Chalkhills Digest Volume 10, Issue 4
Date: Thursday, 22 January 2004
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 10, Number 4
Thursday, 22 January 2004
Topics:
OT: food for thought?
gack?
XTC binge
Friendships developed here at Chalkhills?
Miscellenea
Wasp Star
barry andrews...
New wave photos site
XTC pottery
kinda surreal
Re: King For A Day
What I Forgot To Say Before
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When you flick on your lamp / I'm dreaming.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 09:51:36 -0500 From: "Groove Disques" <info@groovedisques.com> Subject: OT: food for thought? Message-ID: <000801c3ddd2$932fa630$de702c44@yourzpvq75jcr6> Paul wrote: > I found this quote that I thought some of you may be interested to read. It > comes from a recent Mojo magazine interview with British eccentric Billy > Childish (latest band The Buff Medways), and I for one tend to concur. Over > to you Billy... > > "Am I rationing music? No, but most people are stuffing their faces full of > chocolate all the time. They don't practise discernment. They end up > liking something which is really substandard out of the desperation of > wanting to find something to like. I don't have that desperation". I loved that little interview. In case it wasn't clear to anyone who hasn't read it, this was referring to his own listening habits. So does his discernment as a listener free him up to record and release what seems like a dozen albums per year? Something's still out of balance:) I do find what he said to be a natural progression with maturing folks who are more interested in their own creative exploits. Rock on, Billy! Jim www.groovedisques.com
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 08:58:12 -0800 From: Kevin Collins <kevin@kcollins.com> Subject: gack? Message-ID: <400ABB24.1040708@kcollins.com> > From: Emooleson@aol.com > Subject: Gack...! > > I've been lurking for more than a year. Have I missed anything important? > Are they EVER going to record something new? > > slouching toward nihilon, > Steve Oleson Hmmm... After sitting on my hands from Nonsvch through Apple Venus vol 1 & 2, this wait is nothing. :-)
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 10:16:20 -0800
From: David Hathaway <davidh@electricmail.com>
Subject: XTC binge
Message-ID: <6AB06A1D-49E2-11D8-910C-000A956739BE@electricmail.com>
Ruddy 'ell, I've lurked on this list for a dogs age, I can't even
remember the last time I emailed to it!
Anyways, I've been on an XTC binge all week so this post simply states
as much. Oh dear, how I wish they'd do something new!
And kudos to all who contributed to King For A Day, thats quite the
list of tracks. Had I paid more attention, I'd have put one out for it
as well. That being said, I did put out a CD that really doesn't sound
much like XTC at all unless one takes ska/reggae/dub beats as a tip of
the hat to the boys...
www.dubfreque.net
back to lurking!
David Hathaway davidh@electricmail.com
The Electric Mail Company +1 (604) 482-1111
Dogbert: Has your electronic mail system made you more efficient?
Dilbert: In a way... Now I'm getting ignored at the speed of light.
-- Scott Adams
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 22:20:16 -0500 From: "res00u0b@gte.net" <d.elks@gte.net> Subject: Friendships developed here at Chalkhills? Message-ID: <009a01c3de3b$2960c3b0$9200a8c0@lab1> Hi folks, I've been a member here for many years. I don't post very much but I enjoy reading and hearing about new music and XTC related info. I'm curious to find out if some people on the list have actually met in person and have developed friendships. I say this because five years ago I met a fellow member who lives in my area and now we are friends and bandmates. We started working together on song demos and then decided to start a band. This is a great place to meet like-minded people. Our band is called "Down By Avalon" and you can check out our homemade website at www.downbyavalon.com . We recently finished an EP that is available for download on our site. The EP was produced by Robert Sledge. (formerly with Ben Folds Five) Robert also plays guitar on the recording. In August I was in England for two weeks. My wife and I had a wonderful time driving around the country side and listening to XTC in our rental car. I purchased Fuzzy Warbles 1 in a record store in York and listened in the car as we headed off into the country side. Happy 2004 to All... Dempsey
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 13:36:30 EST
From: Hbsherwood@aol.com
Subject: Miscellenea
Message-ID: <27.4fa99063.2d3ecf2e@aol.com>
Strange, almost gratuitous mention of XTC in The Washington Post this
week, in a long and involved article about why it is that online
purveyors of single-song downloads don't carry more artists. (Answer:
some artists -- Tom Petty being the example given -- feel that the
single-song model diminishes the value of boxed sets containing
rarities that the artists, not the labels, own the rights to. Others
-- Radiohead, e.g. -- feel that the integrity of their albums is
violated by the single-song download, and believe that entire albums
should be sold or nothing at all.)
