Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 96
Date: Monday, 1 May 2000
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 96
Monday, 1 May 2000
Topics:
a note from your mother, Todd
Mark S at a Rush gig.
We don't need no stinkin' rain forest! We get enough rain already!
Extreme metal, a little GO2
alt-country
Re: closing quotes
XTC Promo Trip
theology and geometry
Roger... Over and Out
My Bird Performs
NYTimes
What once was lost - and more honey.
Amazon
geek chic
Spit In My Eye
Arguments, attitudes & happy threads
Ben messes with the program
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Count the dots on the wall.
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Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 09:12:44 EDT
From: BlazingApostles@aol.com
Subject: a note from your mother, Todd
Message-ID: <77.37b70cc.263edccc@aol.com>
Dear son,
I believe you owe your friend Tyler an apology.
Hope you're eating right.
Love,
Mom
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 08:24:43 -0500 From: "Damian Wise (Foulger)" <damian@imclaser.com> Subject: Mark S at a Rush gig. Message-ID: <390D3F4B.28903.B6568@localhost> Our esteemed Mark S. who never has a rum word to say against anyone wrote: > This is, like, totally unfair: > > > > 10. You've seen a Rush gig (-55 points) > > But honestly, i couldn't help it ! ! ! > They were playing as the "token Heavy Metal band" at an otherwise > very cool festival that also featured Elvis Costello, The Specials and > loads of other acts. I think that you're okay on this one, because really it was a gig that Rush happened to play at and not a 'Rush gig'. So count yourself up a few points. If you're still worried, say that you spent the whole time in the toilet being sick. Bleurghh! Dames tWd 'Real' is an adjective and 'Really' is an adverb.
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 May 1999 08:57:24 -0400 From: "Duncan Watt" <dwatt@fastestmanintheworld.com> Subject: We don't need no stinkin' rain forest! We get enough rain already! Message-ID: <200005011257.IAA29640@gilgamesh.nh.ultra.net> Sheesh... Listening to pirated(as opposed to purchased) mp3's of songs is ridiculously short-sighted. If real, dedicated artists can't get paid for what they do, exactly who do you think is going to continue to make your favorite happy-dolphin-party music? Answer: whoever sells the most advertising(chill, Sherweed, I'm agreein' with you, more below). Welcome to Hell. Welcome to why 95% of great orchestral pieces written in the last decade or two have either never been recorded or have been released as the BACKGROUND TO A FUCKING MOVIE. Welcome to Network TV. Welcome to The Gap. What sucks about the Pre-Napster Music Industry? Through years and years of endlessly retreading one 'hit' into another 'hit' it has made music into a competition, which feeds it's own selfish motives very, very efficiently. According to this formula, the highest-selling music pushes out all other music, resulting in only the most popular music getting airplay, space on music store shelves, articles/press, etc. Worse, it's been going on so long that there's a whole generation of adults music listeners who think that The Beatles represent the pinnacle of music composition and performance. Nothin' against Our Boys, they certainly hit some biggies, but, y'know, fucking Mahler, y'know? But where are the kids(or YOU, for that matter) going to hear Mahler? Or how about some 35-year old woman's new orchestral piece? The de-education of the music listener gave Big Music total control by eliminating the demand for interesting music. Think I'm nuts? Try this little test: When was the last time you heard a song on the radio that wasn't in 4/4 time? That didn't have verses/choruses in multiples of four? When was the last time you listened to a song that was more than six minutes long? Are you telling me your attention span is THAT FUCKING SHORT? Do your kids know there's music that doesn't have drums? Or singing? When was the last time you saw a woman playing an instrument on television? Did you know that they make music IN THOSE OTHER COUNTRIES THAT AREN'T AMERICA? (Boy Howdy, and some of it's GOOD, too!) But you'll never hear it, because nobody can afford to run a radio station anymore without fitting into a Big Music format. Dark days, yeah. So along comes The Internet, promising the listener trying to rise up out of the muck a chance to get their hands on something different... yes! I'm getting ready to check out what's going on in soca music, maybe a little koto action for the hot-tub, I'm looking forward to diggin' on some gamelan vibe for the morning chow... by buying CD's from people all over the world, and interacting with other listeners below Big Music radar to find new