Chalkhills Digest Volume 1, Issue 415
Date: Monday, 6 March 1995
Chalkhills Digest, Number 415
Monday, 6 March 1995
Today's Topics:
A.P.'s Wireless Intro: Baron Knights?
Re: Chalkhills Digest #414
Re: How Many English Settlements?
Re: 2/3 of XTC equals _TC.
Doh! 1/6
You say Hello....
Producers (slight return)
comfort via andy
Re: English Settlement
Re: Wonder dog.
Re: Producers (oh no, not again!)
The Erudition of A Simple Survey
Sense of Idaho?
English Settlement Double/Single
(none)
XTC 'Net Interview - First Instalment
Re: CASBY's and Grammy
XTC--what else?
Love on a Farmboy's Wages
Simple Minds on XTC
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Hae007@aol.com Date: Sat, 4 Mar 1995 20:49:31 -0500 Subject: A.P.'s Wireless Intro: Baron Knights? At the conclsuion of the "Opening speech" on Drums and Wireless, Mr. P says that "XTC... is here to answer all allegations that they're 1979's answer to the... "Baron Knights". I assume he was being "clever" in that XTC provides rewarding night time entertainment (i.e. barren nights) but that's a guess. Were (are) the Baron Knights a contemporary of XTC? If so, what was Mr. P alluding too? Are we obliged to now lurk within alt.music.baron_knights posting rogue messages for them to fret(less?) about? And if might add just one link (via O&L drummer Pat Mastelotto) the Sylvian/Fripp album "Damage" is quite enjoyable. Music is the architecture of silence. -B Maybe XTC could be on a Styx tribute album and do "Too Much Time on My Hands"
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Mar 1995 22:14:48 -0500 (EST)
From: Michael N Schlesinger <mns6@columbia.edu>
Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #414
Chalkhills-ians,
I am new to the group, it all started back in 1982 with the
revelation that was 'It's nearly Africa'- I was but a yung-un and looking
for a revelation. The revelation has been going ever since. Favorite album
is Mummer, though I just looooooove 'Mole in the Ministry' and a lot of
The Dukes of Stratosphere stuff (oops! Are we allowed to talk about that
here?).
About the last issue, I now know why I try never listen to any
musician talk about their own music! Andy's comments were really pretty
shallow, but that's what happens when you get your ideas out, they evolve
for your listeners, turn into something beautiful, sublime, beyond words,
different for each of us, so much so that to hear Andy talk about them
now makes them seem, well, banal, when in fact a lot of the stuff on O's
and L's is really quite brilliant. Why does "Garden of the Earthly
Delights" have to be about introducing young people to the world around
them, as Andy said. Why can't it be about the earth, about what we get
pre-occupied with in the world instead of focusing on the things that are
REALLY important. The point is not that my interpretation is any better
than anyone else's, but neither is Andy's. Like it or not, no matter that
Andy was the composer of the song, the song is now beyond his control, to
be interpreted, well, by us.
I mean absolutely no disrespect to Andy, I think he has had so
many moments of genius in his life that I am awed and moved and greatly
influenced. I just think the comments were not up to the music itself.
William Faulkner was once asked about a passage in "The Sound and
the Fury" to which he replied (paraphrasing) "I don't ever remember writing
this, have no idea why I wrote it, and don't know what it means." I think
you get my point.
Michael
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Mar 95 23:15:19 PST
From: John Relph <relph@presto.ig.com>
Subject: Re: How Many English Settlements?
jmanack@sewickley-acad.pvt.k12.pa.us (Jessica Pumpkinhead)
>
>In Chalkhills #411 a buncha people kept saying
>that English Settlement had all these kool extensive
>liner notes w/lyrics and other stuph. I was wondering
>if there is more than one version of that album, or
>if they were talking about the LP, because I have the
>CD and all that's there are the names of all the songs
>and who wrote them. Can anyone explain this?
There are MANY versions of _English Settlement_.
First, there were three versions:
1) the original UK double album with 15 songs
2) the US single LP with ten songs
3) the French single LP with ten songs
Most Americans who bought the 1982 US release were later surprised to
find out that there were actually five more songs on the UK version.
(And they were NOT filler. Harummph.)
The original UK LP had extensive liner notes with all lyrics, many
photos, and instrument credits on a song by song basis. I'm not sure
about the US LP.