The XTC mention is in an illustrative graphic rather than the body of
the article itself, and simply says that XTC's songs are available at
the Wal-Mart download site, but not at the iTunes Store. The article
can be seen at Music Fans Find Online Jukebox Half-Empty
(TechNews.com), but they chose not to reproduce the graphic, so Your
Drooling Completist Fanboy Satisfaction Is Not Guaranteed. (That's
YDCFSING, in NetSpeak...) N.B.: What seems to be available at the
Wal-Mart site is only the Upsy Daisy Assortment, which suggests a
Geffen/Virgin distribution deal done somewhere in the way-distant
past, probably once again screwing Andy and Colin out of any money
from the sales. So you can go on slagging Wal-Mart for being
soul-destroying suck-asses and not enlightened purveyors of
Magnificent Music for the Masses; I know I will.
Now, where was I?
-----
DUKES FANS TAKE NOTE: Xmas prezzie to self: Movements, a 3-CD box of
the Move's three albums prior to their signing with Harvest in 1971,
as well as the usual singles, outtakes, rarities.... Heathens to
Beastie, what an amazing band this was! I'd only been familiar with a
few bits and pieces of their output from various compilations, but
nothing had prepared me for the wonderful balls-out audacity of Roy
Wood in full psychedelic splendor. The first two records, The Move and
Shazam! are the Stratosphearic prizes, complete with silly spoken
linking bits between songs and the absolute best backwards guitar solo
you've ever heard. The third, Looking On, gets a bit bloozy and sludgy
-- in perfect keeping with the 1969 _zeitgeist_, of course, but even
on this there are many bright moments. Of course, this was the record
that introduced Jeff Lynne to the band -- and I'll let Mr. LaCarte
comment on that addition.
(Ha! AOL spell-checker, ever the oracle, suggests "lacerate" for LaCarte"!)
-----
> From: "Paul Culnane" <paulculnane@hotmail.com>
> Subject: moore of the same
>
> "She loves you, yeah yeah yeah" - that'll do for me
>
...and later, in the same digest, this gem...
> [from a recent Mojo magazine interview with British eccentric Billy
> Childish]:
>
> "Am I rationing music? No, but most people are stuffing their faces full of
> chocolate all the time. They don't practise discernment. They end up
> liking something which is really substandard out of the desperation of
> wanting to find something to like. I don't have that desperation".
Goodness! Such wisdom, not once but twice in the same week!! Paul's been
eating his Wheaties!
I can't exactly say that I've been wracked with guilt over the
question, but I have noticed that as my dotage approaches (three
years, tops, if I keep huffing the gasoline) I find myself more and
more in Mr. Childish's camp -- losing that "desperation" to find
something new to like. Can a Grandpa Simpson Moment be far behind? ("I
used to be with it, but then they changed what 'it' was. Now what I'm
with, isn't 'it,' and what's 'it' seems weird and scary to me.")
