Chalkhills Digest Volume 7, Issue 12
Date: Saturday, 3 March 2001
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 7, Number 12
Saturday, 3 March 2001
Topics:
Re: church of women
Annandale
A Thirty Year-Old Puppy...
Re: Annandale
Re: Nonsuch a disappointment
Who Cares!
Hello All & Some Thoughts
Erbium, Ytterbium, and what was the other??
Wasp Star, yes!!
Brave Sir Robin ...
Re: Blegvad
Andy Partridge interview.
Ollie Halsall
Whoah, there partner
Nonsuch nonsense
miscellaneous
Yes, it's Top of the Pops
Annandale
The Zither Project
Mummer
Space Patrol
RE: xTc Homage
Andy's stage fright dilemma
Cream Book
A Place in the Pantheon
need 126 color cartridge film
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All that bright she's throwing / Like some aurora.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 15:27:13 EST From: Jxnsmom@aol.com Subject: Re: church of women Message-ID: <58.7de6542.27d00aa1@aol.com> > >i like(d) the song "church of women" but i got sick of it so fast that > >now i always skip over it. > > OHMIGAWD .... I just LIVE for the guitar solo! Andy is a guitar god! Amen, Warren. That solo is my favorite part of the entire disk. Amy
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2001 14:45:19 -0600 From: "John M. Hackney" <jhackney@students.wisc.edu> Subject: Annandale Message-ID: <4.1.20010301144236.0097a9b0@students.wisc.edu> Not at all certain, but I always thought that Annandale referred to Annandale, Virginia. I was living in D.C. not too long after Steely Dan released the song in question, and it seems as though the word on the street was that it referred to this particular suburb, and that some member of the band had attended high school there or something to that effect------- John
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 22:00:34 -0000 From: "Rory Wilsher" <rory.wilsher@lineone.net> Subject: A Thirty Year-Old Puppy... Message-ID: <005501c0a29b$2092dc20$804c063e@oemcomputer> ...yeah, and then some! Hello Hillians As some of you may have observed, there was a proposal mooted a few weeks back to gather UK Chalkhillers in one place. Well, whilst it's all been quiet on the Hill, I'd like to let you know that, like a swan that appears to glide effortlessly over the water, we've been paddling away like mad beneath the surface. Some of you will know this already, but here goes: We will be meeting up in Oxford over the weekend of 12/13 May. So far, there's about a dozen of us, and another six "maybe"s. (You know who you are.) If anyone else would like to participate who hasn't already heard from me, or any of the others who've been involved, please e-mail me privately. I can't claim to be the originator of this plan, but seem to have volunteered myself into being the central point of contact. On a related subject, I have enlisted the skills of one of our resident artists to come up with a t-shirt design for the event. This will revolve around the "pie trap" theme, so any of you who can't make it, live overseas etc., but would like one, please let me know - I'll send you a copy of the design and cost. (All of this is being done on at "at cost" basis - I have no need or desire for profit from fellow Chalkhillers.) XTC content: still playing WS in my car (i-i-i-n my c-a-a-a-r! As Andy never sang). And, yes, it's STILL good. Rory
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 18:41:34 EST From: Saints3Den@aol.com Subject: Re: Annandale Message-ID: <92.1103caea.27d0382e@aol.com> > First: > > >"california tumbles in to the sea, > >that'll be the day i go back to annandale..." > > Where is Annandale exactly? I assume it's somewhere on the US east coast, Well, Dunks... yeah, that would be Bard College... Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (near Barrytown) eddie st martin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 20:22:05 EST
From: PSandford@aol.com
Subject: Re: Nonsuch a disappointment
Message-ID: <8a.311b114.27d04fbd@aol.com>
Taste is a funny old thing..... .
Sylvan gives a reasonable attempt at a slimmed down version
of the NonSuch album. But I must object to the omission of Humble Daisy. It
is one of those songs that goes nowhere on the first dozen listens, but then
it unfolds like a mimi-masterpiece. It is probably the one song on the album
that would go on an XTC top ten cassette (although My Bird Performs is a bit
special too). An odd little song about an odd subject, it has all the beauty
of an ugly duckling, and is all the more special for it!!