Then the CDs were issued. The 1987 UK CD re-issue, the first version
of the album on CD, only had 13 songs, and did not have liner notes.
The 1988 US re-issue restored the full 15 songs of the album, but also
did not have much in the way of liner notes. The 1990 UK re-reissue
finally restored both the tracks and the liner notes, although
reformatted from the original LP issue.
Basically, yes, cool liner notes exist. Some versions of the LP and
CD have them. Most don't. (You can get all the lyrics and stuff from
the Chalkhills Archives.)
-- John
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 05 Mar 95 02:13:58 EST
From: "Gene (Sp00n) Yoon" <ST004422@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU>
Subject: Re: 2/3 of XTC equals _TC.
Two-thirds of XTC times one-fourth of all their songs are by Colin:
that's 2 1 1
- * - = (only) -
3 4 9 .
But that's still better than 0 live XTC.
So here's a set list I'd be perfectly happy with sans Andy:
Making Plans for Nigel
Ball And Chain
My Bird Performs
Grass
Vanishing Girl
Runaways
Dance Band
Life Begins at the Hop
I Remember the Sun
Generals and Majors
Big Day
Ten Feet Tall
King for a Day
English Roundabout
The World is Full of Angry Young Men
Hey, that's a pretty nice list, now that I see it all together like
this. I've always hated when AP would say in interviews, "In 1982 we
decided to stop touring" when he really means "In 1982 *I* decided
that we would stop touring." But would Colin and Dave consider
performing without him? Probably not. Would Andy? Definitely not.
It's still nice to fantasize, though.
Gene
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 05 Mar 95 02:58:50 EST
From: ST004422@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU
Subject: Doh! 1/6
Sorry I can't do basic arithmetic. We haven't gotten to cross-multip-
lying in my math class yet.
Gene
------------------------------ From: DFerg@aol.com Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 07:17:13 -0500 Subject: You say Hello.... Me: >I am somewhat disappointed (don't congregate at my house) with the Hello >disc. It is shorter than some of the discs (Check out the Jickets) a repeat >of Snowing Angels, (I shouldn't complain but I did so there) , and althogh I >like Prince of Orange the sobbing at the end gets old fast. Not to mention >the cost. yipes. John: > $5. My oh my. That's quite expensive! Okay, if you bought the > entire series for ONE CD, then yes, it was a $45 CD. But you got 10 > CDs, that's less than $5 per CD. > Yes, the Partridge CD is shorter than the Jickets. But I would rather > have a few minutes of bliss than any length of The Jickets. Yuck. Don't get me *wrong*. I *like* the songs on the Partridge CD. I liked Snowing Angels when I heard it *before*. I saw the Partridge CD as a bonus to purchasing the series, enjoying all that XTC and Andy have produced. But I also view my $45 investment in Hello discs a disappointment because I was *not* thrilled with the other CDs as I thought I would. Most of the discs have a minimum of five songs, some have more, and that is what I was complaining about. Sure one Hello disc costs me $5 at a time. But so did the Jickets, and I will probably use it as a drink coaster. I suppose if I could have just got the one disc @ $5 I wouldn't have anything to complain about, but my gamble only paid off with a measly 4 song EP from a man we all know as a prolific producer of fine music. Andy has even said he could put out a record every few months. And to me, a full record has more than four (short) songs on it. One more thing, and this is also a question. I never heard of any of the other performers on Hello discs, except A.P. I don't know if the others have ever put out other recordings, but HE certainly has! Was he used as a draw, a recognizable name to get the subscriptions to Hello to rise? Did I miss some other Hello discs from the past with recognizable names? Not a bad idea, mixing it up to get some unknown talent out and heard. I can't think of any other reason, especially financial, unless Andy was talked into it by his musical friends. I don't claim to know everything, but I know what I like. And I will trade music for cassette dubs of the Hello disc if anyone is interested. So I can find music *I like*. Y' All know where to find me Dave dferg @aol.com "Real artists ship." --Steve Jobs
------------------------------ From: Louis Barfe <plc005@cent1.lancs.ac.uk> Subject: Producers (slight return) Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 16:48:55 +0000 (GMT) Everyone seems to have missed an obvious (to me, at least) choice for producer. Ian Broudie, producer of Terry Hall's album, some tracks by Sleeper, and genius behind the Lightning Seeds would surely be a name worth considering. He's pretty much ubiquitous on quality pop music here at the moment, and the XTC connection already exists through the Telmeister. Apart from that, I still think Mitchell Froom is a fine suggestion. EC's 'Brutal Youth' album hangs the moon. Mitch might also bring along Pete Thomas on drums. Ya-bloody-hoo! Pete Thomas drumming with XTC. It's almost too much to think about (goes for a lie down in a darkened room). Louis.