material to own and love. Now I can buy music from anywhere, anytime... right? And BIg Music is powerless to stop it. Now you can let them force-feed the *other* geese boy-bands and TRL, and you can identify, buy and listen to the music you like. Artists art-ify, listeners listen-ify, it's all good. So it's just beyond irony that music listeners, standing at the brink of this wonderful garden of musical delights, are going to screw themselves out of it by REFUSING TO PAY FOR IT! Are you so childish that you expect something for nothing? Sure, I'd like a new car and and house near a quiet lake, but I'm not willing to STEAL for it! And I don't expect someone to GIVE me one either! If I want the lake house, I'm going to have to bear down hard and WORK for it. And if you want a musician to dedicate their entire life to making music for YOU, you'd better expect to lay at least TEN DOLLARS on the sap, regardless of how you get the sweet, wonderful music delivered to you. And lay off of the "they can make it up by touring" thing, the vast majority of musicians go in the hole going on tour(yep, more don't-tell-'em Industry Facts), and the Biggies get the stadium gigs through radio play and market saturation. But remember, you're looking for *interesting* music, right? Which means your favorite act is probably playing 100-400-seaters, and pulling down about 50% of the door. Yeah, bunkie. 300 seats, $10/pop after the ticket agency fees, $3000 at the door, $1500 for the band, split it 5 ways, lop off 30% for self-employment taxes, pay some health insurance for the family back home, oh yeah, the hotel room, woo-hoo, let's get on the bus! And that's without tour support(don't get me started). So "making it up on the road" just means you're ASKING for big-money, million-selling trendy music again! 'Cos those are, with extremely few exceptions, the only ones making money on the road. Unless you want your music made by small groups of smelly 20-year olds stupid enough to cram themselves into a Step-van for a year and a half. All you had to do was lay out $10-$15 for a copy of the CD, and go to the shows when your fave artists DO come around, maybe lap up some merch, and artists like Richard Thompson and Jellyfish and Robyn Hitchcock are in it for life. They're not making millions(you've got to remember that musicians might have a great year, then they've got to scrap for income until the next record/tour), but they're making enough to make it worthwhile, to keep turning away from "selling out" in order to avoid just packing it in. That's all you had to do! BUT NO, you wanted it FOR FREE! So watch what you get! First, product placement in lyrics, then advertising attached to the music, then once the tech gets around that, THE ACTUAL MUSIC WILL BECOME THE ADS THEMSELVES. Like Backstreet Boys, the music IS the ad. Choke on it, motherfuckers. Your pal Duncan "Come here, I'll give you something for free" Watt Cool mp3 related one-liners: -Don't think technology destroys as well as conceives? Know any oboe players that drive Porsches? -Hey, I like the grain of this cocobolo wood... make me a house with it... -Global warming? I don't feel warmer. -- email me: dwatt@fastestmanintheworld.com surf me: http://www.fastestmanintheworld.com
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 06:46:25 -0500 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: Extreme metal, a little GO2 Message-ID: <l03130301b5331d0f5204@[208.13.202.94]> >I for one would be _very_ interested in hearing/reading this argument >(of course, I'm an ignorant sod from the "there is no metal but >Motorhead" [insert umlauts as necessary] school and my favorite XTC >album is...Go2 [I think it's the Colin-Barry interplay that could have >developed into something really interesting..sort of an alternate >history to contemplate, I guess]), but any time you get your points >together, Dom, I'd love to hear 'em. > >Peter Mullin Me too; I have no use for the mainstream hair bands of the 80's, but I love Motorhead, and have some respect for Judas Priest and Iron Maiden; though they work in a genre that isn't my cup of tea, they are good musicians and do what they do well. And the really extreme contemporary metal that incorporates heretofore unheard of elements like turntables and such(Slipknot, for example)interests me from a distance; I guess that's the only way for metal to go without repeating itself and staying in one place. We like our horrible noise in different forms; for me it's The Stooges, The Sex Pistols and GO2(which I took out last night and listened to, it sounded tastier than I expected, the version of the band with Barry was definitely onto something), for others its extreme metal. Christopher R. Coolidge Homepage at http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 