Chalkhills Digest Volume 10, Issue 15
Date: Saturday, 3 April 2004
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 10, Number 15
Saturday, 3 April 2004
Topics:
Hearings
His Andy's Voice
TFF in a Movie
Across This Ass-pantheap
XTC at the CVS again
P. Hux in Your Parlour
Bowie vs. XTC
Cool Music Website
Why XTC Can't Make a Buck!
Ha Ha Ha
Andy Partridge in The Guardian
I wonder where the Wonderfalls?
Guarding Andy
Andy in The Guardian
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Little darling / ride that railroad back where you belong.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 00:52:45 -0500 From: "Neal H. Buck" <nealhbuck@comcast.net> Subject: Hearings Message-ID: <F82D5E26-7FB2-11D8-9561-000A9596D28A@comcast.net> Un-Lurking, I've heard "King For A Day" in our local supermarket (Giant), a few times before, but the other day I heard "I'd Like That." What a pleasant surprise! I first heard XTC in 1978 from an eclectic friend of mine (who ended up committing suicide). I was still into '70s "progressive (art) rock," but he was starting to get into that weird "punk/new wave" stuff. He had turned me on to Be-Bop Deluxe, and Steve Hillage (and Gong, but that was too out-there for me), and we shared an admiration for Todd & Utopia. So when he played "3D-EP" I had trepidation, but I did actually like it the first time, especially "Dance Band" (I wish they could have squeezed "Good night, sucker" into "Rag and Bone Buffet" somehow). It would be awhile before I appreciated some of the other now-classic bands he played then, like the Clash and Patti Smith. I also went with him and some friends, somewhat reluctantly, to my first "new wave" concert, which was XTC at Gaston Hall, in Georgetown, Washington, DC (promoting "Drums and Wires"). Even though I had liked what I heard on record, I still wasn't sure about all that funny clothing/hair/dancing the kids did (I was about 23 at the time). For the first part of the show, I stood in the back and smirked at those fools. Then I got sick of myself, and decided to make a fool of myself, join in, and actually enjoy the show- which I did. And they played "Dance Band." Another first was my friends showing me how to hang around and go backstage, so I got to hang out with XTC for a short while. Of course, being of that time and place, I was drunk and stoned, so don't ask me for details. Needless to say, I was hooked from that point on. It took awhile, but I'm now into iTunes, too. The Pepsi Promo helped "Big Time" (insidious thread reference), as well as the tip on being able to tell if your bottle has a free song on it. I've got 14 caps on my desk right now, ready to be redeemed. And yes, I did use one to get "Wonderfalls." I haven't seen the show (I work nights), but the song is great. OK, Re-Lurking, Neal
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 07:28:04 EST From: Flyuponthewall@aol.com Subject: His Andy's Voice Message-ID: <1a7.217d5585.2d96cd54@aol.com> I haven't been on this list in eons, but after hearing Andy's voice in the opening of Wonderfalls last night, I quickly googled and found out it was true. I'm sure there are many out there who out number me in years of dedication to the swindon lads, but that number is a small percentage of the current following. Recently I have talked to 20 year old fans who fell in love with them cause they're parents played them. How kool is that. I first fell in love with them after hearing the B side "heavens paved with broken glass" from the local college station. I thought to my self if that was a B side their A side stuff must be wonderful. I used to stencil XTC on the back of buildings and upon the rocks next to a local lake. I made pen pals with some fellow XTC fans from around the world and still keep in contact with a few of them. Anyway enough warbling, if anyone out there remembers Bill Goodfellow from NY drop me an email @ Fly upon the wall@aol.com Toodles and noodles Bill
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 10:07:39 -0500 From: "Brad Dietz" <sometimeseptember@hotmail.com> Subject: TFF in a Movie Message-ID: <BAY7-F13Fzf2LUw2QNM000112ea@hotmail.com> Not XTC related but best use of Tears For Fears in a movie has got to be at the end of "Real Genius" it just might be the best feel good movie ending next to "Shawshank Redemption" My $0.02 cents. Brad
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 14:30:04 -0500 From: "Tom Getter Slack" <tgslack@comcast.net> Subject: Across This Ass-pantheap Message-ID: <004c01c41431$e9bac120$6401a8c0@slack> >From: "Duncan Watt" <dwatt@fastestmanintheworld.com> >Subject: ass-pants ass-pants ass-pants > >> From: "Peter Rogers" <khm37q002@sneakemail.com> >> Subject: Other Recordings from King-for-a-Day-ers? > >I've been listening to the "King for a Day" compilation for a couple of > >months now, and I'm really enjoying it. ><snip> >> Any tips on tracking down some other recordings from these folks? >Erm, I'm on iTunes <snip> Me too. Thx, Tom