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 12:43:09 -0500 (EST) From: Reifel Edward M <3emr1@qlink.queensu.ca> Subject: comfort via andy hello, everyone. just before i get to my subject, i'd like to thank everyone for writing so much interesting info. to open my mailbox with new mail is exciting...to open with xtc mail is euphoria. so...thank you to everyone involved. question: do any of you men in the crowd look for comfort in andy's writings on relationships gone wrong? i swear that andy is on the same level as me sometimes...that is not to say i'm on his. whenever there is trouble with my girlfriend, i can always turn to mr. partridge (the lure of salvage) to 'take away' my grief. i think the most incredible in this vein is 1000 umbrellas...holy #@!?, that is a downer but also so optimistic too. if i could hug andy for anything it would be for that song. others: sgt. rock, ...supergirl..., crocodile. i love them. by the way, does anyone know andy's status right now as far as family is concerned. is he still with his wife? i need protection (from andy)
------------------------------ From: IERANO_J@DD.PALMER.EDU Date: Sun, 05 Mar 1995 12:30:29 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: English Settlement James Dignan mentioned the double album version of ES; I have a copy and it is stamped on the back as "limited edition". "Don't lose your temper is not on it, and I am surprised to read that he thinks the extra tracks are "filler". At the very least, they are juicy, sctumptious filler. :-) Sink thy teeth into them , James! Joe.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 19:04:36 +0000 (GMT)
From: David William Lawson <dwl1@st-andrews.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Wonder dog.
In Digest #414 Damien the wonder dog(?) claimed never to have seen XTC
in a Record shop`s "Bargin bucket" in the UK.
May I suggest Aberdeen?
I have seen Oranges and Lemons for 2.99 on Record
Drums and wires for 2.99 on cassette and 3.99 on CD
Black sea for 0.99 on Record
And the vast majority of their other work is stickered as, "value" and
retails at around 7.99.
Quite honestly this should not suprise anyone who has been to Britain
as XTC are totaly ignored this side of the Atlantic. Only occasionaly
surfacing on "The best of New wave" compilations.
On a compleatly different note, there is a reserve team footballer
(proper football, the kind played with the feet) at Ipswich Town football
club called David Gregory. Ipswich are loathed the length and breadth of
Great Britain as well.
Too much to be coincidence, dont you think?
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 14:34:00 -0500 (EST)
From: Derek Miner <ind00163@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu>
Subject: Re: Producers (oh no, not again!)
In Chalkhills #414, Sean Bentley wrote:
> i hate to repopen the Producers thread but i was skimming the back
> issues and suddenly remembered something that i don't think anyone
> brought up at the time:
>
> AngryYngMn@aol.com wrote:
>
> How about Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who produced parts of They Might
> Be Giants' "Flood?"
>
> >>i seem to recall that Elvis Costello (and others) as being of the
> opinion that Langer and Winstanley had ruined his album Goodbye Cruel
> World and set him off on the wrong track for several albums. They did
> pretty much overproduce and mooshify (?) that release, IMHO.
Has anyone mentioned that XTC has, in fact, attempted work with
Langer and Winstanley? The incident is recounted in "Chalkhills and
Children." Andy had his usual clashes with Clive Langer, and Winstanley
concluded the session as engineer. One of the "Homo Safari" series was
recorded at these sessions.
