Chalkhills Digest Volume 7, Issue 28
Date: Monday, 23 April 2001
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 7, Number 28
Monday, 23 April 2001
Topics:
Andy, Andy, George & Ringo
Japanese re-releases
Cheap and Cheerful
This World Over on Transistor Blast
Have GEEEETAR, Ready to Ride,
Re: Kingstunes responds! Ahhhhhh!
BIG DAY!!!
Musings on matters musical
Homegrown Comments
JJ & ADD
The Pitsville press won't be there
Hey!
We all shine on!
Viva Colin!
damn!! lost another good one! :-(
DTS Testimonial Dinner ?
If only.
Electronic Music: correction
Kudos to Silver Moon & Mr. Greenman
Re: It was twenty years ago today...
flying this world over
Ooops again!
May The Schwartz Be With You
XTC @ Armadillo World Headquarters
Original Paper Sleeve Collection
Fab Four In Philly
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 02:08:15 EDT From: KINGSTUNES@aol.com Subject: Andy, Andy, George & Ringo Message-ID: <64.d2fa014.280fdacf@aol.com> Ah, Mr. Sherwood, always a distinctive pleasure! >Ahem. >One suspects Mr. Kingston's puckish sense of humor may have gotten the >better of him there. I'm sure no insult was intended. Drude, believe me, nothing personal intended. But nuthin' gets me Irish up for a fight than dissing the almighty fabs! Yes, my toungue was quite firmly in my cheek, but thumtimeth it getth in the way of my verbioth rethpontheth! (Ouch!) Harrison, extraordinary post on the melodic aspects. Under my nose all these years, but never articulated. Thank you! Looks like I'm overdue for a reading of MacDonald's book. Regarding Partridge: >Like McCartney, Partridge is "drawn to music's formal aspects," and he too >produces "technically 'finished' work almost entirely on instinct," but the >advantage he has over his predecessor is that he has McCartney's own >negative example --he's seen the dangers of self-indulgence, of divorcing >style from meaning, of becoming "entranced with his own fluency," and >avoided it. The end result has been a career dedicated to formalistic >adventures, of trying on this or that musical hat in much the same manner >as McCartney--without the fatal lack of self-discipline that mars >McCartney's output. Excellent point. But I would temper this with the consideration that it's true *hen* he is indulging in the Macca muse (which is often, lately, I admit). There's a great deal about Andy that's unique and not totally comparable to the Beatles. Although I'll be the first in line to say that XTC are among the true heirs of Lennon / McCartney's legacy. What's interesting about Andy in comparing him to the Beatles I find is that formally he emulates McCartney, as you've pointed out, but tries to merge with Lennonesque qualities in the same tune. Knights In Shining Armor, while on the surface seems rather Macca drenched a la Blackbird, is supported by his attempt at a Lennon style Travis-pick (that Lennon acquired from Donovan during the Beatles visit with the Maharishi in '68) and unusual chording, which comes off a lot like Julia. As if Andy were conciously trying to merge the two. >Maybe this is why "Wounded Horse" holds so little appeal for me: Lots of >folks have commented that it reminds them of a Plastic Ono Band number... Funny, my first thought when I heard Wounded Horse was how Macca it sounded, as in when Paul was trying to sound like John on Let Me Roll It! Ooooh, this is getting strange.... One last couple of thoughts... George didn't really start writing until they started to record. While he brings some of his own style to the table, he was clearly influenced by Paul & John. Who do you think he sounds the most like? Tawk amongst yourselves..... And finally, in full circle fasion, someone was recently trying to compare both Andy & Colin to John & Paul. I don't see this, personally. I see it more like Andy being both Paul and John, and Colin being George (in the songwriting dept.) Let it rip! Academically speaking, Dr. Mellers %-)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 10:37:04 +0200
From: "Clinton, Martin" <martin.clinton@dnb.no>
Subject: Japanese re-releases
Message-ID: <F70DE9BB2D68D311B9030001FA44D3F069AFBF@sm34372.dnb.no>
Hi everyone,
Well Amazon.co.uk have come up trumps! Got the first 5 Japanese re-releases
today (at #10.99 a go), and they look bloomin' marvellous! The sleeves are
exact copies of the originals (English Settlement has the 'textured' look,
while Black Sea comes in the pukey green bag. Indeed the actual sleeves
don't even mention the extra tracks), and are then put inside a nice little
plastic sleeve, along with the Japanese card down the left hand side (which
DOES mention the bonus tracks...in Japanese).