"I'll sing about you if nobody else will.............."
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 22:43:03 -0500 From: "Chris" <chris@compudrivel.com> Subject: Who Cares! Message-ID: <004301c0a2ca$e2d9ec40$8e3a0040@compudrivel.com> I do. "Wake up" is an important track in the XTC Anthology. It is also my vote for the most AP sounding of CM's songs. The first two lines, I swear that's Andy singing. Maybe it is, in which case I'm right *smug grin* but it's Colins song for sure. The reason why it's an important track (IMHO) is while working with a good producer, it is a precursor to working with one of like merit. XTC's recording potential is quite realized, crystallized on this particular track, among other songs on the BE. It's a shame that David Lord didn't produce the whole album, how much better would it have sounded if he did? But it's ok. Kinda like wishing what MTV Unplugged would be like had Lennon & McCartney been able to play Love me do. Or Drive my car. Or A day in the life. Futile *sigh* Chris compudrivel powers the internet.
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 22:53:18 -0500 (EST) From: Bob McKnight <bmcknight@primus.ca> Subject: Hello All & Some Thoughts Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.30.0103012201580.9656-100000@staffshell.primus.ca> Hello to All, I am posting for the first time but have been reading this list for probably 6 months. I'm from Southern Ontario in Canada [Draw a straight line and I'm American but our pop cultures do differ.We canucks are more heavily influenced by England. So my appreciation for XTC goes back to seeing the vid promo clip for "This Is Pop" on a canadian program called "The New Music" which was at the time was a truly innovative program that exposed me o a lot of great music. I live in an industrial city an hour outside of Toronto called Hamilton which is also only an hour from the U.S. border. So we also had MTV feeds when it was in it's infancy. Some of my favorite music comes from the states and all it's diverse sounds and styles. XTC however is an island upon itself .A true musical oasis. I clearly remember first seeing that video and going wow this is so "cheeky" and brilliantly[undeniably]british. They actually played my home town during the "Drums and Wires " tour but and i can still kick my own ass for it did not go. I, like others that i knew thought we'll see them again next tour. That was a bad move as a friend of mine who went can still laugh about it as he saw the show. I 've loved their approach to music on each and every album from the beginning, particularly the "Dave Gregory Era". Dave's guitar stylings always thoughtfully filled out the songs. As i have heard many chalkers go on about what a mediocre album "Wasp Star" is. Just imagine those songs being arranged with Dave's help and the guitar leads hooks and fluorishes he could have added to those songs. It truly saddens me that Andy and Dave aren't even on speaking terms anymore. AV1 however was a great joy to behold because the production and arrangements were fantastic. I truly think this is Andy's "skylarking" on his own terms. Now what's all this bitching about "Nonesuch". I think it's an excellent album and the good songs are so strong that the weaker ones just glide on by. "Wrapped in Grey" is one of the most uplifting songs i've ever encountered. I'm almost done. As for new music for chalkers to sink there teeth into i recommend a band from Philly called "Marah" . First of all they sound nothing like XTC but they are the true essence of what "rawk" music should be. If you crossed early Springsteen with Wilco and the Replacements you would come up with this band. I've seen them open for Steve Earle[ another big fave of mine ] and was floored by their live show. Let's hope Andy and Colin keep growing old together! -- Bob "from the hammer" McKnight
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 23:24:38 EST From: KINGSTUNES@aol.com Subject: Erbium, Ytterbium, and what was the other?? Message-ID: <6a.bc55497.27d07a86@aol.com> Chalklitites, >Last years question, for the trivia-minded, was 'what >town has 4 elements of the periodic table named after >it?' Ytterby, Sweeden. (And I didn't even have to look it up! Look out, Ben Stein!) What would the XTC town name be? (this could be a thread!) How about XTCester. ****************** >Oh by the way - Richard Thompson was just over here for a concert tour. >Jesus christ that guy is SO brilliant. Isn't he, though? The thing that gets me is he gets better every time I see him. I hate that. ************************** >Even I >could've got >better talk >from the "Bizkit" list... But the best talk is right here. Why settle for less? Oh, and