06:34:46 -0500 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: alt-country Message-ID: <l03130300b533184d33f5@[208.13.202.76]> >I think not. For the record though, I do not like MUCH Heavy Metal. >Second, most of the groups I did like that were classified as Heavy Metal >said they hated the term and considered themselves "Rock." Third, I hate >Disco, I hate Country, I hate Opera, I hate Gospel and I hate Church type >music (non gospel). Big deal! I am sure you hate some of the music I listen >too. It just does not matter that much does it? Pretty broad sweeping statement. Take country for example; I thought I hated country, because, frankly, what I heard on the radio the rare times I was on the road in the early 80's in college and country radio WAS pretty crappy(as was practically all commercial radio, whether classic rock or cheesy early 80's dance music). Soon after I graduated, it got a bit more interesting thanks to Steve Earle's Guitar Town album in '86 put a grizzled country/rock/outlaw spin on things and set Nashville on its collective ear. For a year or two what came out of Nashville started to sound more interesting. Then Steve Earle got progressively more progressive and did weird things like plugging a mandolin into a Marshall stack and jamming with The Pogues, and Nashville started sounding exactly the same for at least the next ten years. It's started taking another step in SOME direction thanks to sexy babes like Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks(the latter intrigue me, the former, let's say I like watching the videos with the sound off), but mainstream country still bores me for the most part. Outlaw and alternative country is where it's at. Any of you who think you hate country, I'd be glad to make you a tape containing Steve Earle, Joe Ely, Whiskytown, Gram Parsons, late-period Byrds(Sweetheart Of The Rodeo and beyond), and some other great stuff. Alternative country is the only current music that interests me these days, aside from new releases by old favorites like XTC. I jut received an offer from a friend who wants to put together a country band; I might just take him up on it, as long as we can play some Steve Earle, Gram Parsons, Marty Stuart, and classic old chestnuts like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams along with some stuff that most current C&W fans would know. No two-steps, though, stone country as Gram Parsons called it. Wondering how he would look in a cowboy hat, 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: Mon, 01 May 2000 10:03:55 -0600 From: William Loring <bloring@tirerack.com> Subject: Re: closing quotes Message-ID: <B533070B.2901%bloring@tirerack.com> Joe Funk wrote: > "This post-post is intended as a parody on message-ending parodies on > message-ending posts. It is a complete waste of bandwidth, and is not, nor > intends to be an extremely "clever" parody on message-ending parodies on > message-ending posts. Mind you, the actual intention of this parody on > message-ending parodies on message-ending posts is redundancy. Mind you, > the actual intention of this parody on message-ending parodies on > message-ending posts is redundancy." -Cyril Connelly Brilliant. Thank you. ...bill "" - anonymous
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 14:01:04 -0400 From: Paul Burgess <pburgess@tvtrecords.com> Subject: XTC Promo Trip Message-ID: <v04220810b5334d789c40@[38.149.92.114]> Update on XTC Promo trip- Colin and Andy arrive in NY today. They will be in Los Angeles next week. They will be doing publicity. This means interviews with journalists for print publications, dot.coms, radio stations / networks and television. On Wednesday 5/4 a link for a free download of "I'm The Man Who Murdered Love" will go up at TVTrecords.com. In the next few weeks links for the song will go up at participating radio station web sites. We will post the details at Chalkills when these promotions have been confirmed. Here are some other web promotions: Listen.com Artist feature starts 5/9 BarnesandNoble.com Free download starts 5/16 Chat 5/30 (unconfirmed) SonicNet.com Andy will program his own radio station to begin 5/17 (unconfirmed date) Amazon.com Featured title starting 5/16 Featured in Amazon's largest print ad campaign to date Audio Spotlight includes 3 minute recorded segment Windowsmedia.com Artist featured at MSN http://entertainment.msn.com/default.asp WMA digital download offered on http://www.windowsmedia.com begins 5/16 There is much more in the works. Stay tuned. There are no in-store promotional events planned. It is possible these may be set up in June. Spread the word. Go to chat rooms, message boards. Preach to the deaf so they may hear. Thank you for your continued support.