For anyone interested, I phoned a specialist record shop a week or so ago in
the UK called Badlands (11 St George's Place, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,
GL50 3LA, UK. Tel: (01242) 227724/25 Fax : (01242) 227393 or
badlands@theshop.demon.co.uk), who told me that the UK versions' release
date was still not totally decided ('late April or May' was his guess), and
as far as they knew the first UK ones would be in replica LP sleeves at
#10.99 each (!), and that standard Jewel ones would be out some time after
that at around #8 each...however the guy did say getting exact details was
proving tricky.
Well, all that I need to do now is listen to the things!!
All the best
Martin
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 06:37:30 EDT From: JackJacovides@aol.com Subject: Cheap and Cheerful Message-ID: <61.d5fb526.281019ea@aol.com> Hill People Just a short one to let all you European based Chalkies that the very excellent Japanese imports of our favourite albums are available for a knockdown price at http://www.under18.org.uk They are a Jersey based company, hence no VAT and they include P&P. Example, Mummer available on 14 May for only #8.98, as are Big Express, Nonsuch, O&L and Skylarking. Unfortunately for moi (or is that fortunately) I have already got the earlier albums from Amazon.co.uk for about #11.60 each. Currently listening to Drums and Wires and I can recommend these remastered albums to everyone. Not only is the packaging a delight (typically professional Japanese attention to detail) but they sound like completely new albums. I haven't heard Drums as it was meant to be before today, it is absolutely stunning. Enjoy! JJ
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 14:19:57 +0100 From: "Dewi Thompson" <dewi@dewi1.demon.co.uk> Subject: This World Over on Transistor Blast Message-ID: <000501c0c8d5$2820c780$758fe4d4@dewi> Hello, I'm merrily listening to Transistor Blast for the first time, and to these ears Andy's vocals on the TB version sound identical to the one on The Big Express. In fact most of the instrumental track sounds the same although it says in the booklet that the song was recorded for the Bruno Brookes show. Can someone explain what is going on! Sorry if this is an old topic. cheers Dewi
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 11:07:28 -0700 (PDT) From: Jon Rosenberger <wile1coyote@yahoo.com> Subject: Have GEEEETAR, Ready to Ride, Message-ID: <20010419180728.86229.qmail@web13407.mail.yahoo.com> Splitting Heirs eh??? How about sumpin' fo' Uncle Willie! Seth, Seth, Seth (Shaking of Head) Seth, Seth, Seth, why do you say these things, you know my quirkiness won't allow me to let them pass. "and yes it is true that all members of the Soft boys did end up touring throughout the eighties, <snip, snip> while not one member of XTC toured ever again (unless you count Barry of course, which would once again be splitting hairs)... Wrong Again Seth!, Let me tell ya bout the KING of jangly geeetar.... Dave Gregory Toured Japan in 1994 with Martin Newell\Cleaners as well as Germany in 1995. He toured the USA\UK with Aimee Mann in 1993 including a concert in New York where Andy P. was present and Aimee and Dave dragged him onstage for a version of the Dukes "Collideascope". He toured with Steve Hogarth and the "h" band in 1997, last fall they screamed "genius" at two shows in London at Dingwalls and another in Utrecht, Netherlands, this was after they played the Festival of Hope in Switzerland last spring. More H band shows are planned for Italy this year. ["H" Band RAWKS! IMO!!!] Not really touring per se but he also played at the Kosovo Aid Concert in Swindon in 1999 with wait for it...Barry Andrews, among others. As well as a show he did early this year in London with Louis Phillipe. So basically what I am saying is the guy gets around. Mole PS: And no Wes I don't count the BBC "Books are burning" thing in 1992. I refuse to believe it exists, it is simply a phantasm, prove me wrong and send me a copy. ;) PPS: Terry Chambers after emigrating to Australia toured with both "Dragon" and "Icehouse". (who also (sans Terry) cut a mean version of "Complicated Game") The "Dragon" thing included a swing through the states I think? Anyone have more info or details? Culnane where are you? You'll know. ;) Speaking of which I haven't seen any parcels from D.U. yet? Not lost I hope!
------------------------------
Date: 19 Apr 2001 14:50:12 -0400
From: Dan Schmidt <dfan@harmonixmusic.com>
Subject: Re: Kingstunes responds! Ahhhhhh!