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 09:17:05 -0500 From: "Krys Olsiewicz" <kolsiewicz@hotmail.com> Subject: XTC at the CVS again Message-ID: <BAY1-F148S78dix4wJY00016021@hotmail.com> Greetings, Heard "I'd Like That" over the muzak at the local CVS in Bloomfield, NJ this past Saturday. Bless the kind soul who made the decision to include XTC in the rotation of music at that store if a human had anything to do with that. -Krys Olsiewicz
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 19:10:28 -0500 From: Michael Versaci <mversaci@bellsouth.net> Subject: P. Hux in Your Parlour Message-ID: <4068BAF4.7010509@bellsouth.net> Folxtc, If you blow the dust off of "Testimonial Dinner" and hit track #8, you will hear one of the hidden gems of that collection: P. Hux's brilliant, trippy (almost prog ) interpretation of "Another Satellite." Some of you are aware of Parthenon Huxley's fantastic music. Well, the good news is, he has a brand-new acoustic live CD, "P. Hux in Your Parlour" that he is selling from his website, autographed and personalized. The better news is that the new songs are great as they are presented here: stripped down to the acoustic bare bones. I can hardly wait to hear them when they receive the full studio treatment. For those of you who are not familiar with Parthenon Huxley, I suggest you buy his two previous P. Hux studio records, the upbeat power-pop "Deluxe," - chock full of great songs with interesting catchy arrangements, and the poignant, personal and tragic "Purgatory Falls." Both records go down easily upon first listen, but have much to reveal over time. In a just world, these would have both gone platinum. I have enjoyed many hours savoring this man's ear candy, and I suspect that many fans of XTC's music would feel the same. If you are interested, go to the P. Hux store http://www.parthenonhuxley.com/phuxstore.html and buy yourself a present. Michael Versaci
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 10:13:23 -0500
From: John Relph <relph@tmbg.org>
Subject: Bowie vs. XTC
Message-ID: <16492.12691.658758.431461@f5.idiot-dog.com>
According to a recent update on the official David Bowie site,
"Mark Vidler of Go Home Productions ... was approached by EMI / Virgin
[around July 2003] to produce two tracks for a Bowie 'mash-up' /
'remix' project. "I'm Afraid Of Making Plans For Americans" was a
mixture of Bowie's 'I'm Afraid of Americans' and XTC's 'Making Plans
For Nigel'..."
< http://www.davidbowie.com/news/index.php?id=20040327 >
I'd like to hear it.
-- John
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 08:50:35 -0800 (PST) From: Jon Rosenberger <wile1coyote@yahoo.com> Subject: Cool Music Website Message-ID: <20040401165035.5030.qmail@web13424.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.musicplasma.com/ Very cool music family tree sort of thingie. Enjoy Mole
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2004 11:35:30 -0600
From: "David B. Rhoten" <dbrhoten@sjcf.com>
Subject: Why XTC Can't Make a Buck!
Message-ID: <406BFF2E.27738.341EC8CE@localhost>
Organization: Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey & Associates, P.A
Why XTC Can't Make a Buck!
or
How P2P *Ain't* Killing the Big Media Empires
http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf
Excerpts:
We find that file sharing has only had a limited effect on record sales. OLS
estimates indicate a positive effect on downloads on sales, though this
estimate has a positive bias since popular albums have higher sales and
downloads. After instrumenting for downloads, most of the impact
disappears. This estimated effect is statistically indistinguishable from
zero despite a narrow standard error. The economic effect is also small.
Even in the most pessimistic specification, five thousand downloads are
needed to displace a single album sale.
We find that file sharing has no statistically significant effect on
purchases of the average album in our sample. Moreover, the estimates are of
rather modest size when compared to the drastic reduction in sales in the
music industry. At most, file sharing can explain a tiny fraction of this
decline.
This result is plausible given that movies, software, and video games are
actively downloaded, and yet these industries have continued to grow since
the advent of file sharing. While a full explanation for the recent decline
in record sales are beyond the scope of this analysis, several plausible
candidates exist. These alternative factors include poor macroeconomic
conditions, a reduction in the number of album releases, growing competition
from other forms of entertainment such as video games and DVDs (video game
graphics have improved and the price of DVD players or movies have sharply
fallen), a reduction in music variety stemming from the large consolidation
in radio along with the rise of independent promoter fees to gain airplay,
and possibly a consumer backlash against record industry tactics.