Derek
------------------------------ From: ECBANKS@delphi.com Date: Sun, 05 Mar 1995 17:44:08 -0500 (EST) Subject: The Erudition of A Simple Survey I say "erudition" in the subject line because this has to be the most erudite bunch I've ran into in a while. The average IQ of readers on this list has got to be at the extreme right of the bell curve. I'm pleased to be counted among such fine company. But, to the point... 1) What XTC album/CD do you expect *never* to own? This was intended to refer to material you simply didn't care enough for to actually purchase, but was also taken to mean material that was so rare that it was virtually impossible to get a hold of. Drums & Wireless was a popular response, as well as Go2, Go+, and the Andy Partridge Hello disc. The other side of the coin was "none". In other words, how could anybody actually *not* want something XTC recorded? I must say that I never expected to own the "Live in Concert 1980" disc issued by Griffin because of the price. The $30 Tower was charging was just too much. But...I went to my favorite little used CD shop and found a *sealed*, new copy which I greedily snatched up for the token sum of $8. I'm still looking for some kind of "Acoustic Radio Tour" compilation, though... 2) What is your most prized piece of music (XTC or otherwise)? Prepare to be jealous. I'll allow the post to remain anonymous, not knowing how the author would feel otherwise. This illustrious Chalkhills subscriber responded with the following to this question: "...the master tapes to the Geffen "Skylarking" interview LP...and how about a copy of Generals & Majors signed by the whole band, all FOUR members in '80...but that's one of a kind material and really unfair in this contest." True enough - but we're drooling anyway. Other answers included "The Bull with the Golden Guts", an XTC live concert at the Paradiso, Amsterdam that was recorded on tape from a Dutch radio braodcast, an original Three Wise Men 7" Christmas single, the Beatles' "Rubber Soul", The Police "Reggata de Blanc", Peter Gabriel "Passion", and an original Reprise mono recording of the Kinks "Face-to-Face". I should have made this your "desert island" list - in other words, if you found yourself on a desert island what disc(s) would you want with you? 3) Why is it so highly prized? This question was largely a flop; sorry about that. Most of the responses to question 2 make it very evident what the answer would have been to question 3. However, the answers were in one of two veins: the rarity of the recording, or the recording is just a personal favorite. 4) Other than XTC, what musical groups or individual musicians do you enjoy or admire (please do not limit yourself to rock)? These are in no particular order, and I may not mention everything; these are just the most common responses, with a few interesting ones thrown in for good measure. Sorry if your favorite "Other than XTC" fave didn't get listed! Liz Phair, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel (many), Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, Indigo Girls, REM, Aaron Copland, Lou Reed, David Byrne, David Bowie, Brian Eno (many), Police (many), Beatles (many), Frederic Chopin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, U2, Rush, the Pooh Sticks, Peter Blegvad, They Might Be Giants (many), Ralph Vaughn-Williams, as well as a smattering of punk bands (which I thought was a bit odd.) Sorry to the gentleman hoping for a connection to the Stranglers... no mention other than you! 5) Rank your three favorite XTC songs, and explain your top pick if possible. There weren't too many commonalities here. All of us seem to have our own favorites for various reasons, many of which are personal. So, we're not going to crown a top XTC song or anything like that - as if you could. These are all of the number one personal favorites of the respondees. Towers of London (3), Senses Working Overtime, Yacht Dance, In Loving Memory of a Name, Ten Feet Tall, My Bird Performs, Roads Girdle the Globe, Battery Brides (live version), Wake Up, Mermaid Smiled, Helicopter, Desert Island, Mayor of Simpleton, Ladybird (2), This World Over, Then She Appeared, The Meeting Place (2), and my personal pick "Dying". A frequent plea was that this was an unfair question because all the material is so good. Many of you also stated that your favorites change with your season or mood. True enough - my favorite XTC material has changed over time, too. 6) What do you expect musically from the next couple of XTC albums? There was a lot of wishful thinking done here; we all seem to have our ideas of what we would like XTC to do, mostly in the realm of collaberations - Brian Eno, in particular. The common theme echoed by nearly everyone was that the next XTC albums would be less rock and more "symphonic", if you will. Songs like "Rook" would be typical. The comment was also made that this was due primarily to Andy's interests, rather than Colin's or Dave's. A calmer, gentler XTC seems to be in works according to you Chalkhillians. This question also struck another chord. Perhaps all of us are a bit concerned that XTC is about at the end of itself as a recording group. Nonsuch was released in '92...here it is well into '95, with no real definitive plans for a new album. Heck, there's not even a record company signed on yet. Could this be it for XTC as far as new material is concerned? Many of us seem to think this is a real possibility. (Shudder...I think of the Colin & Dave "coins-in-the-hat" dream posted in the last digest.) Which brings me to the final question. 