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 11:12:44 -0700 From: "Victor Rocha" <wstsidela@mediaone.net> Subject: theology and geometry Message-ID: <00ff01bfb398$d91b2920$4e568218@we.mediaone.net> Ignacious J. Reilly Rules!!!!
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 13:21:00 -0500 From: "Joe Funk" <twosheds@mindspring.com> Subject: Roger... Over and Out Message-ID: <01fc01bfb39a$1ac4bde0$7721fea9@user> Greetings Chalklings!! Thanks Eddie!! for the howlingly funny, "Rudolf"!! > You know Wasp Star and napster > and Apple and Venus... > Mummer and Nonsuch > and the singing penis... > but do you recall > the most famous posting of all??? > SHUT YOUR WRETCED PIE TRAP YOU RIDICULOUS PRICK! On to something lighter......... Roger, I am not allowed to use english phrases....... Should I post in Portuguese from now on? >Bollocks? You better be in England because theres nothing worse than someone >in the U.S. using english phrases, you stupid git. HA HA! Just so happens I spent 3 years at Cambridge and Toured with the Sex Pistols in '77... I have every right to use the word "BOLLOCKS"!!! (*Right......Joe...*!!) Actually, there is nothing worse than someone criticising someone else for their use of UK epiphets, then using one themselves...AND MIS-SPELLING IT!!! It is Stupid Get, not Git, you second-hand electric donkey bosom biter!!! >And besides ,I could make a box set of XTC songs where the tempo dominates. Your missing the point here Roger... I really have no qualms about your liking songs due soley to tempo... I just don't understand it. By being one-dimensional, you are truly missing out on everything XTC has to offer. That is why they are my favorite band. Andy is soooo unpredictable, and doesn't stick to any medium. After ES, I really wanted Mummer to sound like ES..and was a bit dissapointed at first. But on further listenings, I really began to enjoy the acoustic and experimental turn they were taking. If they had stuck to the "Black Sea/ES" formula, there wouldn't have been a "Skylarking", "O&L", and especially "AV1", etc..... Don't get me wrong..lately I have been seen dancing around the house to "Stupidly Happy" & "ITMWML". Sorry about the "donkey" thing.. I panicked... I watched "The Holy Grail" the other night, and had to get that out of my system.... Tierra Del Fuego, Joe "Hopping the next flight to London" Funk -- "Ah, now then, did you write this symphony....in the shed?""
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 11:45:06 -0700 From: "Radiosinmotion" <radiosinmotion@earthlink.net> Subject: My Bird Performs Message-ID: <000901bfb39d$5f48b0e0$0200a8c0@digitalpc> Thanks to a bunch of demo's, singles, and b-sides I have, I created a really cool CD which I entitled "My Bird Performs: A Tale Of XTC." I love the title! Probably has over 100 songs already (all in MP3) on it thanks to all the nice traders and my huge collection of singles (mostly later singles). Anyway, I am looking for all singles, b-sides and stuff if anyone is interested in trading for something I have. I have a few rare items I want to trade. One is a record of Dear God W/ Toys. This is a MINT promotional copy and I am willing to trade if anyone is interested. The next is CD of The Diffapointed with 4 tracks (w/demo's!) and aCD of The Mayor Of Simpleton (one track). The mayor of simpleton is my favorite for the cover alone. Its a really cool promo CD. Anyway, if interested, let me know.
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 15:58:03 EDT From: Tomgriffin100276@aol.com Subject: NYTimes Message-ID: <62.2f2b05c.263f3bcb@aol.com> Someone has probably mentioned this by now, but Saturday's New York Times had an editorial from Chuck D (of Public Enemy) in support of Napster. His argument was compelling and I agree, but I'll save you all a long drwn-out argument. -Tom
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 12:03:00 PDT
From: "Steven Young" <sjyoung@hotmail.com>
Subject: What once was lost - and more honey.