It is also important to note that a similar drop in record sales occurred in
the late 1970s and early 1980s, and that record sales in the 1990s may have
been abnormally high as individuals replaced older formats with CDs.
Our results can be considered in a broader context. A key question is the
impact of file sharing (and weaker property rights for information goods) on
societal welfare. To make such a calculation, we would need to know how the
production of music responds to the presence of file sharing. Based on our
results, we do not believe file sharing will have a significant effect on
the supply of recorded music.
Our argument is twofold. The business model of major labels relies heavily
on a limited number of superstar albums. For these albums, we find that the
impact of file sharing on sales is likely to be positive, leaving the
ability of major labels to promote and develop talent intact. Our estimates
indicate that less popular artists who sell few albums are most likely to be
negatively affected by file sharing. (Note, however, that even for this
group the estimated effect is statistically insignificant.) Even if this
leads record labels to reduce compensation for less popular artists, it is
not obvious this will influence music production. ****This is because the
financial incentives for creating recorded music are quite weak. Few of the
artists who create one of the roughly 30,000 albums released each year in
the U.S. will make a living from their sales because only a few albums are
ever profitable. In fact, only a small number of established acts receive
contracts with royalty rates ensuring financial sufficiency while the
remaining artists must rely on other sources of income like touring or other
jobs.**** [THERE'S your XTC content, right there!] Because the economic
rewards are concentrated at the top and probably fewer than one percent of
acts ever reach this level, altering the payment rate should have very
little influence on entry into popular music.
Major label releases are profitable only after they sell at least a half
million copies, a level only 113 of their 6,455 new albums reached.
52 records account for 37% of the total sales volume. Twenty-five thousand
new releases sold less than one thousand copies in 2002.
David Rhoten
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 19:21:36 +0100 From: "Stephen Jackson" <planet_skaro@btopenworld.com> Subject: Ha Ha Ha Message-ID: <003d01c41816$2c316bc0$7bcd8351@default> I've just re-subscribed to Chalkhills for the first time in 3 years or more. Driving home tonight I was playing "Oranges and Lemons" and I noticed that Colin's laugh in the middle of "Poor Skeleton Steps Out" (2mins 31) is the same as Colin's laugh at the end of "Pink Thing" (3mins 35) Do I win a prize or am I the saddest man on the planet? Steve
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 10:01:33 +0100 From: "Nicholson, Gary" <gnicholson@britannica.co.uk> Subject: Andy Partridge in The Guardian Message-ID: <5CDD30C88EB814439F49A6A0A3D6D47F01B93B@exc055uk.uk.britannica.net> Andy Partridge is featured in a rather fetching shirt in the 'Home Entertainment' section of The Guardian today - 2nd April. http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/homeentertainment/story/0,12830,1183635,00.html Gary Nicholson Print Sales and Distribution Manager Encyclopaedia Britannica (UK) Ltd
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 18:23:17 -0800 (PST) From: Todd Bernhardt <beat_town@yahoo.com> Subject: I wonder where the Wonderfalls? Message-ID: <20040403022317.94286.qmail@web41112.mail.yahoo.com> Hi: Went to check out Wonderfalls this evening (Friday the 2nd), and didn't find it there ... some bullshit reality show instead. Went to the site, and found a new, neat-o video about "The Making of the Wonderfalls Video" or somesuch. Highly recommended. It includes a good amount of Andy talking about his inspiration for the song, how and where he recorded it, etc. Check it out at www.fox.com/wonderfalls. Oh, and at the end of the video, it recommends that you check out the show on *Thursday* nights at 9:00. So, even though I missed this week's episode, I figure that's a good thing, since Friday nights are a TV wasteland... -Todd
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 13:37:30 -0500 From: m stone <nedrise@sympatico.ca> Subject: Guarding Andy Message-ID: <CC87749A-84D4-11D8-9A4E-0030653DDD26@sympatico.ca> Greetings good people. An article about Andy in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/homeentertainment/story/ 0,12830,1183635,00.html Michael Stone
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Apr 2004 15:31:39 +0100 From: Mark Fisher <mark-fisher@blueyonder.co.uk> Subject: Andy in The Guardian Message-ID: <BC94895B.4BD8%mark-fisher@blueyonder.co.uk> Andy P shared his current listening choices in Friday's Guardian newspaper. He also revealed that he'd given a one-off live performance in a Swindon pub: http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/homeentertainment/story/0,12830,1183635,00.html -- Mark
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