your English; you're not related to the Bushes, by any chance? ************************* >does anyone know if there's a font based on ES or where the type face >came from? Wouldn't that just be way too cool! Jane, let me know if you find one, please! Also, I'm interested in an Irish half-unical font, if anyone knows where. ****************** >Listening to Mummer at the moment. I can't say Gold does a lot for >me. And does anyone like Procession Towards Learning Land? Dewi, since your new to XTC, I'll clue you in. The first eight albums were released originally on vinyl, which I'm sure you suspected. (And the Dukes, as well). At the same time XTC put out a ton of stuff that didn't make the records; they were singles, B sides, EPs, etc. When the albums were re-released on CD, Virgin stuck those songs and bits on the CD, right smack dab in the middle instead of at the end, as other reissues did. The Mummer LP side one ended with Deliver Us From The Elements, and side two began with Human Alchemy. Jump, Toys, Gold and Desert Island were released seperately and not on the LP. Frost Circus and Procession were from a series of studio noodlings that Andy dubbed the Homo Safari Series. The fact that these were put in the middle of the running order is occasionally a point of great argumentative fun on Chalkhills. I'm of the camp that hates it. I bought all the vinyl releases when they came out, and remember the record as it was, and it drives me crazy. Some fellow, I forget who, did a terrific post a couple of months ago on a suggested reorganized reissue series. Very well thought out, and I loved it. I strongly urge you to pick up a copy of the book, Song Stories. Great book! ********************** And while we're on the subject: >Also the thought that my copy of Skylarking could have had Dear God instead >Mermaid Smiled on is enough to make me want to go and lie down for a while. Man, you don't know how much I agree! I snatched up my copy of Skylarking as soon as it hit the racks, with Mermaid Smiles. Maybe I'm biased because of that, but it just flows so much better! Dear God in my opinion does not belong on that record, even if it was considered in the original running order. It screws up the whole feel. I can take the song on it's own, but not on Skylarking. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know (probaly a stupid question!) how many units were issued with Mermaid smile before it was released with Dear God? Also, what would be *the rarest* of all XTC vinyl? ****************************** Tom (*what's that funny little sound on that record?) Kingston *free warbles to whoever gets that trivia reference! "There's no such thing as legacies. At least, there is a legacy, but I'll never see it." -GWB
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 20:58:27 -0800 From: Ian <garp1@earthlink.net> Subject: Wasp Star, yes!! Message-ID: <01C0A292.75F9BD40.garp1@earthlink.net> First, great discussions going on in these mails. Being a long-time, though poor of knowledge (so any help in learning more about Andy's other band names (Rip Van Ruben? I know of Dukes of course), fan, I really have to say that Wasp Star is one of the best LPs off all times. Ten times better than Volume One. I mean I love Stupidly Happy and especially Standing in for Joe. But these are my opinions and I'm sure others will dispute. So it goes.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2001 05:36:24 From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com> Subject: Brave Sir Robin ... Message-ID: <F88CGvseE4D3MBhe3WY0000e9cb@hotmail.com> Recent events in the US courts provide and interesting post-script to our voracious Napster debate of yore. How mightily I chuckled. How far and fast they travelled as our digital Knights In Shining Karma bravely ran away. With what alacrity did they Assume The Position and spread 'em wide for Messrs Bertlesmann, Sony and Universal. The instant the courts agree with the majors and threaten to put our Virtual Robin Hoods out of business, they rolleth over and squealeth like ye olde stucke piggies. And what's more - they now claim that they can present the world with software that will miraculously put the MP3 genie back in its bottle (as if ...) AND guarantee a river of gold to recompense the aggrieved labels and publishers for all that hurt and upset and lost income. Laugh? I nearly did. I wonder what that pompous windbag from the Washington Post had to say now? Yours in righteousness Dunks