Message-ID: <20000501190300.89506.qmail@hotmail.com>
In my last post I shared my deep regret at selling back my pristine CD copy
of "Beeswax" several years ago - and my slight regret at passing up "A
School Guide" last month.
Within days of that post, the Karma Police infiltrated two California record
stores and placed within them both a near-mint (and dirt-cheap) CD of
"Beeswax" and a very inexpensive copy of "A School Guide", of which the
latter I am enjoying more than I expected - particularly the first track
("Star Park"), which sounds like late-XTC in another dimension (if "White
Music" had come out in '54, perhaps)... and the rest of the CD is rather...
psychorockabilly? And what's that quivering thing he's doing with his
voice?...
I also encountered nice vinyl copies of "English Settlement", "Drums &
Wires", & "Black Sea" - alas, I have been forgiven for such a greivous
mistake those years ago, and perhaps more than I deserved. There may be no
golden fleece, but the bee honey, golden and glowing, drips once again from
my collection -
On another note: I was thinking about bridges. Not Brooklyns or Golden
Gates or London, but XTC. Which ones do you like? They're like sweet meat
filling under large sweet top loafs with nutritious seeds and grains... some
drip golden, like above-mentioned honey, glowing and sweet and sticky.
LEISURE: the song's good, the but the goofy music-hall bridge puts a
similarly goofy grin on my face.
TRAIN RUNNING LOW: OH BOY! "me and a couple of empty carriages slide
downhill... still..." ... this is one of those songs that brings tears of
defiance to my eyes, and this bridge explodes into a raucous noise, like the
death throes of a metal locomotive (or simply electric guitar)
LIARBIRD: I really like this song. And the stained-glass colors streaming
in through the english winter's/summer's afternoon, "if this world is for
you, built on what you believe...". I used to think he was singing, "If
this world is for you, better watch your belly..". Yeah, watch that belly!
DEAR GOD: uh-oh! this will be unpopular. will it help if I tell you I much
prefer "mermaid smiled"? and that I find "dear god" to be half genius and
half unintentional hilarity? Anyway, even the most strident christians can
admire mr. partridge's defiance in this fist-slamming-the-table denouncement
of all that will "keep us on our knees".. "..I don't believe in heaven or
hell, no saints no sinners..."
There are so many more. Help me remember!
"HONEY-DRIP" SONGS:
UGLY UNDERNEATH: ("did you ever try to...") - this song has been discussed
so wonderfully lately (I *loved* the analysis), so I have nothing else to
add. except: "yeah. totally."
YOUR GOLD DRESS: (".. in your gold dress..") - this bridge is the sugar hill
to the lemon noise of the "dumb riff" (I mean that very affectionately -
after all, it was composed in kind..)
THEN SHE APPEARED: blue sweet crests of water bursting from a pink easter
marshmallow sugar-chickie beach shell! This is another song that brings
tears to my eye, not for any particular reason but for the beauty of the
music and the earnest declaration of love cradled within it.
PALE AND PRECIOUS: one big beach-boy honeydrip marathon. When I first
bought The Dukes I was housesitting in a cabin overlooking the valley. The
lights glittered below and "P&P" played on repeat...
Sorry for the length here! Got a bit carried away. Will try to send you
all "the abridged version" next time.
