Chalkhills, Number 184

                Tuesday, 12 November 1991
Today's Topics:
               Return of Andy talks to WFMU
                        Re: chords
                           xtc
                  New "unauthorized" CD!
                    Various and Sundry

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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 91 18:01:17 PST
From: John M. Relph <chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org>
Subject: Return of Andy talks to WFMU
Organisation: Chalkhills Anonymous

29 June 1991
WFMU, Uppsala College, East Orange
Jim Price speaks to Andy Partridge
Phone interview, edited for broadcast

Recording courtesy of Woj
Transcribed by John Relph
Part Three

				. . .

WFMU: It must be tough being a songwriter or an artist when you have
critics or DJ's like myself who say, well, this is the Beach Boys,
right?  Or, you did this as a result of hearing this song...

Andy: Some people, I'd say most songwriters, singers, groups --
musicians generally -- feel precious about letting out their
influences like they're being kind of cheap and nasty or thieves, or
they have no ideas of their own.  I have no qualms about letting
people know who has influenced me, who has affected me.  I can see no
point in trying to call it your own thing.  If those people have
influenced me I feel okay about saying, "Yes, that influenced me.  I
felt very moved by that."  Or, "That made me so happy I had to
reproduce it."  Or, "I had to convert it in some way through my own
system."  I have no qualms about that.  It doesn't mean you're a bad
person.  I'm proud to say that music has affected me and I know the
music that has affected me generally, although some things do go in
and I'm not aware of them.  That's another area.

WFMU: In Swindon there's a mural, that was painted on a wall, that had
XTC, Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues, Gilbert O'Sullivan, local
politians and sports figures.

A: A member of Supertramp, Bruce the begging dog.  Yeah, all kinds of...

WFMU: That's been torn down I hear.

A: It was on the side of the end of a row of houses and it was painted
on your standard mural stash.  They find an end of a block and then
they paint it on the big end of the block.  And a local artist --
actually the chap who did one of our album covers, he did all the
background stuff for "Black Sea", you know the Victorian engraving,
the sea stuff behind us -- his name is Ken White and he does murals
all over the place.  He did one of Swindon's contribution to the world
of cheese manufacture as we know it.  We made it on this mural and it
was there for a couple of years and it got redone and touched up.  But
Swindon's a funny town and they can't show their emotions in this town
and they don't like to give anything its due for some reason.  I don't
know why.  And now as of a few months back the mural was painted over
and pebble-bashed or something.  It was just obliterated for some
reason, something to do with damp seeping in the end house.  They
didn't seek to rectify it in any way.  They just covered it over with
this kind of damp-proof stuff and gravel and grit and there you go.
So we've disappeared from posterity in the eyes of the local people.

WFMU: How's your collection of toy soldiers?  Do you still have a
passion for it?

A: It's getting a bit crazy.  I had a letter yesterday.  It's right
here on the desk.  A letter from the curator of The Uniform And Medal
Collection of the Navy Museum, Washington D.C., and it's postmarked
Arlington.  This chap is the curator of this museum and he says he's a
big fan of the band and he saw us on MTV.  I mentioned I collected toy
soldiers and he does too and can he find me any American ones?  I was
really chuffed actually.

WFMU: Manoil?

A: Oh, Manoil, yeah they were great!  They started as the Man-Oil Lamp
Company.  Two Hungarians started up this lamp company and for some
strange reason got into the most bizarrely animated toy soldier
industry.  Just the most weird poses you can imagine.  Like
parachutist landing on his arse, or two soldiers boxing each other, or
a group of men looking out of a shed.  Some really weird poses.

WFMU: I did send you a couple a few years ago.

A: I think you did, yeah.  What are they doing?  Is it the fellow
attached to the gun?

WFMU: Actually one of them is the deep sea diver.

A: That's right, yes, you're right!  And he's got a number on his
chest!

WFMU: Talk about odd poses.  They have an infinite number of poses and
positions.  People in trucks, people carrying wounded, carrying
radios, having lucnh.