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2001 09:08:05 +0000 From: John Peacock <johndrewp@zoo.co.uk> Subject: Re: Blegvad Message-ID: <3A9F62F4.7D0B9D5B@zoo.co.uk> Organization: The Nice Organization > Mark Fisher he say: > > There's a new Peter Blegvad album imminently out At last - this was supposed to be out last October... I according to Gary Davis at http://www.artist-shop.com it's due out in March, so we'll see. > It's Blegvad covering his own songs, On an interview sort of thing PB did on the Charlie Gillett London Live show last year, it's all the songs that people ask him about that are on albums that have been deleted - which would be mainly King Strut and Naked Shakespeare, I suppose, since he did the archaology on Knights Like This a couple of albums ago. The downside is that this is sort of an admission that the King Strut album is unlikely to be rereleased, which is a shame, because it has some of his best stuff on it, some of which isn't going to make it onto here (Chicken, for example, or Real Slap in the Face) > But two of them are 'God Detector' and 'Inside A Gigantic Eye' Ooh goodie. Dead excited now. Here I am, deciding to stop spending, and there's a new Blegvad, a new Tortoise, a new Divine Comedy and the Theusz Haamtaak trilogy together at last on one CD set, as well as my finding a groovy little experimental electronic/world label I want to patronise. Life, eh? > King Strut (which I always think of as a precursor to The Ballad of Peter > Pumpkinhead - anyone agree?) I agree. Oh yes. > Everyone should also own a copy of Blegvad's cartoon book The Book of > Leviathan, by the way. This is true. To find out what you are missing: http://www.leviathan.co.uk/ John NP: Dhanak by Ashok Khosla Cheesy pakistani Ghazal at it's best. -- Obligatory self-promotion thing: http://website.lineone.net/~grangousier/home.html http://www.mp3.com/peacock
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 13:24:25 -0000 From: "Richard Hall" <rkhall@cableinet.co.uk> Subject: Andy Partridge interview. Message-ID: <00a001c0a31c$1d8c0020$12e030d5@tinypc> Hi all, I'm fairly new to the list, but not to XTC. I can remember buying the 3DEP soon after it hit the shops many years ago.... Anyway, enough oneupmanship, more important things to discuss. Recently found, lurking in a box after moving home, a cassette recording of an Andy Interview from the time of Oranges & Lemons, broadcast early 1989. It lasts for about 45 mins including songs, probably half if they're edited out. Is anyone interested in copies? I can do CDs or Minidiscs, or I could consider posting them somewhere as MP3s, though this takes a while as I'm modem bound. If anyone wants copies, I'll welcome any interesting swaps. Richard
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 14:20:34 -0000
From: "Richard Hall" <rkhall@cableinet.co.uk>
Subject: Ollie Halsall
Message-ID: <00ab01c0a323$f3150dc0$12e030d5@tinypc>
Hi all
Nothing for ages the two posts. I've definitely stopped lurking.
Re the man above. I haven't got any Patto, but I've got the Timebox
compilation(now deleted), which they were before they became Patto (does
that make sense?) Recommended in a eccentric sixties kind of way. He also
did Guitars, Vocals & Keyboards on The Rutles Fab first album. If you
haven't heard that, you must. Immediately. Think Dukes do Beatles and you're
there.
As previously, anyone want copies? swaps welcome
Richard
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 08:52:47 -0600 From: Jason Phelan <jphelan@ICGCopyright.com> Subject: Whoah, there partner Message-ID: <CBE4754489E8D211816000500416EAE00E7143@w162.z064002150.bna-tn.dsl.cnc.net> Now, I never said nuthin' about no leavin them there 'Hills! I was just having a lil' ol' fun with my feelings about the state of the posts. Some tee-heed, sume guffawed, some were shocked....and some were awed. Some couldn't give a crap. Some thought I was REALLY SERIOUS about Limp Bizkit ( and THAT my friends, gets 2 squeaks, cuz it's the funniest of them all! ) But rest assured, I am not leaving. And I am not only NOT leaving, I am posting every time, until the cat who said "I never heard of him" curses my name to the heavens everynight before he goes to his beddy-bye. I am going to be more obnoxious than TROUT if that is humanly possible. But, throw me a bone here people, ya gots to admit, despite the naughty words, those parodies were FUNNY! Andy would laugh. He would. Ask Mitch Friedman, or Simon. In fact, anything scatalogical is prime comedy for Andy (must have a little bit of French in him). Doesn't anybody remember LAHF-TAH? Flame on - I'm Gone (is a line from the Beastie Boys....it does not mean I am leaving), THE SKYLAR KING
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 08:35:54 -0600
From: "Wiencek, Dan" <Dan_Wiencek@mcgraw-hill.com>
Subject: Nonsuch nonsense
Message-ID: <200103021433.f22EXfx188574@els.sgi.com>
Rook
> suffers a bit from weak lyrics and vocals.
