression too, Andy especially seems more cheerful than he ever has, and good on him. Colin sounds, at least, less morose than on O&L, though he's still his low-key self. From the CDR I received(which I promised to send to my friend Nina once I brought my own copy upon release, who turned me onto XTC, and hasn't listened to a note of them since The Big Express), based on two listenings, I'm a little dissapointed that Dave isn't there, his chops and encyclopaedic musical taste would have made a very good album great. He would have been that extra something in that already tasty stew. Oh well. Also included on the CDR were three tracks from Dave's Rewound project, and though the songs are not his, I'm very impressed with his talents as an arranger, and his vocal talents are a pleasant surprise as well. The guy does all the vocals on "Because"(yes, the Beatles track)himself, apparently. HIs voice isn't as distinctive as Andy's, but very nice, like he used to be a choirboy. Great for backup vocals. Christopher R. Coolidge Homepage at http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html "A Great law protects me from the government. The Bill of rights has 10 GREAT laws. A Good law protects me from you. Laws against murder, theft, assault and the like are good laws. A Poor law attempts to protect me from myself." - Unknown
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 14:38:16 GMT From: "Dominique Leone" <d_leone@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: I drum running... Message-ID: <20000426143816.18767.qmail@hotmail.com> I enjoyed your thoughts on Napster, et al. However, I don't think the scenario is as bleak as you might. Please forgive me for cutting up your post; I hope I don't take things out of contect. >To continue the digital-type comparison, when the bottom fell out of the >type-foundry industry and Fontographer turned everybody into junior Eric >Gills, the desktop publishing industry was suddenly buried under thousands >upon thousands of hackneyed, buggy, indecipherable, crappy knock-off fonts. This is not something new. It seems to me that whenever any product takes the country (or the world) by storm, there's usually a knockoff not far off in the wings. Sometimes, the knockoff rises to a level on par with the original (try, Burger King to McDonalds). Sometimes not (say, Space: 1999 to 2001). The key in most of these cases is, of course, not the skill with which the imitation was rendered, because if it was, RC Cola would be considered a work of art. The key is simply the money. Most of the people bringing you such knock-off generators as Fontographer or Adobe Photoshop aren't interested in "quality" control, because today real quality is real capital. And, I would venture to say that most people purchasing Fontagrapher and Photoshop aren't aspiring to publish a new bible, but create a presentation for work, build their own website (a project which, by the way, doesn't lend itself well to the genius of Eric Gills), or just noodle around. >When some clown with a drum machine and a bootleg copy of Pro Tools is >exactly as credible as The Chemical Brothers, how long will it be before >the temptation to take corporate Payola becomes irresistible? It should be noted that not too long ago, most of the stuff popular today (and indeed considered "art") would have been considered a knockoff. Beck hires Beastie Boys' producers, samples Isaac Hayes, gets underground cred by having Boredoms' lead screamer to design his CD cover, and steals Prince's moves. He made "Loser" on those Pro-tools bootlegs you mentioned, and is probably the single hippest guy on the planet -- not only to his fans, and the millions who download his songs from Napster, but also to his record company. >I fear that the same will happen in music. I don't think I'm being particularly elitist if I observe that true musical talent is a very rare beast, and the ratio of excellent musicians to talentless hacks is low indeed. This is probably true. But, most of the true musical talents I have been fortunate enough to meet don't really do it for the money, and continue to do it in the face of little to no financial reward. It doesn't seem like XTC has been doing it for the money. And speaking of knockoffs, what was that song Andy was fooling around with when he wrote Knights In Shining Karma? >I'd rather not be arguing about it either (I find myself utterly astonished >that I'm siding with the hitherto evil RIAA), but this is the most >important development in the history of music since the invention of radio. I think maybe that should be altered to the 'single biggest development in the history of *the music business* since the invention of radio.' Despite the financial implications of Napster, I don't think it is going to retard the development of music. If anything, it will speed it up. If I had first heard XTC when I was 12 instead of 16, who knows if I would still be at work writing this post instead of selling my car for a new horn. Of course, who is to say I have any talent, or Beck any hipness, or XTC any lasting contribution to music, or Napster any effect on music? I believe that cream usually does rise to the top, even when the barrage of injustices attempts to weigh it down -- though often, it takes a while to evaluate who (or what) has risen, and what hasn't. Ultimately, I'm not sure that it really matters how music gets out to people. I won't lie to you, I would like more money for my music, and I can tell you that my life would be much less stressful (as far as I know) if I could be paid high dollar for performing. However, I know what I love, and if I'm not allowed to receive money for my music anymore, I can't imagine quitting. How could I? How could anyone? Maybe Napster (and free mp3's in general) will affect musicians in negative ways that I can't predict, but I doubt that it's going to put a real damper on our ability to find good music. Dominique
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 11:49:33 -0400
From: Ben Gott/Loquacious Music <gott@tmbg.org>
Subject: XTC on WBOR
Message-ID: <B52C884D.2064%gott@tmbg.org>
Gang,
So you know how y'all are excited to hear "The Man Who Murdered Love" on
your local radio stations? Well, you'll wish you lived in Brunswick, Maine,
because I played 9 out of 12 songs from "Wasp Star" on my radio show this
morning! (Thanks to the fella/lady at TVT who sent us the CD, by the way --
the artwork is groovy, and it's good to finally know who played drums on
what song...) Anyway, I also wrote a review and taped it to the CD (as is
station custom), wrote "NEW XTC PLAY PLAY!" on our studio whiteboard, and
talked up the album at every possible opportunity. This album will
definitely require one of the managers to break out those big stickers that
say "DON'T STEAL" and pop one on the jewel box, because I know that there
are a ton of XTC fans here at Bowdoin who'd be glad to have their own
"advance" copy.
I even made an XTC convert: another DJ was in the studio with me, and she
stayed to listen...
So, take that, "Wasp Star" haters! You can bite me!
Love,
-Ben
P.S. Congratulations, John and Simon.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
Benjamin Gott . Loquacious Music . Brunswick, ME 04011
AIM: Plan4Nigel . Tel: (207) 721-5366 . http://listen.to/loquacious
F-word's here, the f-word's bad / Cuss my mother and I cuss my dad.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 13:10:17 EDT From: StucoHomes@aol.com Subject: But i LIKE rush! Message-ID: <7b.34dac74.26387cf9@aol.com> In a message dated 4/25/00 10:08:34 PM US Eastern Standard Time, <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> writes: > > 10. You've seen a Rush gig (-55 points) Hey! > 11. You've lied about seeing a Rush gig (disqualification) HEY! > 14. You own every legitimate release put out by XTC (+75 points) > > 15. You own every legitimate release put out by Rush (-75 points) Okay, that's just mean-spirited. > 20. You have a child named Getty (-75 points) His name's Geddy :) Actually, it's Gary Lee Weinrib, but you hate Rush, and therefore I can only assume that you've never really just SAT DOWN and listened to them - immersed yourself in Hemispheres or Permanent Waves. Poopie-head. - - - Reverend Jody L. Barnes "May the baby Jesus shut your mouth and open your mind." - Don Vliet "Being disabled has never really interested me very much. It's very serious, like plumbing is serious, but I'm also not interested in plumbing." - Robert Wyatt (paraplegic)
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #6-88 ******************************
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