Message-ID: <wklmowu3kr.fsf@turangalila.harmonixmusic.com>
Organization: Harmonix Musick Systems
Joe Hartley <jh@brainiac.com> writes:
| <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> wrote:
|
| > *But* it doesn't start on the chord Db, but on the II chord (the
| > chord based on the second note of the Db major scale), which is Eb
| > minor. Now, the *normal* thing to do (for reasons I won't get
| > into here) would be a II-V-I progression (Eb minor, Ab7, then Db
| > major). But *instead* of playing the V chord (Ab7), he plays D
| > major, which has no relation at all to the key!
This isn't as crazy as one might think; it's a perfect example of a
standard jazz technique called tritone substitution.
| > Now the really *cool* part is that the second time the D comes
| > around again ("and I *found* that love is more), he blows off the
| > key of Db which he started on, and uses a transitory chord in Db,
| > a chromatic substitution, no less, (the D major) as the root chord
| > of the new key, D major! Em (which comes next) is the II chord
| > and A7 is the five chord of the key of D, which becomes the key of
| > the rest of the song! The D is a pivot chord form the old key to
| > the new (a half step higher), and a devilishly clever one at that!
|
| Again, I think music theorists at the time cringed over this! It's
| not intuitive at all from a theory standpont.
Music theorists at the time probably said "Neat use of IIb as a pivot
chord; that's a nice modulation, if a bit abrupt."
Both of these moments are really nice, and excellently crafted, but
they don't come out of nowhere from a music theory standpoint.
I do agree that Lennon wasn't thinking in theory terms at all, and
that he just had an intuitive feel for what would work. And that's as
it should be.
--
http://www.dfan.org
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 14:38:31 -0500 From: Parrish_Wilkinson@Dell.com Subject: BIG DAY!!! Message-ID: <2D5C0E3DECEBD411A15100A0C96B756ED55CE4@ausxmrr804.us.dell.com> he steps out from behind the velvet curtain... Congratulations Dan! It's your BIG DAY! scurrows back behind the scenes... -Parrish
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 16:29:31 -0400
From: "Todd Bernhardt" <todd.bernhardt@enterworks.com>
Subject: Musings on matters musical
Message-ID: <3ADF4AAB.6BCB451C@enterworks.com>
Organization: Enterworks, Inc.
Hi:
Martin M pointed out:
> b) my humble little Dukes site, under the heading "What in the World??...",
> which contains a detailed assessment.
> http://www.coastnet.com/~monkman/dukeweb/dukewhat.htm
> Comments are always welcomed.
Here's one: It's a great site, and a wonderful addition to the XTC
resources on the Web. Now, let's eat some music, shall we?
Al LaCarte said:
> Ayn Rand made some good points in her books, but what
> the hell could she have said about The Beatles?
"Oh! They're so *cute*!!!"
>From Jim Smart:
> I'd like to add that the thing that has killed a lot of feeling in music
> is the click track. This is when you base your recording on a computer
> click. It keeps you from changing the tempo. But in the "old days", there
> was no click, and the musicians had to do it live, eyeball to eyeball, and
> just stay together and give a tight performance.
Well, yes and no. A click track should be a tool, just as others have
correctly pointed out about computers and music in general. A good
drummer should be able to use a click merely as a reference, pushing and
pulling the tempo forward or back when needed. The click should not
control the drummer; when it does, the time can feel stiff.
I like using clicks. When I'm on the click, it "disappears" (that is, I
don't hear it anymore), and it isn't a distraction. But when I do want
to speed up or slow down the tempo a bit, the click's always there to
ground me and remind me what the original tempo was. It also does help
with punch-ins and editing down the line.
That said, I don't like the other musicians in bands I'm in to play with
the click. I like to record to it first (usually other musicians are
involved, providing scratch guitar, vocals, etc.), and then, when they
track their parts, I want them listening only to me, to ensure a human
feel. That way, even though we may record our parts separately, we're
playing together.
Or it could be a control thing. I dunno.
Eddy the K said:
> Liked Harrison's observation regarding Andy showing a strong Paul influence,
> but with the example of his mistakes to avoid. I think "Skylarking" was the
> first XTC album to make me go "why isn't McCartney doing McCartney songs as
> good as this lately?" ("Ballet for a Rainy Day" in this case).
"You're the Wish You Are I Had" is the first song I heard by Andy where
I consciously thought he was sleeping with Macca's muse. Looking back, I
realized that he'd been doing Her for some time, but that was the first
time I sat up and took notice.