Hah? I'll grant you that Andy's vocals are a bit pinched (he needs to relax
a bit or something), but this is simply one of the best lyrics Andy (and,
therefore, just about anyone else) has ever written. The couplet that opens
the first bridge ("Soar up high .../Break the code ...") darn near makes me
weep every time.
Humble Daisy just
> doesn't do
> much for me.
Beautiful song. Completely unorthodox--like Andy says in Song Stories, it
moves in suprising ways and each section is a departure from the one before.
Again, one of Andy's very best lyrics.
Same for That Wave.
Think of it as the Dukes with a big budget. I enjoy it in that sense. And
that guitar solo? Gregsy's finest moment (and, excepting the finale of Books
are Burning, his last hurrah on an XTC record).
Omnibus needs some sort of radically
> different arrangement.
But it *is* radically different! That song sounds like nothing else I've
ever heard. That there are people in the world still willing to make a song
sound so cheerful and demented is a cause for celebration. Omnibus is a
great song, and I can't think of a better arrangement for it.
Bungalow comes off as just a silly
> throwaway.
Bungalow took some time to get used to, I will admit. Now I really enjoy the
humor of it; I think most of the negative responses are from those (esp. us
Americans) who don't realize it's supposed to be funny, or why it's funny.
> The Big Express is a great album, whatever anyone says. ;)
> By the way, does anyone else hear "farting" whenever Andy
> sings "far too
> many" in Reign of Blows?
Yes, and yes. :)
Dan W
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 11:21:00 -0500 From: "Michael D. Myers" <mmyers@telcordia.com> Subject: miscellaneous Message-ID: <OF38C2D5B0.C8901E95-ON85256A03.005632ED@cc.telcordia.com> Chalksters and Chalkettes; Just a few quick thoughts: - 'Honest' Dave wrote: > I read quite a few of the interviews with Andy on the Chalkhills website > (is he a splendid interviewee or what!!) and he seemed to rate tracks off > Nonsuch highly. It was with some expectation that I listened properly to > the album this weekend. Have to say 'The Disappointed' was an apt title. > He doesn't write trash - but these songs don't have any oomph to me. Or > real emotional weight. The artist is so often not the best judge of their > own material. Well, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but "no real emotional weight"? Did you know that these were songs that Andy wrote while struggling with marital issues as well as a semi life crisis because he found himself unable to write for a spell? It also sounds like you might not be the biggest XTC fan in the world, since you don't sound familiar with the material. Do you think that you shouldn't judge a 9-year-old album after one listening and then make your thoughts public? Perhaps you should wait a few weeks and go back for another peek. While it's not their best work, I think there's a lot of meat on them thar bones......... - Sylvan replied:: >Rook suffers a bit from weak lyrics and vocals. Humble Daisy just doesn't do >much for me. Same for That Wave. The story of "Rook" is well-known (after a long period of being unable to write, Andy placing his hands on the keyboard and the strange chords that make up the song resulted, as if from some other source), so for me, the eerie, doomed mindset of the narrator as well as the melody makes this a first-rate song, however gloomy. "Humble Daisy" is just OK, but have you listened to the guitar solo in "That Wave"? This is one of the best-produced songs in the group's canon, IMO. The treated voices, the wash of instrumentation that batters the singer as if it were a spray of wind and water, and to top it all off, one of my top 10 guitar solos of all time? I invite you to listen again, and think of how the guitar fulfills the intent of the lyrics as Dave makes his instrument dive and soar in a perfectly timed masterpiece. I guess you could say I disagree.......... Dunks asked: >"california tumbles in to the sea, >that'll be the day i go back to annandale..." >Where is Annandale exactly? I assume it's somewhere on the US east coast, >near where DF and WB went to uni? The main reason I ask is that there is >actually an inner-city suburb of Sydney called