A: It's the weird ones I like.  Like doing their laundry, or there's
one of a fellow spooning some soup.  Really bizarre poses.  What do
kids do with them?  When I was a kid I wanted them all charging into
action and screaming.  I didn't want them ladling soup, fer
chrissakes!

WFMU: What about now?

A: I like them now, I like the ones ladling soup now.

WFMU: It keeps them from being bloody.

A: I'm not into the gruesome ones.  I like the ones involving culinary
delights.

[To be continued]

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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 91 20:26:45 HST
From: Julian Cowley  <julian@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu>
Subject: Re: chords
Organization: University of Hawaii at Manoa

Martin Gutowski writes:
>Does anyone on the XTC mail list play the guitar?  on the REM we exchange
>chords to rem songs all the time.  Being a lousy guitarist with no ear for
>chords i don't contribute much, but if anybody else has any chords let me
>know.  email me first. if i get some songs i'll just post them together.

We tried this about two years ago when the list first started
up.  It met with mixed opinion, an awful lot of email, and not
much substance.  It's not that nobody is interested in playing
XTC's music, but it just does not lend itself well to the list.
I remember one person said that XTC's music is like a personal
experience -- what you hear is what you put into it.  Any
attempt to put chord names on the music just detracts from the
music in the long run.

On the other hand, figuring out XTC's music can be a lot of fun!
Since the music is so well orchestrated, it's a gas to finally
get that chord Dave Gregory is playing or that weird harmony
sailing over the top of the melody.  I've sweated many hours
trying to figure out parts to some songs and I still don't think
I have them quite right.

Julian Cowley <julian@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu>

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Date: Wed, 06 Nov 1991 11:55:28 EST
From: swick@madvax.uop.edu
Subject: xtc

Glad to hear of a xtc mailing list.  Is it possible to get my hands on
some of those demos from the upcoming xtc album?  Also if anyone is
interested in trading bootlegs, I have few from their early tours, in
addition to "Jules Verne Sketchbook".

E-mail me at swick@madvax.uop.edu.  Thank you kindly,
Sam Wick

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Date: Wed, 6 Nov 91 14:04:20 PST
From: "John M. Relph" <relph@presto.ig.com>
Subject: New "unauthorized" CD!

  The latest issue of ICE Internation CD Exchange newsletter reports
that "XTC's _Acoustic Sessions '89_ [CD] from Japan captures the
band's first 'live' tour in seven years -- even if they only played
acoustic sets on the radio with no live audience in attendence.  The
performance is great nonetheless, and 'Blue Beret' -- an unreleased
outtake from _Oranges and Lemons_ -- is a gem that XTC fans shouldn't
miss."

  So if you see this CD, buy it for me.

	-- John

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Date: Tue, 12 Nov 91 14:42:49 PST
From: John M. Relph <chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org>
Subject: Various and Sundry
Organisation: Chalkhills Anonymous

Hello friends,

  Not much to report on the XTC front, but here are a few things.

  This month's issue of Q Magazine DOES NOT report that XTC are in the
studio.  Perhaps this is a SIGN!  Maybe they've actually finished
working on the new LP?!  Maybe we can expect a SINGLE soon?  And some
interviews: "XTC on The Making of Achtung Baby"...

  Tim Schrey reports that there is a new XTC bootleg CD called "This
is Live" which may or may not be taken from the BBC College Concerts
LP.  Details are forthcoming.

  Chalkhills has received 14 responses to the Chalkhills Reader
Survey.  Out of over 280 subscribers that's only 5 percent response
rate.  Terrible!  Gett off yer ...  Oh sorry.  I got carried away.  If
you would like to receive a copy of the Survey Questionnaire, please
e-mail Chalkhills Central at "<chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org>".  The
deadline for Survey responses is Sunday 1 December 1991.

  Andre' de Koning informs me that he has done some more work on the
CD booklet for _Go 2_.  When Andre finishes up, the new PostScript
file will be made available in the Chalkhills Archives.

  A few new entries (including "This is Live") have made it into the
Discography.  Check the archives (or e-mail) for a new copy.

	-- John

P.S.  In case you're eXpiring for lack of new XTC, try chewing some CUD!

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---

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