And, finally, from Tommy the K:
> The easiest way to explain it to non musicians is this. All music is built
> on scales, or sequences of notes that repeat as they go higher. Each scale
> has 7 notes, the 8th being the repeat of the 1st.
Pedant alert:
Each *diatonic* scale has seven notes in the octave, while each
chromatic scale has 12 tones. There are many others out there ... don't
be so West-centric, man!
Just busting yer chops, geetar dood ... nice post.
-Todd
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 17:39:42 -0400 From: "Tim Kendrick" <tim63@earthlink.net> Subject: Homegrown Comments Message-ID: <002d01c0c919$3f693a00$8f19113f@tim63> Hi everyone! Just a few comments about HOMEGROWN. HOMEGROWN SPOILERS - PAGE DOWN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW!!!!!!!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It's great! (Duh!) The best things on it are the very early demos. I kind of wish there were more of them included and less of the later demos (which sound too close to the finished product to be interesting). The demo for "Everything Decays" is my favorite. As someone else said, it's much slower - but it's also very moody and emotional I think. It would have been a very different but wonderful song on it's own, without being joined at the hip to "The Pot Won't Hold Our Love" (which is not as good on it's own and was rightly put away until a better use was found for it). There are 2 different versions of "In Another Life" - the first version sounds like what we got, but with different lyrics. The second version has the lyrics we know, but a different sound! Very interesting!!! There are also 3 versions of "The Man Who Murdered Love". The first 2 sound nothing like the final version, nor nothing like each other. It's basically 3 different songs but with the same title and same idea behind them. Overall I think it's a great treat for fans. The booklet is informative and funny. And having "Didn't Hurt A Bit" and "Bumper Cars" added on is a great bonus. Well worth the money spent!!!!!! Tim K.
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 18:37:12 -0400 From: Sylvan Migdal <psiogen@mindspring.com> Subject: JJ & ADD Message-ID: <B704E0D7.952%psiogen@mindspring.com> on 4/19/01 1:02 PM, <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> at <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> wrote: "Hello I must be going (but before I do I'll give a good plug to [...] Josh Joplin's Useful Music)." I second that! I just saw him opening for They Might Be Giants, and after his set they tossed a few promo copies of Useful Music into the audience. Needless to say, I caught one, and it's very good. <><><><><><><><> on 4/19/01 1:02 PM, someone wrote: >> On Tuesday April 16,2001 The XTC 'Black Sea Box Set' >> comes out. 153 songs! On ONE CD! British Sterling #10.99! >> Now *that's* what I call 'value'! > > Yeah, but it's only one CD... which means that each song is only about > 29 seconds long! Apparently a release for the XTC fan with ADD... -- Sylvan "Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." --Terry Pratchett
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 19:35:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Ryan Anthony <hamsterranch@yahoo.com> Subject: The Pitsville press won't be there Message-ID: <20010420023543.47055.qmail@web10103.mail.yahoo.com> In Digest 27 in the Year of Our Chalkhills, 7, Gary Nicholson announced that he is directing a reworked and retitled version of Karel (*R.U.R.*) Capek's 1922 satire *Life of the Insects* (first staged in America as *The World We Live In*) at the Chesil Theatre in Winchester, Hants., May 21-26, with music by Tom Waits, Blur, and XTC. He gives this URL: www.hants.gov.uk/leisure/theatres/chesil. He adds: "It's not worth busting a gut to fly over from Pitsville, Arizona to see it; indeed, it may not be worth a whimsical jaunt down the M3 from Basingstoke; but if you're passing ..." Well, gol-dang! The *Pitsville Daily Tumbleweed* (proud voice of northern east-central southwestern Arizona) was going to jet me to Winchester to catch Opening Night, but my editor is taking Mr. Nicholson at his word and keeping me here. Oh, well, it will be nearly as much fun to review whatever the Pitsville High School Drama Club is cooking up to cap the school year. Dear Lord, please let it be anything but *Our Town*. Actually, considering the size of the school, the production is probably going to have to be either *Mark Twain Tonight* or *Swimming to Cambodia*. Ryan Anthony An independent Internet content provider
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 21:37:55 -0500
From: "vee tube" <veetube@hotmail.com>
Subject: Hey!
Message-ID: <F28m9lHiu3fQtYdVzDp00007ba1@hotmail.com>
Where the hell did the H (Olde German) flat
minor w/diminished 9th plus augmented 13th go?
(Mel Bay, are you listening?)
Anyone wanna' join the HbMin/Dim9+13 club?