7) If the members of XTC split up, could they (solo or in bands of their own), produce music that is comparable to what they did together as XTC? Resoundingly, Chalkhills members said "no". The business word here would be "synergy" - the idea that 2+2=5. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Everyone seems to think that XTC is a synergistic band. Without one another, they would produce interesting work no doubt flavored with the XTC sound, but the end product would probably not be as good as XTC. <sigh>... Ethan Banks ecbanks@delphi.com Rainbow V 1.11 for Delphi - Test Drive
------------------------------ From: pcorless@claven.idbsu.edu (Phil Corless) Subject: Sense of Idaho? Date: Mon, 6 Mar 1995 10:28:24 +0000 >American folk flavor to it also. We had a big sheet of paper tacked to >the wall of the studio that said "needs sense of Idaho." Has Andy even been to Idaho?!?!? -------------------------- Phil Corless Boise, Idaho pcorless@claven.idbsu.edu --------------------------
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Mar 1995 09:55:48 -0500 From: Alex.Stein@turner.com (Alex Stein) Subject: English Settlement Double/Single In Chalkhills 414, james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) wrote about English Settlement: > I was equally surprised when I first saw that some copies of the LP > were a double album. My copy was a single album with a lovely > tan-brown inner sleeve with extensive lyrics and a piccy of the band... Here's what I remember about the release (God I feel old suddenly): At least at first, the import (UK) release was a double album. The domestic (US) release was a single with five or six tracks missing. The greedy US record company was nice (?) enough to simultaneously release an EP containing the missing 5 or 6 tracks. At the release, two tracks were getting moderate airplay: "Senses Working Overtime" and "Ball and Chain." The US version of the album contained one but not both. The owner of the record store I spent most of High School hanging out in was an XTC fanatic. He prominently displayed both versions of the album right inside the front door. He priced the US version ridiculously high and the UK version at cost. The price difference was only 50 cents. Not surprisingly, nearly everyone bought the UK version! The best 50-cent investment I ever made! Alex
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Mar 1995 14:18:44 -0600 From: mheibel@lps.esu18.k12.ne.us (Micah Heibel) This may interest some of you: I teach math at the biggest high school in the state of Nebraska (USA). Displayed in the main office is a huge painting by one of our former students, made in something like 1984. It is a cartoonesque painting of our town, with many landmarks drawn in caricature. Anyway, one day as I was looking at it, I noticed that on a billboard in the painting is a plain as day XTC logo. Sincerely, Micah Heibel ps. It is really interesting for me to read that many of you have become fans in the last few years. You youngsters missed an exciting time in popular music. (I hope I don't sound too smug). Try sometime to listen to Drums and Wires as if the only thing you ever got to hear was disco. Micah Heibel "My father always said laughter was the best medicine. Maybe that's why several of us died of tuberculosis." --- Jack Handey
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 95 19:09:10 GMT
From: John Nicholls <nicholls@case.co.uk>
Subject: XTC 'Net Interview - First Instalment
I visited Dave last week, took a few beers round, and we ended up
talking for FOUR hours which probably sets some sort of interview
record, never mind 'Net record!
I asked him all the q's sent to me, and I will be transcribing them
when I have time at work. I'll transcribe them verbatim, without any
journalistic attempt to clean up what was by all accounts a chatty
conversation. So please excuse any disjointed flow - it's quite an
education to sit here listening to the tapes (4 hours, ohmigod) and
realise how a conversation rambles and goes off at tangents. I've
removed some of the tangents for brevity ...
I'll pick questions at random from those I asked, starting with those
below.
To the Dutch(?) member who wrote to me personally and asked for
Swindon B+B phone nos, please send your message again, I've lost it,
many apologies.
*-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gene Yoon <Gene_Yoon@brown.edu>
Q1. I know that there has been no XTC song penned by you personally,
although I'm sure you leave your mark with guitar solos and arrange-
ments and the like. Does that mean you don't compose anything at
all? Or if so, why hasn't the group done any of them? Have you ever
tried songwriting?