Annandale. Now I don't >actually think they're referring to THAT Annandale, but stranger things have >happened ... such as in "Black Friday": I grew up in northern New Jersey (about 20 miles west of NYC). Donald Fagen grew up in Passaic, NJ, just a few miles away and a couple of years ahead of me. To answer your question, my money is on Annandale, NJ, USA, which is located in Northwest NJ, right between Clinton, NJ, and Lebanon, NJ. It's a picturesque little burg, but not much is going on there. Both Steely Dan guys went to college (Bard) in New York state, so Annandale is much closer to Fagen's home town than to his university location. See ya, Mike
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 15:46:59 EST From: WTDK@aol.com Subject: Yes, it's Top of the Pops Message-ID: <50.12232c9a.27d160c3@aol.com> > Yahoo gets their information from a company called Muze. How many > factual errors can YOU spot? Starting with AP's birthplace listed as > Swindon, the "high-quality songwriting" of "Sgt. Rock" (ok, that might > be subjective), and this gem: "After finally showing a profit the band > decided to move from Virgin in 1996 and signed with Cooking Vinyl > Records in late 1997." > > It's really a glowing piece -- XTC are wonderful songwriters that never got > their due -- but come on! I could have written a better piece than they did. I've noticed similar errors for the All Music Guide both online and in print. Now, granted, they cover an awful lot of musicians at the site so some errors are bound to creep in. I just never see them corrected. Re: The Wasp Star debate I still like the album. Yes, it's not their very best but it has its moments. I view it as the bastard child of the bubblegum project as at least one tune there would have ended up on that album. This is probably about as close as they'll get to putting together that project. If looked at as a double album (as was the original intention) it suffers from many of the same flaws as all double albums--too much marginal material. I love the best moments on ES but have felt the same way about it ever since I picked it up on the Epic label as a single disc. When I finally heard the import ( a year or so later) with all the songs I didn't agree with eliminating some of the tracks but most of the weaker material didn't make the final cut. Sometimes it's best to have an editor to help give perspective (that's where Rundgren, Lilywhite and Lord came in handy). I'm waiting for Virgin to release their cash in on the Beatles 1 album for the US market. No No. 1's by Xtc and the song selections would be.... By the way Caviar by Kevin Gilbert is being geared for release sometime this year. I found out that the Kevin Gilbert Performs songs by Toy Matinee Live has been postponed indefinitely. This is probably due to Pat Leonard's re-release of Toy Matinee on CD. Anyone else here a Emmylou Harris fan? I found Red Dirt Girl to be one of the finest albums from last year. Wayne
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 13:02:59 -0800 (PST) From: Alex Stein <arctic_moose@yahoo.com> Subject: Annandale Message-ID: <20010302210259.54348.qmail@web11606.mail.yahoo.com> Duncan Kimball asked: <<Where is Annandale exactly? I assume it's somewhere on the US east coast, near where DF and WB went to uni?>> The Annandale in question is Annandale-on-Hudson, north of New York City and home to Bard College, where Becker and Fagen both went in the late 60s. Bard was founded as a non-traditional college emphasizing individual expression and growth over such mundane things as... um... grades and attending classes. I'm pretty sure that both Becker and Fagen were tossed out of college (I guess too much individual expression doesn't cut it even at Bard). By the way, the song "My Old School" also discusses taking the "wolverine" back to Annandale, which I think was a late-night train that went north from New York. Alex
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 13:17:11 -0800 (PST)
From: John Relph <relph@engr.sgi.com>
Subject: The Zither Project
Message-ID: <200103022117.NAA41204@mando.engr.sgi.com>
Folks,
A number of people have been asking about the so-called Bubblegum
album. So I put an answer in the FAQ (Answers to Frequently Asked
Questions), which reads:
--- http://chalkhills.org/FAQ.html#q40 ---
40. What happened to the proposed "bubblegum" album?
Karen O'Brien did an interview with Andy Partridge for _The Independent on
Sunday_, published on September 6, 1998:
[In 1993] Partridge had presented a new project, songs he had
written as homage to the bubblegum-pop bands of the late Sixties to
early Seventies. He felt the idea was blissfully simple: "I wanted
Virgin to say that they'd bought this entire back-catalogue from
this imaginary label called Zither. They said, 'So you go on Top of
the Pops and play one of these songs?' I said, 'No, this is a fake
historical document!' So they said, 'Okay, we get a young band and
dress them up in early Seventies clothes?' I said 'No, no!' They
just didn't get it." Cue much shaking of pony-tailed heads.
The Zither project was to have been "nicely banal, pitched around 1970, a
dozen tracks about sex. . ." Three of the songs have been released in one
form or another. "Cherry In Your Tree" (originally intended to be performed
by "The Captain Cooks") was released on the children's album _Carmen
Sandiego Out Of This World_ in April 1994. "Candy Mine" was released on a
single Andy Partridge did for John Flansburgh's Hello CD of the Month Club
in November 1994. "Standing In For Joe", released on _Wasp Star (Apple Venus
Volume 2)_, was originally intended for the bubblegum album. And one of the
fictional band names intended for the project, Knights In Shining Karma, was
used as the title of a song released on _Apple Venus Volume 1_.
Some of the other fictional bands to have been recorded for the project
include the following:
The Lemon Dukes
Knights in Shining Karma
The Captain Cooks
Sopwith Caramel
The Ten Commandos
The Twelve Flavours of Hercules
Solid Gondolas
The Barbers of Penzance
Anonymous Bosch
The Brighton Peers
The Tweedledeens
The Herbert Fountains
Irving Merlin
The Lollipopes
The Four Posters
The Periwig Pack
Cake's Progress
Jellyache
Funnel Of Love
The Rubber Ducks
Ancient Grease
The Piccadilly Circus Tent Rip Repair Company
Kitchener's Sink
Isambard Kingdom Necessary On A Bicycle?
Some of the songs to have been included on the project include the
following:
Lolly Let's Suck It And See
My Red Aeroplane
Cherry in Your Tree
Candy Mine
Jelly Baby
Standing In For Joe
I'm The Kaiser
Visit to the Doctor
Cave Girl
All Aboard for Bubble Land
--- end of excerpt ---
Are there recordings of any of these demos (besides the three released
songs)?
-- John
NP: Elliot Smith - Figure 8
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 17:12:22 -0500 (EST) From: Jessica Gluckman <frippy@shellyeah.org> Subject: Mummer Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.21.0103020938350.2930-100000@zippy.shellyeah.org> Dewi Thompson wrote: > Listening to Mummer at the moment. I can't say Gold does a lot for > me. And does anyone like Procession Towards Learning Land? It sounds > too much like an outtake from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway for my > liking. As I'm a newcomer, I'm interested if Mummer is generally > rated as one of the best albums, or somewhere down the list? Well, I can't speak for the entire XTC-listening population, but, I know that of my 11 XTC cds (and yes I'm aware that is a pathetically small XTC collection), Mummer is my 11th-favorite, although it should be known that my 11th-favorite XTC album is a lot better than, say, my first-favorite Ace of Base album (no offense meant for you Ace of Base fans). I think however there is a general consensus, at least judging from interviews and fans, that Mummer is sort of a transitional album between the live performance phase (a la English Settlement) and the studio-only phase (like The Big Express). And as anyone who's read a detailed discography knows, "transitional" is one of the words you say when you can't honestly say something glowing, but don't want to say anything mean. By the way, what do you call an XTC fan? No, that's not a joke, I'm just wondering if anyone's coined a term for an XTC fan. frippy -- www.mentalsewage.com
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 14:35:25 -0800 (PST) From: John Relph <relph@engr.sgi.com> Subject: Space Patrol Message-ID: <200103022235.OAA43835@mando.engr.sgi.com> Hey folks, I was doing some surfing, as one does, and I came across this page: http://www.users.bigpond.com/BASE_KOALA/Space.Patrol/SPMerchguide.htm Apparently "Space Patrol Volume 2" includes a bonus interview with none other than XTC's Andy Partridge! Does anybody out there in Chalkhillsland own a copy of this video? Can you corroborate this sighting? Enquiring minds want to know! -- John NP: David Mead - The Luxury of Time