(we wear green tights)
We meet on the #7-b8th every four years in
Florida to vote for Pat Buchanan and bitch
about Butterflies!
}---:)
XTC CONTENT: WATCH THIS SPACE!
SkatingOnPuddingIsLikeDancingAboutJell-O!OUT!
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 23:14:11 EDT From: KINGSTUNES@aol.com Subject: We all shine on! Message-ID: <16.b8c31a6.28110383@aol.com> >The Beatles often tuned their guitars down a half step. The Beatles never, never, never ever tuned their guitars down a half step. Besides, they'd have been nuts to try something like that during the touring days, when they were doing 20 minute concerts in halls full of screaming kids. Paul tuned his acoustic down a whole step for Yesterday. I have picked out every song they've done (even the piano ones, I play keyboards too). There is not *one* song on *any* of their albums other than Yesterday with a fully detuned guitar. Everything is concert pitch, exept when they used a capo. Cold, hard, fact. I have a video of them playing it live. John starts on an Eb minor, five string bar, 6th fret. >"If I Fell" is an example to me of a song that probably started as a >few noodling strums on a guitar and acted as a springboard for more >ideas. Nice try, but no cigar. I repeat, the Beatles were a cover band for years before they started writing. Have a listen to the Hamburg shows and the Decca Audition tapes, please. Both John and Paul had played hundreds of songs, and were totally familiar with chord progressions and song structures. The *knew* what a II-V-I progression was, even if they didn't call it that. It was a standard turnaround, fer chrissakes! Yes, he was noodling, but with II-V-I progressions. He knew he was skipping the Ab7 by playing the D. No aimless noodling, sorry. >The "odd" Ebm/D/Db sequence makes a lot of sense to a guitar player. The >chords are either the A or Am fingering on the 6th, 5th and 4th frets, >respectively. It's something that someone writing from a music theory >background might never come up with, but someone strumming a few chords >and descending a fret at a time down the neck could hear something worth >developing fairly quickly. You're paying absolutely no attention to what I'm showing here. This is not all about descending chromatics. This is about overlapping II-V-I progressions with a chromatic pivot. The D. He knew this. I bet if we could ask Paul or Geroge Martin,they'd confirm. The fact that he went to Em then A7 proves it. Again, as I'm repeating ad infinitum, Joh was familiar with the patterns he was playing with because he'd been playing cover songs with them for years. John and Paul had been playing together for *six* years when they signed with EMI! And don't get me started on the rediculous notion that only untrained composers would be somehow free of creative constraints by not knowing the nuts and bolts of their trade. Tell it to Bach, buddy. Theory only explains, not constrains! John was breaking the rules, and he knew it. >Again, I think music theorists at the time cringed over this! It's >not intuitive at all from a theory standpont. To me, it's a great example >of John's innate musical instinct. I'll bet that he hadn't a clue >about the theory of this, but just knew how to put the chords together >to get the feel for what he wanted. Wrong again, the theorists loved what he was doing! He poked fun at them for praising it. As far as his instinct, that's exactly what I said. Besides, whether you realize it or not, you've contridicted yourself. If he knew how to put the chords together, he knew the theory. He knew it empirically, he was just fairly musically illiterate. No, maybe he couldn't tell you that he was playing a II-V-I, but he knew the progression anyway. He had played tons of other people's music, and knew the patterns. When he started to write, he started playing around with them. >They're both songs that go beyond the "guitar combo" but John's is more >experimental, more of an oddball when dissected theoretically. Paul's >song is a much more theoretically "correct" composition. Oy! Both of them 'broke the rules'. Paul had a more formal sense (see Harrison's post), but he was quite capable of surprises. You failed to point out how Penny Lane modulates downward a whole step for the chorus while the melody rises. Feel? I don't think so. Clever inspiration is more like it. He knew what he was doing. Equally, John was capable of straightfoward compostion. You Can't Do That comes to mind. Straight 12 bar blues. BTW, theoretical correctness went out with the coming of the Renaissance. >How to tie this to XTC? I always felt that Andy wrote a lot more by >feel than theory, just like I felt John did. Sorry to possibly bore you >with more of this, but as a person with no musical talent myself, the >process of songwriting fascinates me. I've played guitar myself for 20+ >years, and whatever songs I've learned to play relatively well have come as >a result of sheer repetition; as