~~Steve Young
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 20:46:58 +0100 (BST) From: Rory Wilsher <rory_wilsher@yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Amazon Message-ID: <20000501194658.4461.qmail@web1506.mail.yahoo.com> Hi Hillsters You may be interested to know that WS is currently no. 46 on amazon.co.uk's sales rankings. Burning with optimism's flames (very cautiously) that this might actually be a commercial success! Rory "I know. Spiders make GRAVY" Wilsher
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 16:10:03 -0400 (EDT) From: "May O'Mahoney" <may5272@gte.net> Subject: geek chic Message-ID: <384701044.957211803930.JavaMail.root@web25.pub01> Stop me if you've heard this thread before............. My question to my fellow Chalk Geek Rebels is this: If Wasp Star songs could be dispersed amongst every XTC album ever put out, where would you put them? EXAMPLE: "Playground" sounds like it could be on English Settlement, etc., etc........ Since I won't be hearing the album until it comes out in the US, nothing could possibly spoil it for me. It would, however, be interesting to collect perspectives beforehand and compare them to my own. So.....INDULGE ME!! RE: Cheryl's Post Comparing Chalkhills To Jerry Springer I can somewhat understand your point - it's not fun to watch people fight, really. If you look closely, however, you may see some big grains of salt. A LOT of people on these list are quite facetious, quite tongue-in-cheek. I know because I once received a Christmas greeting from a Chalkie who will remain anonymous (you know who you are ya bastard!) entitled, "Merry Fucking Christmas". Does that explain it? I think it does for me. I wouldn't have it any other way. By the way, I don't know if I'd compare it to Jerry Springer - I might compare it to a few snippets of the Tom Green show I've seen, but by God NOT Springer. Springer is pure emotional prostitution. And finally........ ANDY IS LIKE, WAAAYY HOT! (grin) I think Colin and Andy should grow their hair out to look like the NELSON TWINS FROM THE WAAAY HOT TRUE METAL BAND NELSON! ROKK ON! - May
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 22:33:56 +0200 From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl> Subject: Spit In My Eye Message-ID: <20000501203007.4A1F8A6CEB@mail.knoware.nl> Dear Chalkers, Our friend Jane mentioned something interesting: > Might I speak for let's say the majority of the 'Chalkhills Chicks' > (and we are a lusty lot) that the preference would be for a Mr. > Partridge tripping and falling into the featherbed rather than a Mr. > Sumner... I won't name names but several members of that lusty lot have indeed confided to me that they find themselves strangely attracted to Mr. P But i must hasten to add that there are also a number of torches burning for our Dave And i know that back in the Good Old Days at least one Swindon schoolgirl had quite a crush on Terry Chambers. BTW: i'm still desperately seeking a lonely XTChick (lusty or not) to join me in my Little Lighthouse. Must be willing to relocate to Holland; joint custody of my extensive XTC collection offered... Meanwhile, the ever-charming Nina pointed out: > And they're not just erect, they're almost always *oozing*. Please, gimme a break... no need to remind us of the man's prostate problems :) And someone asked for it: > Didn't Heavy Metal suck? Yes. And it still does! yours in xtc, Mark S. @ the Little Lighthouse www.come.to/xtc
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 14:28:34 -0700 From: Ed Kedzierski <ed.kedzierski@blvdmedia.com> Subject: Arguments, attitudes & happy threads Message-ID: <08B5DDC2BABCD311BFC6005004A884B013B61A@mgcservices.com> Well, first of all, the whole "be nice for the coming influx of newbies" thing. I'm not trying to put anyone down, but I don't see that it's been that bad, and I really think you're making a mountain out of a molehill here. I still consider myself a relative newbie as far as the list goes (though not as far as being into XTC goes), and most of my friends consider me over-sensitive about a lot of things, but nothing's driven me away. When I subscribed (just before AV1 came out), there were plenty of arguments and insults flying around, but that just drew me in; more than anything I was taken with the variety of opinions and outside interests (off-topic stuff has never really annoyed me) on the part of the fans of this great band. True, it took me a year to de-lurk, but that's more my reticent nature than anything else, and if anything I might not have ended up de-lurking at all if everything had just been "gee, aren't they great?" "yes, they sure are!" repeated ad infinitum. The relatively laissez-faire level of moderation of this list is what helps keep it worth reading, in my opinion. Sure, we had a bit of a "fuck you" week recently (mostly over Napster), but I don't think that it's anything to cite as some sort of trend towards terminal incivility unprecedented on the list. Fights and bitch-fests ebb and flow, if the back issues are any indication, and I really think that any perception that it's somehow worse than it's ever been before is nothing more than that. Trust me, I've seen way worse; I used to lurk fairly regularly in a certain operating-system related comp newsgroup, and the rudest meanest posts on chalkhills look like the apex of etiquette and restraint in comparison to some of the bile some of these supposedly rational tech-nerd types would throw at each other. Anyway... I do like Kevin's idea for the "fave bits" thread. Back during the "what's in your player, on your turntable, etc." thread, I thought of using some of these as "what gets stuck in my head", but never got around to it, so this is the ideal opportunity... 