Chalkhills, Number 236

                Wednesday, 19 August 1992
Today's Topics:
                      next producer
      Demo CD...?/Good Vinyl Stuff/Mod Lang - AGAIN!
                  Simple vs Noisy tunes
                   The Ease of Mimicry
What is it with XTC's shit-of-end-of-the-deals in their contract?
        The Book/Voice in "Cockpit Dance Mixture"
               Next XTC producer will be...

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Date:         Tue, 11 Aug 92 09:25:42 EDT
From: Ben Zimmer <ZIMBENG@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu>
Subject:      next producer

Don't recall if anyone's mentioned DON WAS as a potential producer for the
next album.  He's thanked in the _Nonsuch_ liner notes... anyone know why?

                                                              Ben Zimmer

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Date: Tue, 11 Aug 92 10:40:09 PDT
From: Wes Wilson @PKO3 - 223-3413 <wilson@marlin.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Demo CD...?/Good Vinyl Stuff/Mod Lang - AGAIN!

No kidding? A CD of ALL of the tracks from Nonsvch? Plus perhaps
more tracks? If anyone finds out anything about this, please post
info here! (E.g., is it American, Japanese, European, etc.)

My investment in a good turntable is paying off. I recently scored
two 12'' singles with extra tracks:

Ball and Chain 12'' UK (has my favorite version of "Heaven Is
Paved with Broken Glass" [this version is not the same as on
Beeswax or on Rag n' Bone Buffet]).

Love on a Farmboy's Wages 12'' UK (has three live cuts - "Burning
with Optimism's Flames," "English Roundabout," and "Cut It Out").

I also have the 12'' The Meeting Place with the demos "Find the
Fox," "The Troubles," "Terrorism," and "Let's Make a Den." These
demos are great!

Anything else noteworthy on any of the vinyl material? Other
than the cool picture sleeves, colored vinyl, and bigger
type and pictures! What do the cut-out figures look like on the
"No Thugs in Our House" 7'' p/s?

Finally, I'm getting a copy of THE BOOK :-) thru Mod Lang
via mail order. (See a recent Chalkhills posting for their number.)
Speak to Alec if you call their - he's the one with the English
accent. Accept no substitutes, and have your credit card
ready. The book was $20.00.

And finally (I really mean it this time), am I a loonie for
thinking that when the vocals say, "Steel, steel, steel" at
the end of Nigel that they're punning on "steal." Like
Nigel is going to be thug in our house someday? Feud for
thought.

Geffened by the bells,

Wes

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Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 13:20:15 CDT
From: Ingrid de Beus <ied1@midway.uchicago.edu>
Subject: Simple vs Noisy tunes

Hello, all.  I heard "Extrovert" (off of Rag&Bone Buffet, I think?) for
the first time yesterday.  Cool song.  It sounds a lot "noisier" than
stuff off of Oranges&Lemons or Nonesuch, though.  Hmm, I think I need
to define my terms. 8^)  I mean "noisy" as in a more crowded sound,
like a lot of guitars and drums in a small room, played really loud --
with harder to define chords, and generally a lower signal-to-noise
ratio.  Conversely, a "simple" song is one with the bare minimum of
instrumentation/orchestration -- sort of a streamlined effect, I
guess.  Something tells me I'm making less sense than I'd like, but
maybe someone out there knows what the heck I'm talking about.  My
point:  Is this a gradual change in XTC songs? "Extrovert" was a
b-side to "Grass", wasn't it? Do the songs get noisier the farther
back you go in the Discography?

Hmm.. makes me imagine Mr. Relph eagerly flipping switches and
cranking up his time machine, calibrating it by signal-to-noise ratios
based in Swindon.  (Sherman, set the way-back machine.)  8^)

Enough of my rambling.. bring on the tunes.