I say, I lack any talent for playing! >Likewise, the art of songwriting has always eluded me. I've never been able >to "feel" what that next chord should be the way Andy or John have. This is tricky, I don't want to sound elitist or personal here. But if your admitting to a lack of musical talent, how can you make these comments about John's writing? As for John and Andy, well, you answered your own question. They had / have a rare talent, one built on experience and pure gift. I understand what you're trying to get at here, but it's an argument that I am poised to shoot down whenever I can. And not simply to justify the fact that I am a trained musician! I played rock long before I studied theory. If anything, the knowldege opened me up to understanding what was happening. The argument, in a nutshell, is that somehow creativity and proper training are exclusive. There are hundreds of examples of untrained mediocre composers, just as there are countless trained geniuses. Yes, in pop and rock. Ever hear of Joe Jackson? Kevin Gilbert? They were trained. They could talk the "gobbledygook". Didn't stop them, now, did it? I have a friend who is one of the most gifted musicians I know. Plays drums, bass and a little guitar. The man can take a jazz lead on the bass. Plays like Jaco. Amazing ear. But he can't read a note. I tried, at his behest, to teach him basic theory. It was like talking to a brick wall. And I was trying to make it simple enogh a five year old could get it. No one knows how the mind handles these things. Maybe it's dyslexia, I dunno. But being musically illiterate does not keep a talented musician from understanding what to do. Conversely, being musically literate does not squelch creativity. If you're talented, you will shine in either case. And John did shine! My aplogies, folks, for dragging this out here. But I have to fight for the truth. Tom %-)
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 06:14:26 -0000 From: "Ralph Simpson DeMarco" <sawpit@hotmail.com> Subject: Viva Colin! Message-ID: <F54ez1enAqpfkNsjUHQ0000e689@hotmail.com> Dear Affiliated Members: Yes, it has been a long time since I have posted. Responding to Klaus Re: Smartest Monkeys <<What's wrong with that song? It was always my favourite on Nonsuch. If I think it over quickly, for me it is XTC's best song ever (and I've heard them all!), closely followed by "Standing In For Joe". We GOTTA found the "Defenders of Colin" soon.>> OK, well it may not be my favoroite on Nonsuch, I have always liked that song. In fact, I am rather taken aback by all the posts about what songs one would snip from each XTC album. This makes no sense to me. I find it boring and insulting. How about talking about your favorite songs and leave the song attacks to yourselves? I remember defending Wonderland years ago (not to mention Mummer in general). I have always liked Colin's songs and I think they are why XTC are a great band instead of a very good one. Colin's work is the perfect compliment to Andy's. The perfect example of this is Skylarking - the one XTC album that features almost as many Colin songs as Andy. Ralph Simpson DeMarco
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 06:07:53 -0400
From: "Danny Phipps" <phipps@schoollink.net>
Subject: damn!! lost another good one! :-(
Message-ID: <web-7367859@schoollink.net>
joey ramone.....rest in peace!
damn! :-(
/danny phipps
--
"Be the sound of higher love today!"
-- Jon Anderson
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 13:47:27 +0100 From: "Peter Fitzpatrick" <peterfit@MICROSOFT.com> Subject: DTS Testimonial Dinner ? Message-ID: <CFEF634A85B9AD4EB58FD152E849CC3D43C517@dub-msg-02.europe.corp.microsoft.com> What's up with the DTS version of Testimonial Dinner up on Amazon.com ???? Worth ordering ? Peter Fitzpatrick Media Program Manager Xbox & PC Games
------------------------------ Date: 20 Apr 2001 06:08:30 -0700 From: Rodney Griffith <rodneye@inspiracy.com> Subject: If only. Message-ID: <20010420130830.10883.cpmta@c012.sfo.cp.net> Quoted from Rhino Handmade Early Warning Number 33: "If all goes as planned, the next Rhino Handmade release will be a true milestone. The entire recorded works of a fictional record label. All on one compact disc." If only it were Zither! Nonsense prevails, modesty fails. [Elvis Costello]
