Chalkhills Digest Volume 10, Issue 35
Date: Friday, 13 August 2004
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 10, Number 35
Friday, 13 August 2004
Topics:
Re: Towers of London Loves
More Finn
OT - Split inFinnitive
InFinnIty
many thanks to relph
XTC items on eBay
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2004 11:27:13 EDT From: DanAbnrml9@aol.com Subject: Re: Towers of London Loves Message-ID: <1c9.1cdd90fb.2e47a051@aol.com> In a message dated 8/8/2004 11:00:50 AM Eastern Standard Time, owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org writes: <<One of the latest projects "Parkspliced" is to rip apart Blur's Parklife and rebuild it in a similar-yet-different manner. One track - Londinium Loves - features Blur, The Kinks, The Beatles and Xtc and can be downloaded in mp3 form from the project's webpage here: _http://parkspliced.gybo.org/_ (http://parkspliced.gybo.org/) >> As a MASSIVE Blur fan (they're my favorite, ever) I thank you VERY MUCH for posting this. I had no idea about this and this will certainly be a great way to rediscover my favorite album. Thank you! --J
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2004 07:51:49 +1000 From: "Andrew Gowans" <ratwhacker@hotmail.com> Subject: More Finn Message-ID: <BAY2-F2DXr2yKNJJz4O00012822@hotmail.com> Greetings Folks, Long time etc., just a quick 5c worth on the subject of Split Enz/Crowded House/Finns et al. I would heartily recommend True Colours, Woodface and Finn as being good additions to the collection of anyone interested in classic pop music. I have great memories of a 'Concert of the Decade' on New Year's Eve 1989/90 in Sydney's Darling Harbour. The classic double header (after the support band Food) of Crowded House followed by a reformed Split Enz. Neil and Hessie were on stage for well over 2 hours! Split Enz entered the stage inside a giant bag, which wobbled around the stage until it split (?) and they tumbled out and launched into Shark Attack. It was big. There was a half hour encore with Mark Seymour (Nick's brother and frontman with Hunters & Collectors) and the Finns. One of the great concerts. The Finns; Angels Heap is sublime, 'nuff said. Ciao dudes, Andrew
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 02:56:49 +0000
From: "dunks58" <dunks58@milesago.com>
Subject: OT - Split inFinnitive
Message-ID: <544598bd83984d86bd6b8307055f3a06@milesago.com>
Greetings all! First post in ages. Contrary to rumour, I did not stage
my own death. I just smell funny.
re: the Split Enz/Crowded House universe -- here's a brief
two-bob's-worth from a longtime Enz-o-phile:
There were two distinct incarnations of the group and a fairly
substantial difference in style between them. The first ('72-'78-ish)
was dominated by the partnership of Tim and the woefully
under-recognised Phil Judd, who also is also an accomplished artist
and painted several of their album covers. My fave from Mk 1 is still
the first album, 'Mental Notes'; it's very proggy but with a distinct
melodic pop edge that other comparable bands like Genesis could never
quite match IMO. My lifelong affection for the song "Amy" is one of
the reasons we so named our daughter. It was my introduction to the
band and remains a sentimental fave that's always been close to my
hippie heart. Also handy to know that they were *heavily* into Mervyn
Peake at this time.
The second LP "Second Thoughts" (produced by Manzanera) is bsaically a
remake of the first 'cos they werent happy with the production,
although I still think it slightly inferior to the
first. "Dizrhythmia" (Neil's debut) is also terrific and one of the
two transtional albums between their older style and the latter
power-pop version. "Frenzy" is even better, and features the
wonderfully punky 'I See Red'.
Judd quit around '78 but later formed a great power pop trio called
The Swingers, which included future Oils bassist Bones Hillman. They
had a massive one-off Antipodean #1 hit with the savagely infectious
"Counting The Beat" in 1980; their only album, originally titled
"Practical Jokers", is well worth having a listen to, has some realy
great songs, but it flopped and they fizzled out fast.
Enz MK II really kicked off in 1980 with "True Colours", which IMO
ranks alongside "Black Sea", "Pet Sounds" and Semantics' "Powerbill"
(thank you Mike Versaci) as one of THE great pop albums of all time --
it's also structured quite like Pet Sounds, with two instrmentals. It
was a HUGE hit downunder and is probably the ideal place to start for
most people.
"Waiata" (aka "Corroboree") is basically a remake of "True Colours",
but is one of the rare occasions where the follow-up is pretty much
every bit as good as its predecessor. "Time And Tide" took me longer
to get into but is also very fine and has been spoken of as their
"Black Sea" - very nautical and more mature in style.
By the time "Conflicting Emotions" came out Tim was running out of
steam and was all but out of the group, so Neil was carrying the most
of the weight -- he does well ('Message To My Girl' is a classic and
far and away the best song on the album) but it's nowhere near as
strong as the previous three. The valedictory "See Ya Round" is
probably the least essential of all -- "I Walk Away", Neil's
bittersweet farewell to Tim, is fabulous, but the rest of the album is
pretty much filler and you can hear that they were basically going
through the motions.