1. The last time Andy sings "Alcohol IS! An easy keee-EEEY!" in Meccanic Dancing (be glad you're not hearing me try to sing that). As a matter of fact, while we're on a GO2 song, you can sign me up for the GO2 defence league. The one single XTC album that I never heard all this time until just last year, bought it with low expectations after being on the list for a while, and ended up really enjoying it. Even the Barry songs have a certain campy charm... 2. Those weird backwards-sounding bass and percussive bits in "Then She Appeared". 3. Sorry, Kevin, but I really LIKE the ending of "Wrapped in Grey" 4. "Friday is heaven, Friday is heaven..." 5. The "Cry Baby Cry" guitar flourishes in "President Kill". 6. The astounding bass flourish at the beginning of the last repeat of the chorus on "Easter Theatre" (after the "hey!"). In fact, the whole Easter Theatre bassline is fantastic, making it impossible for me to agree with those who prefer the demo version of this song. For that matter... 7. Basslines, basslines, basslines. If I included all my favourite bass bits on this list, this post would go on for about ten pages. As far back as White Music and GO2, Colin is already a great bassist, and just keeps getting better. If there's an XTC song you're not that fond of, try focusing on the bass; I've always found that that alone can get me at least half way there when there's a song that's not quite clicking for me right away. 8. The "here we go" at the beginning of "One of the Millions". 9. "WE! Come the wro-ho-hong way..." 10. A lot of people don't care for this song, but I'm a sucker for the piano in "Washaway". 11. The alternation between the bendy-curvy eastern sound of the verse (more great bass) and the singalong popness of the chorus in "Me & the Wind". 12. The horns in "Seagulls Screaming" really rub me the right way. 13. The way the brass shines at "let us tell our favourite story" in Frivolous Tonight. 14. The way the main riff in "Outside Word" explodes out of the speakers as soon as the song starts. I'm almost afraid to play it, as it's almost impossible not to move when I hear that riff, but I'm not as young as I used to be... (visions of thrashing my body around furiously, then clutching my chest...) 15. The way the guitar, bass and keyboards come in one at a time at the start of "Holly Up on Poppy". 16. The string quartet in 1000 Umbrellas. An obvious one, but so what? 17. Find the most scenic drive (or bike route, for "Roads Girdle the Globe/River of Orchids" hardliners) where you live, or nearby. Crank up "Sacrificial Bonfire" on your car stereo (or Walkman, for cyclists) and take a nice drive about an hour before sunset on a nice spring or summer evening. For that matter, all arguments about "Skylarking" and its place in the best to worst heirarchy aside, I haven't had a proper summer if I haven't taken a drive with that album cranked up on a hot sunny day. This may not qualify as a "favourite bit", but it's a lovely experience. 18. The backwards-tape startup bit in "Brainiac's Daughter". 19. "It doesn't matter where you put your world because someone else will come along and move it and it's always been the same..." 20. There's a guitar bit in "Crocodile" that comes in right at the end of the "swallow up my fate/burger on my plate/skinned & stuffed with drink" bits. Don't know how to describe it without trying to type out those silly "make a guitar sound with your mouth" type sounds, so I hope you know what I mean. I don't get why so many people dislike this song. Well, I'm sure I could come up with more, but 20 seems like more than enough for now. Was that positive enough? Ed K.
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Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 18:58:46 -0400
From: Ben Gott/Loquacious Music <gott@tmbg.org>
Subject: Ben messes with the program
Message-ID: <B5338464.2191%gott@tmbg.org>
Hillers,
Remember how I told you that I played XTC nine times on my radio show?
Well, according to my crazy-ass roommate (who is also a manager at WBOR),
the Musical Director was at a complete loss about how to chart "Wasp Star."
Apparently, he said, "I know Ben played nine songs, but we can't count it
nine times, can we?" They finally decided to count it enough so that "Wasp
Star" has become our #2 new CD...! Yee hah!
-Ben
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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.
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------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #6-96 ******************************
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