------------------------------ Date: 20 Apr 2001 12:43:24 CDT From: Mor_Goth <mor_goth@usa.net> Subject: Electronic Music: correction Message-ID: <20010420174324.6261.qmail@nwcst317.netaddress.usa.net> Ahh, I had it pointed out to me by clever friend of mine that the "warble" in the background of "We're All Light" is not actually a computer generated sound. It is made by a "theramin" (sp?)Here's the email he sent me: <snip> Since I'm not subscribed to the list at the moment, I thought I'd e-mail my 2 cents on your electronic music entry. First off, I agree, naturally, that "We're All Light" is one of their best, and that electronics make for a bigger bag of tricks musicians can use. The instrument making the warble on that track, however, is a "Theremin" (I think I spelled it correctly,) which produces notes based on your hand passing through the magnetic field it generates. (Think Zaphod trying to tune his radio by waving his hand at it.) Somewhere I heard it was invented by Nicola Tesla, but that could be one of those random bits of trivia I have floating in my brain which is only a rumor. Steven <snip> Im thinking that this must be the doohiky that Jimmy Page used in the "The Song Remains The Same" movie (I forget which song)Apparantly I should have checked the archived digests as it seems this was covered in Vol 6 #s 146, 150 and 153, there seems to have been some debate as to if it was a real Theremin or a synthesized one. Either way I would point out that it certainly is a sampled and looped effect and so still kind of supports my point. Morgoth
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 17:58:02 EDT From: IMSUNBAKE@aol.com Subject: Kudos to Silver Moon & Mr. Greenman Message-ID: <de.13784c9d.28120aea@aol.com> Sister and Brother 'Hillians - there are many reasons I love this list, and I'll feed your souls and tell you -- IT'S YOU!!! Bear with me for two short paragraphs: Mr. Greenman noted in #7-26, which I received April 16, that Silver Moon (silvermoonmusic.com) had Homegrown ready and available to ship. I placed my order on the 17th, canceled my CD Universe order, which had been on backorder for weeks with no light in sight, and received Homegrown April 20. From Edmond, Oklahoma to Annapolis, Maryland, in 3 days. Yippie! Ain't life grand! Next week's chemo will be interesting with THIS on the headsets! Remember: Lunch or be lunch, dahlings. Annamarie
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 23:10:23 -0400 From: Groove Disques <info@groovedisques.com> Subject: Re: It was twenty years ago today... Message-ID: <4.1.20010420230515.009b7e90@mail.digiweb.com> OMBEAN1@aol.com wrote: >Subject: It was twenty years ago today........ > > Andy Partridge taught the band to play. > April 17, 1981. Emerald City , Cherry Hill , N.J. Oh man, don't remind me. I was a few months short of my 18th birthday, which then would have qualified me as "legal" right over the Ben Franklin Bridge in NJ. I wanted to go to that show, but I was a little chicken about trying to sneak into NJ clubs illegally. A week or two later I won free tickets to another Emerald City show from WMMR. The bouncer didn't even check my ID! It was fun, but the nondescript blues-party bands (John Eddy and the Front Street Runners was one - think sub-J. Geils Band) were no match for what I'd missed. Jim www.groovedisques.com
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 13:09:37 EDT From: Ericpto@aol.com Subject: flying this world over Message-ID: <f7.95b9054.28146a51@aol.com> Hi there fellow Chalkhillians! This is my first post, even though I've been on the list for almost a year, now. The reason I haven't posted is just because I didn't have anything to add to the discussions going on, even though I find them all very interesting. Anyway, now I do have something semi-interesting. I was on a flight from Syracuse, NY to Palm Beach, FL this past week for vacation. While on the flight (US Airways) I was flipping through the complimentary magazine, Attache. In the back it lists all the songs playing on their prerecorded radio stations (for flights which have that, though this flight did not, unfortunately). On the rock 'n' roll "station" was our very own Swindon boys doing Mayor of Simpleton. None of my family cared at all, but I was psyched to see XTC somewhere other than my CD collection or online. So, just thought some of you might find that interesting, and if not... sorry. The Smartest Monkey, Josh Phelan
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 15:50:08 EDT From: KINGSTUNES@aol.com Subject: Ooops again! Message-ID: <fd.53bc458.28148ff0@aol.com> A quick note to say that the chords on the If I Fell example in my Substitutions post came out a little off center in the email translation, and did not line up properly with the words. If you need a correction, contact me offline, although most of you I'm sure will figure it out. Ciao, TK %-)
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001 22:37:53 +0200 From: "Mark Strijbos" <mark.strijbos@hccnet.nl> Subject: May The Schwartz Be With You Message-ID: <200104212027.WAA26778@smtp.hccnet.nl> Dear Chalkers, a very peculiar story crept into these halowed halls: > declared an official religion just by declaring > yourselves to be Jedi, Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, > Powerpuff Girls, Masters of the Universe, or Keepers > of the Holy Hand Grenade on your census forms? It > sounds like an Urban Legend. and guess what ? it is. A recent article on the BBC website @ www.bbc.co.uk mentioned that all of these "religions" would in fact be counted in the category Others. So instead of being officially recognized they wouldn't even show up as Jedi in the statistics. Pity though, innit? i mean, otherwise we could use this too and turn Andy into our God. I'm sure He'd play along unless we insist on nailing Harry to a cross. yours in xtc, Mark Strijbos