In fact, now that I examine the question, I think I've always been
this way. I remember being dismissive of Led Zeppelin at about age
12, feeling rather revolted by the whole guitar-as-weapon/penis
stance, Robert Plant's silly screeching, the relentless pounding... So
there you have the landscape: Torn between being a knee-jerk
rock-n-roll Tory -- dribbling cigar ash on my weskit and kicking at
the servants from my gout stool when they put on an OutKast CD -- and
an effete, promiscuous Eloi who flits like a hummingbird from flower
to flower.
We contain multitudes, baby.
-----
> From: Phil Corless <phil@pkmeco.com>
> Subject: Wonderfalls
> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20040117134204.0212d9b0@pop.mindspring.com>
>
> The new FOX TV show "Wonderfalls" premieres in the US on March 12. Have we
> heard yet if one of Andy's songs was selected as the show's theme?
As of last telling, yes. I believe it's called "I Wonder Why the
Wonderfalls."
Harrison "I also wonder why the Underalls, but that's a different song"
Sherwood
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 16:50:20 -0500 From: Benjamin Gott <bgott@rectoryschool.org> Subject: Wasp Star Message-ID: <A468BE4E-4B92-11D8-88B1-0003931489DA@rectoryschool.org> Gang, So I've been listening to "Wasp Star" a lot lately, and I've discovered that it is, in fact, great, especially in the "killer backing vocals" category. Last week, I sent "Wasp Star" and "Skylarking" to my friend Nick (the fellow who was asking about Kirsty MacColl) along with a note to join Chalkhills. I've not yet heard his reaction to the two CDs, but he has joined our wonderful list. Everyone, welcome Nick! Annie Lennox's "Stay by Me" is a great song. Don't argue with me; just listen. The "doobie-doobie-doo-wah" part is so friggin' awesome. Thanks, Stephen Lipson, for some great production! In fact, didn't Stephen Lipson also bring us the magically overproduced "If You Don't Love Me" by Prefab Sprout? Mmmm. That's another great song. -Ben
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 16:19:08 -0500 From: "Chris & Melany" <ellaguru@comcast.net> Subject: barry andrews... Message-ID: <000b01c3e064$35a58fe0$29372944@sanarb01.mi.comcast.net> hello. not too sure how many of you are onto the 'bit torrent' file share system, but if you are, im hosting the barry andrews gig that i taped here in detroit last summer. http://www.sharingthegroove.org/msgboard/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36195 thanks for your time cr
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 01:42:14 -0000 From: "Pledge" <Pledge7@btinternet.com> Subject: New wave photos site Message-ID: <12f901c3e088$f8173370$e9508051@oemcomputer> Time to briefly de-lurk. Sorry if you've seen this before, but I received this link via the Terry Hall mailing list and thought the XTC pics there might be of interest. http://www.newwavephotos.com/index.htm I've not had time to read the digests lately so this may have already been mentioned. Pledge
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 16:38:14 -0600
From: William D Sherlock <bdsherlock@juno.com>
Subject: XTC pottery
Message-ID: <20040121.223840.-16703603.0.bdsherlock@juno.com>
I was browsing around the web today and ran across some goodies displayed
in this page: http://www.dancingpig.com/landscape.html.
It looks to be pretty cool stuff for those with some disposable XTC
bucks.