------------
DG: The old chestnut - have you ever written any songs, and if not,
why not. The way see it is this - if God had meant me to be a
songwriter he'd have given me some ideas, or some song titles, or
something to say, you know. So I'm just the guitar player in the
band, who happens to play piano and keyboards, and can just about
sing. Years ago, before I joined the band I used to write songs, I
used to think I could write songs. But when you have someone of Andy
Partridges skill writing lots of songs, I mean it's not that he
occasionally tosses off a song, he's always writing songs, there's
never a shortage of songs, one's incentive is diminished somewhat. I
don't consider myself a songwriter, there's no real need.
If you think of the history of the band, both last two fourth members
of the band left when they started writing songs - Barry Andrews and
Jonny Perkins. Their days were numbered from that point onwards...
...
Pop Music is full of people who think they can write songs. This is a
bee in my bonnet, y'know back in the Sixties there were a few
SONGWRITERS , and you could list them, great songwriters who wrote
songs. They didn't perform and similarly bands tended to do songs
that were written by these established writers. The Beatles changed
all that, then everybody thought they could be the next Beatles. Now
there's the same percentage of good songwriters around, but a million
more groups thinking they can write songs and it pisses me off...
JP: It's a bit arrogant really..
DG: Exactly. And you can't blame them for having a go, and if it's in
you that there's something you want to say that badly then nothing's
going to stop you saying it.
JP: It's almost as though your abilities must be somehow
limited by not being a songwriter. Which is obviously crap.
DG: Yeah, there is that sort of thing. If you're in a band and you
play drums, drummers are all right because they're drummers - it's
rare you find a drummer who's a songwriter, but no-one ever takes
shots at the drummer for not writing songs - he's the drummer, he's
got a role to play. But if you're holding a guitar - well, uh, let's
hear one of your songs then!
[Dave had more to say about personal compositions later on]
*-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: John.Wilkens@Colorado.EDU
Subject: Gregory Interview Questions
Status: R
Here's my contributions for the Gregory interview...
Q. Has Andy ever pondred writing music for the stage? "Wrapped in
Grey" sounds very theatrical. Any XTC "rock operas" in the future?
---------------
DG: The simple answer is yes, he has thought about it. When we were
touring he asked me "How do you fancy helping me write this musical
then Greggsy? How do you fancy getting involved? I've got this
hankering to do a stage show for something", "Oh, have you?
Along what lines, pray?" "I really fancy the Napoleonic Wars" "Oh
yeah? Well, we've got Chess, we've got Evita, Starlight Express, why
not the Napoleonic Wars? What were you thinking of calling it?" "I
was thinking of calling it _Nap_".
So yes, he was serious for ten minutes about that. And when we were
doing the Dukes project, there was some talk about doing a followup to
Psonic Psunspot, doing the Dukes concept album, which of course was
the one area of psychedelic pop we hadn't coverd, and that was going
to be called the _Great Royal Jelly Hoax_. That might have developed
into a stage show, but it was just pie in the sky really, no-one was
going to finance an Andy Partridge musical, I think he was probably
thinking more in terms of doing a Tommy style album, more along those
lines, just an experiment and if it fired anyone's imagination then so
much the better if he could get some funding for it. But I don't know
how serious he was, or if he was just winding me up or what, but it
would make a good subject for a musical
JP: The Napoleonic Wars...
DG: Yes, but you have to understand Andy's reading matter, I mean the
stuff he takes into the toilet with him, anyone else would take the
Sun, or the Adver Weekend Suppplement, but not Andy,he'll take in _The
Art Of Siege Warfare in The Middle Ages_.
JP: And be in there for hours...
DG: Oh yeah! He never goes in without a book to read, and it's
always something about Medieval History or the English Civil War, or
the Duke of Marlborough.
*-----------------------------------------------------------------------
################################## nicholls@cray-communications.co.uk
####################################### Tel: (UK daytime) 0793-546383
------------------------------ Date: 06 Mar 95 17:45:44 EST From: John.J.Pinto@Dartmouth.EDU (John J. Pinto) Subject: Re: CASBY's and Grammy XTC was nominated for a Grammy. I think it was two years ago for Nonsuch. If they didn't bother to show up it was probably that Tom Waites was a shoe-in and Virgin wouldn't pay for the trip. Andy never refused to lip sync at the CASBYs. The only thing that Andy refused to do was travel anything less than First Class on the flight over (Colin, Colin's son Lee and Dave flew economy so the story goes). Andy did tell the truth about award shows which got him in some hot water with the producers but generated some great publicity which the CASBYs badly needed. He had no intention of playing live at the Saturday night concert and was in NYC by Saturday afternoon. XTC lip synced two songs, Dear God and Grass on Friday afternoon to an empty auditorium. The CBC showed Dear God splicing it into the taped live performances by the other bands. Lee Moulding did the child part. Any Bruce Cockburn fans may find it interesting that Hugh Marsh was in the lip sync "string section". Partridge and he entertained themselves between takes (there were many) by jamming in the wings. They also did some other TV shows. One was a noon hour talk show sort of like Regis and Kathy Lee. I would love to have seen the entire segment. Andy realizing that he was in the completely wrong setting was at his irreverent best. Colin sat on the couch doing his best to keep Andy from flying right off the handle. Global TV has it in their vaults somewhere. J.