Ingrid-

Ingrid Elvire Maria de Beus			there is no god
ied1@midway.uchicago.edu			only greed,dung,and lies
oracle@usite-next.uchicago.edu			you've got no soul
eyes of green smoke and hair of gold		only rips in your eyes

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From: David W. Millians <millia@athena.cs.uga.edu>
Subject: The Ease of Mimicry
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 17:23:02 EDT

I had to wait for the furor of reviews to die down before I wrote in. IMHO
I think the real problem is that XTC is just getting out of the rut that
the second Dukes album put them in. Don't get me wrong; I love both Dukes
projects, but after the second, it seems like AP is just writing new
versions of songs from his youth. I think the next album's material,
combined with a good producer (butch Vig? Rick Rubin? Trevor Horn) will
be the real return of XTC. This new album is the almost return of them;
I can't wait for the next.

And Jon, don't forget the XTC sigs... I look forward to them...
--
normally, mild-mannered David W. (Stimpy) Millians, millia@athena.cs.uga.edu
but now, "Yes, dear"-Man. Able to fix sinks, move boxes and write thank you
notes, although not as many as wife-woman would like....

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Subject: What is it with XTC's shit-of-end-of-the-deals in their contract?
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 13:35:03 -0700
From: bmacdona@bonnie.ics.uci.edu

  So far, everything single problem that has delayed or hindered
  _Nonsuch_ seems to be contract related.  I thought, at first, XTC's
  relative lack of artistic freedom was a bit shitty. (Take for example
  the year delay due to some jerk at Virgin who just didn't like any
  of the new XTC songs, who fortunately was transferred elsewhere in
  the Virgin hierarchy).

  Now, I hear XTC are contractually obligated to find an outside producer.
  I'm not saying XTC should ALWAYS be their own producers, but can't these
  guys at least do SOMETHING they want to?

  If anyone happens to know the details of their contract with Virgin, please
  get them out.  Because every single bitch about _Nonsuch_ seems to be
  related to their contract.

  .....of course, it could ALSO have to do with XTC's big debt to Virgin
  they owe.... (By the way, did you know Colin and Dave had to find a job
  involving returning rented cars to rent-a-car lots in order to fund
  portions of _Nonsuch_?)

  Just a few thoughts, moans, and bitches.                   K!z!K

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Date: Tue, 18 Aug 92 09:37:17 PDT
From: Wes Wilson @PKO3 - 223-3413 <wilson@pharos.enet.dec.com>
Subject: The Book/Voice in "Cockpit Dance Mixture"

I am now the owner of, and am reading, CHALKHILLS AND CHILDREN: THE
DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY.

For a book about a "rock" band, I'm pleased that the cover doesn't
have the usual on-stage poses (little wonder, in XTC's case :-)),
or even poses with musical instruments.

Instead, Andy looks like something out of an absurdist play, with
his overcoat, derby hat, and spectacles.

Good printing job on the cover and on the text; a pretty durable
paperback.

I'm enjoying reading this. It's pretty factual; only occasionally
does the writer indulge in praise for certain records, and when
he does, I think it's well founded. He reports on what the English
press says (and does not say) about their albums.

Lots of direct quotes and some rare photos.

I read slowly, but I'm sure I'll enjoy it. The first night I
had it I read for two hours straight; you learn a lot from it.

- - - - -

I just recently got the BALL AND CHAIN 12'' and noticed a
voice at the end of "Cockpit Dance Mixture." Who IS this?
(Is this in the FAQ?) The voice is not in the Rag n' Bone
version of the same song. Oh well...

Wes

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From: ghanley@dg-webo.webo.dg.com (Gary Hanley )
Subject: Next XTC producer will be...
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 92 11:45:00 EDT

Krethead assumes:

>O.K. - it took awhile, but I am now confident I know who should produce the
>next XTC album.

>His name is Mitchell Froom.

>Any seconds to this opinion?

	Sorry, but I have to politely inform you that you are wrong. :)
The next producer for XTC will be a person who is very experienced and
highly skilled in the fine art of producing a "produced" album. This
person is of course Eddy Offord, who has produced albums for ELP and
Yes amonst others.
	Now I can hear the left side of XTC fandom replying, "No,
even we would consider that `over-produced'", and the right side
would say (again), "That's it! I'll never listen to XTC again".
But I really feel it's inevitable that Eddy will produce an XTC
album (as long as XTC keeps making albums anyway). Andy now has
a liking for studio producion tricks and techniques, and Eddy
is one of the best, like him or not.

Regards,
    Gary Hanley
<ghanley@dg-webo.webo.dg.com>

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