Bill
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Ben Franklin
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 11:58:14 -0500 From: m stone <nedrise@sympatico.ca> Subject: kinda surreal Message-ID: <009979F6-4C33-11D8-BA73-0030653DDD26@sympatico.ca> Hi folks I've always read with amusement somebody's experience of hearing an XTC song in the grocery store. Well low and behold, I heard 'King For A Day' tonight at the Zehrs grocery here in Windsor. It was pretty surreal at first, and then it felt kinda sad. FIFTEEN years have gone by since Oranges and Lemons. It was a time when XTC absolutely rocked my world. These days I rarely listen to them, cause all their songs are permanently burned in to my brain. And it made me think, are we ever going to see a new album from them? Please somebody, reassure me. Speaking of which, the new King for a Day is great! All hail Mr. R P-A. Everybody go buy it if you don't have it yet. Lastly, Mr. Pete Cunliffe please forgive me and do drop me a line. I've lost your email address again... Goodnight and have wonderful dreams of flying. Michael Stone
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 22:37:56 -0800 From: Steven Reule <steven@obsessed-with-music.com> Subject: Re: King For A Day Message-ID: <4.1.20040121223502.01509ce8@mail.obsessed-with-music.com> Have to agree about the "King For A Day" mp3 CD. This is a fantastic deal, over 130 songs, and most of them very good. Many are better than the 'official' tribute cd Testimonial Dinner. Buy it now, it's insanely cheap!! Steven http://www.obsessed-with-music.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 17:45:09 EST
From: Hbsherwood@aol.com
Subject: What I Forgot To Say Before
Message-ID: <ad.387e8e33.2d41ac75@aol.com>
So here I am, I've started a simple desultory priapic through Neville
Farmer's Song Stories again, after a simple desultory hiatus of a couple of
years, and some simple desultory tulipheads have reared theyselves as wanton
discussion.
For sample, we disentomb this trippy litty titty-bitty, from p. 140, in
which Another One Bites the Dust:
But I would rather have had someone else be the singer and take
the majority of the limelight. I know that when Colin was singing
onstage, I felt more relaxed. The light wasn't on me. I have to be
brutally honest, I don't think I was cut out for pop stardom, even
though at one stage you could write off to Melody Maker and buy
lamp shades with my face on. Why lamp shades, I don't know. I
suppose the idea was that you could have my beautiful cheeseburger
face grinning at you as you dozed off. Something for them to comfort
them as they lay in the ward, strapped in their beds. But I wasn't
really cut out for pop lamp shadedom.
Now over the years here in Chalkhills the sharp-eyed reader may have
discerned a few things about my attitudes toward material consumption.
Plenty of you lovely people have tried to draw me into the XTC Memorabilia
Bazaar with promises of wonders to behold, but I tend to file that stuff
under Dustcatchers and Flimsy Crap and look upon the whole business with
stony disdain.
Now please don't think ill of me; I certainly don't disparage anyone else
who collects XTC gear. It's just that since I became an adult (what, about
12 minutes ago) I have come to regard material things as, well, so much
useless chattel. I have a nearly spiritual detestation of *things*; and I
regard life as an ongoing rearguard action to avoid their accumulation. I
would be the happiest Buddhist monk ever, I think, if it weren't for all
that abstinence botherment -- just me and my little begging bowl. And my
iPod. There we go.
But this thing in Song Stories -- now THERE's an aspiration for you! A
lampshade with Andy Partridge's grinning mug presiding over my bed! Why, he
could watch me as I persuade my wife to sacrifice her karma for just *one*
more lifetime in the Illusory Plane of Maya! ("Come on, honey! I know I'm a
Buddhist monk, but I'm a Buddhist monk who needs you to wear this little
Nazi uniform and walk up & down on my back! Come on! Andy's watching!")
Googling the phrases "Andy Partridge" and "lampshade" together produces only
references to the same story as above, and EBay is a dead loss. (Pooh! As
ever it was, Sakhyamuni!) But we *know* Partridge never tells fibs about the
past, don't we! Especially when it comes to lampshades! He's a veritable
Lampshade Diogenes, by vum!
So I throw it out to you, O my droogs: Have ever any of you t-shirt-tradin',
rare-bootleg-hoardin', bumper-sticker-droolin' barter-monkeys ever -- as in,
EVER -- come across an actual-factual Andy Partridge Lampshade? Or even a
picture of one?
For some reason, I feel that this is to become my Holy Grail quest. My and
my iPod. And my begging bowl. Here we go.
What's a nice girl like you doing in a Nazi uniform like that?
Harrison "A Simple Desultory Philly Cheesesteak" Sherwood
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #10-4 ******************************
Go back to Volume 10.
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