Chalkhills, Number 42

                   Sunday, 16 July 1989
Today's Topics:
                      live v. studio
                         DEFENSE!
              next O&L single: "The Loving"?

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Date: Fri, 14 Jul 89  19:47:55 EDT
From: jsd@umass.bitnet
Subject: live v. studio

Hoo boy!  Am I ever glad that all you cretins are getting pissed off!
There's nothing like a little controversy to get a list hopping.  :-)

Anyways, to me there is just no way that any of the songs post English
Settlement can be done sufficient justice to in the live setting.  It
seems to me that the band agrees with me, as Andy has stated about a zillion
times in interviews that one of the prime reasons he doesn't want to
perform live anymore if because the songs just wouldn't translate very
well.  It is obvious to all but the most severely retarted persons that
the arrangements and instrumentation of their albums has been getting
steadily more convoluted and lush.  I personally think this is a very
good thing, because there is nothing better than a well written song with
good production supporting it.  I do not subscribe to the school of "a song
should stand up on its own."  Fuck that!  Are we still living in the
goddamn sixties?  (actually, that's a complete lie because some of the
most overproduced records ever come from the 60s, but it seems like there
were a helluva lot more folkie strummers standing there noodling away on
their acoustic hell guitars while crooning badly.)

So, lissen up sco!stewart and whoever else...  I  _love_ the bit where
they slap the digital delay on for one word during "Mayor of Simpleton."
That's a great moment in pop history, although it is a _very_ obvious
rip on the Beatles' classic "Paperback Writer" which I'm sure all you
live fans think is a great example of heavy production ruining a good
song.  (heavy sarcasm there, in case it didn't get through all three inches
of skull)

Mark Glickman, on the other hand, shows some signs of intelligence when
he mentions Joe Jackson, a man who knows how to make a song _work_ in
the live setting.  On the other hand, Mr. Glickman also says that _Scarecrow
People_ live is a good thing.  For shame!  It's not a good arrangement,
or an adventurous one, or anything.  You can see clearly how it works in the
video: Colin plays the low bass notes on an acoustic guitar, creating a
very stupid sound because low strings on acoustic guitar don't sound
like electric bass very much.  Andy strums rhythm.  Dave plays the same
lead lines virtually note for note and they don't sound as good because
he doesn't get the same sustain out of them.  And I really honestly truly
think that Andy did nothing for the song vocally, except wreck it.

This has been long winded, very flatulent, and hopefully extremely offensive.
But, just think, isn't it great how two people can love the same band
for entirely different reasons?

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 !   !\             BITNET: jsd@umass
\!on !/rukman      ARPANET: jsd%umass.bitnet@mitvma.mit.edu
                      << STORM THE STUDIO >>

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Date: Fri, 14 Jul 89  20:31:17 EDT
From: Damian@umass.bitnet
Subject: DEFENSE!

I feel I must come to Jon Drukman's defence.  I too found the live
performances of XTC on MTV painful.  XTC songs do not sound good
when jazzed up.  I find it so disgusting these days that people still
hate it when musician do a song and add to it with great production.

Yes the XTC album Oranges & Lemons is polished, but the songs are great
and the production only adds to them.  XTC is, however, not Tom Waits.
XTC writes 3-5 minute pop songs -- not exactly a great format for jammin',
particularly given the tight nature of XTC songs.

Face it guys, XTC sucks live....give up on the old XTC and except the new

As a side note....I know a lot of people who claim to have perfect or
relative pitch....but most of the time I can baffle these people.  Usely
quite easily.

Nuff said,

Damian

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"Tell 'em where you from boys...."

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Date: Sat, 15 Jul 89 00:28:22 PDT
From: duane@ebay.sun.com (Duane Day, I.R. - Applications Development)
Subject: next O&L single: "The Loving"?

I heard "The Loving" today on KITS, a San Francisco so-called "modern
rock" station that seems to usually have the next single release by a
given artist on their playlist.  Does this mean that "The Loving" is
the next single from _Oranges and Lemons_?  When are they going to wake
up to the fact that the natural single from the album is "Merely a Man"?

Oh, well, makes as much sense as choosing "Grass" over "Earn Enough for
Us" did, at least.

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turns existence into art |ARPA: duane@sun.arpa
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