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 15:09:21 -0800 From: "Kerry Chicoine" <KChicoine@whitehat.com> Subject: RE: xTc Homage Message-ID: <000201c0a36d$d0b10a00$491a75ce@mailorder.com> Should any of you be so inclined, I've written what might be termed an "xTc-meets-the-5th-Dimension" song called 'Coming Down Rain' available at MP3.com (follow link below). It reminds me a bit of English Settlement-era xTc, FWIW. Unabashedly lo-fi! Home recorded! Comments, criticisms, etc. are appreciated. Enjoy! Kerry Kompost http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/15/kompost.html
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 10:48:38 -0600 From: "Josh Scott" <joshdscott@pop.mpls.uswest.net> Subject: Andy's stage fright dilemma Message-ID: <3AA12066.89243C56@pop.mpls.qwest.net> I have not read much on Andy's stage fright. All I've heard is he started getting it in the early 80s and hasn't toured since. Does anyone know whether he has saught professional help to overcome it? And if he has, is there any hope for us XTC fans who came on board a little too late for the live performances? josh
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 12:24:46 EST From: IraHome@aol.com Subject: Cream Book Message-ID: <b9.bef6fd1.27d282de@aol.com> I apologize if this has been mentioned before... Dave Gregory is given a credit on the back flap of the book "Cream" by Chris Welch (copyright 2000) for having written the "profile of Eric Clapton." --Ira : )
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 11:41:11 -0600 From: Chris Vreeland <CVREELAND@austin.rr.com> Subject: A Place in the Pantheon Message-ID: <a05010403b6c6d100b1a6@[66.68.94.144]> Fellow Critics, A question: Almost a year after the fact, now that all the ardor about Wasp Star has settled down, in everyone's opinion, where has it settled amongst the pantheon of xTc albums? The initial rush to judgement last spring found people in two camps: Either; "Blechh! I hate it! I'm unsubscribing, my faith is shaken to the core!" Or: "Omigod! I'm dancing! I'm dancing! Bliss and sweet manna fill the air!" Has everyone mellowed a bit? More importantly, Has Wasp Star? For me, XtC albums fall into three categories: (WARNING! OPINION TO FOLLOW!) 1. Truly indispensable, genre defining masterpieces, English Settlement Skylarking Apple Venus vol.1 2. Second tier great works, Drums and Wires Black Sea Dukes of Stratosphere Oranges and Lemons Nonsuch 3. Slightly flawed, or "transitional" works. White Music Go2 Mummer Big Express Of course my criteria is subjective and undefinable, so please don't take me to task over a matter of opinion. My question is simply, where amongst those three categories does Wasp Star belong? (or invent your own category) For me, I find it sort of straddling categories 2 and 3. The focus of WS musically is something I've longed for since ES, namely, long stretches of time uninterrupted by anything other than Guitar, Bass and Drums! However, I think the quality of the songs is uneven, and the theme not clearly defined. Colin Moulding could really use a dose of inspiration, and Wounded Horse didn't stand the test of time, although I liked it at first. On the upside, the album has the strongest closing stretch, and The Wheel and the Maypole is perhaps one of the best two or three songs Andy Partridge has ever written, and leaves the album on an amazingly up note, when most of their albums close with a real down song, emotionally. I'm not complaining. I thing it's a pretty good album XTc wise, but not amongst their finest. That's my two cents, how does everyone else feel? Chris
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 04 Mar 2001 04:23:52 -0800 From: Randy Hiatt <rhiatt@gte.net> Subject: need 126 color cartridge film Message-ID: <3AA233D8.29FB00C6@gte.net> Any leads would be great. My Kirlian camera runs on this film type, it was discontinued and I'm looking for old stock (it must exist somewhere). Help! am bidding at eBay now for a few (2) rolls... wish me luck! Randy rhiatt@gte.net
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #7-12 ******************************
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