Also cannot too highly recommend the Split Enz DVD, as it contains
remastered versions of all their brilliant clips -- they are unsung
pioneers of the craft and created/directed many of them themselves
going back to the mid-Seventies. It's also important in terms of
getting a handle on their incredible visual and stage presence and
their outrageous costumes, hair and makeup. Plus, they were a kickass
live band. It's only now being recognised, but they had a strong
influence on the development of the punk and especially New Romantic
looks in London (where they were based for some years). When you see
percussionist Noel Crombie's truly wild creations, you'll see what I
mean -- they make Klaus Nomi look like a bank clerk.
The first Crowdies album was so strikingly better than the last Enz
album that I wonder now why they bothered. All three Crowded House
studio albums are essential listening IMO but I have a real soft spot
for the first, and for "Woodface" cos I think Neil and Tim are just
meant to sing together.
Phil Judd subsequently joined forces with Nigel and Noel from the Enz
to form the little-known but very interesting Schnell Fenster, and
their two albums are well worth a listen once you've digested the Enz
catalogue. Very quirky left-field pop with dark edges. Phil's voice is
an acquired taste but I like it. He also did quite well composing
soundtracks for some small Australian films like "Death In
Brunswick". There was a US-only solo album and it's not bad, but
probably for completists only.
Tim's solo work is rather mixed. I loved his first solo album,
"Escapade" and there are some great songs on it; it was a big success
here. The others are more variable, but he's a brilliant singer and a
great songwriter and when he's on form, there are few to touch him. I
also think the first Finn Brothers album was really good -- I saw them
in concert at that time and still rate it as one of the best shows
I've seen. Tim's also done stuff with Liam O'Maonlai (as ALT) but I've
not heard that and can't comment.
I believe there's a new Finn Brothers album on the way, is definitely
already completed, might even be out now, but I've been out of the
loop for ages so I'm not sure -- Neil's site could tell you -- but I
know he's very excited about it.
Dunks
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 12:39:37 +0200
From: jeffrey.thomas@bayercropscience.com
Subject: InFinnIty
Message-ID: <OFE8C65FCC.2870F5AF-ONC1256EEB.00380D16@bayer.de>
Hi all,
Since I don't know how to say "Kreideberger" in French yet, I'll stick
to the neutral "Hi all" in the greeting line. I myself have switched
residence from Germany to France (Lyon) but am still a fan of the
greatest living pop-n-roll group: No Angels. Ooops, I meant XTC.
Been reading all the Split Enz/Crowded House/Finn talk here and
although I already replied off-list to Ben tout de suite, I see that I
may have a thing or two I could contribute here, too.
1) Which CH album(s): I am in the "Woodface" camp, although "Together
Alone" is No. 2 in my book, with some exceptionally strong songs and
some aspects more pleasing than WF. So I partially agree with Hobbes,
but I also must state that if WF has too much filler, it is then very
high-grade filler. I never got the impression there was more filler
on the album at all -- each CH issue has its share of less-than-great,
and I feel WF's share is the smallest. I also agree with John V. that
the presence of Tim and the co-writing raised the bar for CH on WF,
making it the brightest and liveliest of all of their albums, they
obviously had a good time.
2) Which SE album(s): I'll go along with Bill "Fly" Goodfellow's take
on it all the way, and reiterate very clearly the the "laser etched"
version of true colors is very, very cool -- cooler, for instance,
than the rather dull-colored psychedelelic "Psonic Psunspot" in my
collection. I am not aware of any other album like it, and it
could've become a cool selling point if it had been marketed properly.
3) Tim Finn: If you like "Woodface" then you should probably get
"Before & After", which came out slightly later and has 2 co-writes
with Neil which, from their general tone and style, would seem to be
"Woodface" leftovers. Both are 100% "Woodface"-compatible if you're
burning CDs. It also includes a song co-written with Chalkhills
"darling" Richard Thompson ("Persuasion"), which Richard later
recorded on one of his albums with his son (I can't recall the name of
the album, sorry). And there're lots of other good tunes on B&A, too.
Other stuff: So which Dukes were in the crowd at Brian's concert?
Don't leave us hanging here...
"Get Wise"/John V.: When I was in college, some mag (probably a girlie
mag like "Oui" or something) reviewed all major potato chip brands
across the USA, and Wise came out pretty poorly. However, they were
always my favorites in the eastern USA and I support you
wholeheartedly every time I'm there.
A digest of CH with all of this, plus Andy's neighbor, Pugwash, and
Parkspliced in just one issue? Chalkhills is a great place!
A bientot!
Jeff
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 23:20:41 -0400 From: <phipps117@charter.net> Subject: many thanks to relph Message-ID: <391ph9$5nl9rv@mxip02a.cluster1.charter.net> <<de-lurk>> many personal thanks indeed to our elusive moderator and leader extraordinaire - john relph - for helping me in unsubscribing to chalkhills under my old e-mail address and then subscribing again under the new one. for someone as computer-illiterate as me, relph is indeed a godsend ... so thank you, john! i really appreciate it, man. <<back to lurk mode>> ******* "All of the answers you seek can be found in the Dreams that you Dream ..." (Dan Fogelberg)
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 10:50:58 +0100 From: "Toby Howard" <toby@cs.man.ac.uk> Subject: XTC items on eBay Message-ID: <001601c47f88$b7a6d3a0$0100a8c0@monty> Hello Chalkhills chums, Just to mention I have a few XTC-related items currently on eBay. If you're interested, please take a look at: http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=podssama&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=50 Cheers! Toby
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #10-35 *******************************
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