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Mar 95 19:05:50 EST From: Melissa <MREAVES@KENTVM.KENT.EDU> Subject: XTC--what else? Hi all! Haven't posted in a while so you know it's all been churning in my head. I've found a great way to satisfy that longing to hear new XTC. Lose one of your tapes and don't replace it for a couple years because you know it's bound to turn up somewhere and then break down and buy it over again. By the time you get it it's like brand new stuff! Yes, I've gone and ordered English Settlement. I've been living without it for too long. Re 60's music--any and all Dukes fans and other sixties music fans are invited to enjoy "The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp" (1968). My husband (who is _not_ an XTC fan) played it for me to get back at me for making him listen to the Dukes. It's hilarious! It's fun! It's James Dignan-approved! I don't know how or whether it's available. Our copy is an old import. It's the furthest thing from King Crimson. It's Robert Fripp being whimsical with a couple other overly whimsical guys. If you find it, check it out. It's highly recommended. More thoughts: What's the story on Andy and Marianne? I'd always wondered at the number of songs he writes on perfidious females, e.g. Are You Receiving Me? Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down Heaven is Paved with Broken Glass Me and the Wind Supergirl Miniature Sun Dear Madam Barnum and I asked myself what gives? He's happily married. His other songs show an enlightened respect for women so I figured these songs came out of the joy of the wordplay more than any anger against women but I wonder if there was something provoking him over the years. Anyone? Another question. Listening to Skylarking today and recalling someone talking about the song Grass as if it were a drug song. Forgive my naivete about such matters but I always figured it for a celebration of al fresco lovemaking. So I'm wondering. How many out there think it's about drugs and how many think it's about sex and how many think it's a brilliant work of double entendre that can only be appreciated if you look at it both ways? OK so I've gone on long enough for now. Just had to let some of the thoughts escape that were clogging up the windmills of my mind. It would shock you too, the things we used to do on grass. --Melissa
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Mar 1995 15:44:20 +1300 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Love on a Farmboy's Wages From: Peter <ST002436@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU> >Last night I was listening to Mummer on headphones and the thought occurred to >me that Andy really sounds like a cow when he hits the line, "shilling for the >fellow who milks the herd" on Love On A Farmboy's Wages. Not to do with the cow-sound, but something I've been wondering. There's an old, old English children's song/folk song that goes something like "I've got sixpence/a bright shiny sixpence/tuppence to spend/tuppence to lend/tuppence to take home to my wife" - is that what Andy was thinking of when he wrote LOAFB'sW? James James Dignan, Department of Psychology, University of Otago. Ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk St., St. Clair, Dunedin, New Zealand pixelphone james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz / steam megaphone NZ 03-455-7807 * You talk to me as if from a distance * and I reply with impressions chosen from another time, time, time, * from another time (Brian Eno)
------------------------------
From: Hae007@aol.com
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 1995 23:31:43 -0500
Subject: Simple Minds on XTC
The following was recently (3/6) posted during a live chat on AOL with Jim
Kerr and Charlie Burchhill of Simple Minds. (n.b.The bit about being on the
tribute album was a simpleton trick to elicit a response about the
Swindonians)
Question : Is it true you'll be featured on the upcoming XTC
tribute album? Any thoughts on XTC?
SmplMinds : I love XTC. I thought they're a great band and Andy
Partridge is a great musician AND musical
SmplMinds : comedian.
Rockloser : There's some freak selling XTC in the Ambient folder. Kinda
like the brown acid though.
SmplMinds : I haven't heard about the record at all.
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #415 *****************************
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