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 12:40:00 -0600 From: "Steve Oleson" <Steve.Oleson@oag.state.tx.us> Subject: XTC @ Armadillo World Headquarters Message-ID: <sae422b1.014@smtpgate.oag.state.tx.us> When XTC came to Austin on the O& L tour, Andy said that the first time they came to Austin was with the Police in 1980. I KNEW that wasnt right because I remembered seeing them here during their tour for Drums & Wires. Jill and I both remember seeing them at the Armadillo World Headquarters prior to that. They played with Wazmo Nariz, so I checked out some sites on them trying to get the scoop... there are very few sites for Wazmo... I'm trying to find out when XTC played at the Armadillo World Headquarters. Anybody know????? The Chalkhills archive list has them playing in Austin w/ the Police Nov 11, 1980. Thanks, Steve "Home with the Armadillos" Oleson
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 14:06:18 -0400 From: MinerWerks <dminer@gte.net> Subject: Original Paper Sleeve Collection Message-ID: <a05001900b70a18a224fe@[63.23.190.15]> Wow! I just got a shipment from Siren Disc of the Japanese remasters of Drums & Wires, Black Sea and English Settlement... I paid $18.99 for each, better than most prices I found. Bonus - they shipped all three by priority mail for S&H of only $4.95. I am giddy over these reproductions of the album sleeves. Around the time I made up my Jules Verne's Sketchbook CD last year, I toyed with the idea of replicating the XTC album covers with inserts and trying to coax the best sound I could out of vinyl copies. I got as far as finding at least one copy of each Virgin LP up to Oranges and Lemons. I decided it would take too much effort, plus I wouldn't be able to do anything like the embossing on the cover of English Settlement. Needless to say, I was extremely pleased to see that someone else had a similar idea! Taking these discs out of the plastic bags, I got a sense of what it must have been like to buy these albums brand new. It was great to see the artwork unblemished by dumb "bonus track" banners, and in such great shape. I have to really give a good listen to the music later, but I did listen enough to know it's... well, I am short on adjectives for sound, but the sound is good! I know I'm looking forward to hearing The Big Express remastered, 'cause the current CD is rather awful. Anyway, while I was looking into getting these discs, I noticed that there will be Canadian mini-LP reissues as well. I can realistically save $4-$5 on each disc by going with the Canadian ones, but I wonder if they will come in plastic bags with an extra lyric sheet? I didn't realize how small the print would be on the inserts, so it was nice to have the credits, thanks and lyrics reprinted in a slightly larger format! Oh, and I hope that beyond the 10 albums, we might see more material... like a Psonic Psunspot reproduction with gatefold cover? I want to see some release of XTCs b-side material, of course. Maybe someone will attempt to reproduce some of the original 7" and 12" releases in a set like they did with the Beatles' singles and EPs? = Derek =
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 15:53:15 -0600 From: Kirk.Gill@equifax.com Subject: Fab Four In Philly Message-ID: <OF6FDB7F90.56CDEF84-ON87256A37.00768067@fin.equifax.com> I've just been giving a listen to a recently obtained copy of the "bootleg" Fab Four Live In Philly. REALLY enjoying it, even considering that the packaging has pictures of Barry Andrews and he's listed as a band member while the music itself is pure Black Sea era Swindonians. Lots of great guitar grinding, with a very lively "When You're Near Me" and "There is No Language In Our Lungs" (a personal fave). Now, I went out to Chalkhills and read the short entry on this disc, but I was wondering if anyone has additional information on it. The person I purchased it from assured me that it wasn't a bootleg, and was legal when it was produced, but it's listed amongst the bootlegs on Chalkhills. It's a legit CD, as opposed to a CD-ROM, but the sound isn't stellar, as Chalkhills says, a bit trebly, like something that was broadcast over the radio. Now, I know that many on this list have flamed those who've used Napster to download the Lads (spare me your ire, please, as I'm NOT GUILTY), but I'm wondering about situations like this, where I'm buying something that probably never put any money in the pockets of Andy et. al.. The question is: where do I send my check? k?
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #7-28 ******************************
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