Chalkhills Digest, Volume 10, Number 52

                Saturday, 13 November 2004

Topics:

                        Smile Live
                     BLOWING BUBBLES
       smiled & wired, fuzzed and scratching tatoos
                          Urgh!
                  Old XTC concert review

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No letting out just what you think.

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Date: Sat, 6 Nov 2004 17:07:19 -0800
From: "Craig Vreeken" <vreeken@citlink.net>
Subject: Smile Live
Message-ID: <000001c4c466$21eac9c0$0400a8c0@CRAIG2>

I'm seating in the center of San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall
Thursday evening and the tears are running down my cheek.  I'm listening
to Brian Wilson and his 18 piece band sing the lyrics "I heard the word.
Wonderful thing! A children's song. A children's song-have you listened
as they play. Their song is over and the children know the way" from
Surf's Up.  It's just too much beauty.

Who would have ever thought that we would ever have this, much less see
it performed live by musicians who revere Brian Wilson and are faithful
to his vision.  It was a staggering show.  Not only the entire Smile
album, but an impromptu "sing around the campfire" with a couple of
acoustic guitars, bongo drums and glockenspiel as the only accompaniment
to these beautiful vocal harmonies started the show.  Heartwarming,
literally. I know the US leg of the tour is over, but for those of you
in Australia and New Zealand, do not miss this.

Craig Vreeken
http://www.citlink.net/~javalee/

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 06:19:30 +0000 (GMT)
From: Paul Culnane <paulculnane@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: BLOWING BUBBLES
Message-ID: <20041108061930.93573.qmail@web86908.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>

Well, tickle my nether-regions with a peacock feather!

Firstly, I wouldn't be surprised if some Michael Jackson jokes crept in
here.  Come on, then.  Anyway, given that this forum has been a particularly
SMiLEy place of late, I felt a bit humbled about all those references to ME
in Chalkhills vol 10-51, so, is it an appreciation society for "The Insane
One"?  I hope not, really, because I'm just a normal (?) guy who drops a
surreptitious fart like you may.

But thanks to the various ones who left great appreciative comments about my
mad ramblings.  Had hoped that the "Jacuzzi Chronicles" had died in the arse
though, but apparently not (thanks Frank).  For me, I'd like it to have
happened with Kate Bush (alternative American president).  And I know
there's another fella (nugget) who I won't name for fear of embarrassing
him, who might like to share a hot tub with Siouxsie Sioux!  Oh, this guy
sent me some CDs of The Nines, did I tell you that?  Seek out The Nines!

There is documentation about Lennon peering over his granny-specs to tell
Macca: "it's only me"-

Absolutely no XTC content here (oh well, here comes a token bit).  May I
close with the offer of lyrics to a fine song?  I sat on my kitsch purple
velour couch with my very hip & groovy mother, and we wept together, over
"Mayor Of Simpleton", "Runaways" and "Dear God"; she was comforting me after
a particularly traumatic relationship breakup I'd been undergoing at the end
of 1996.  This was over a guy also called Paul, dammit.  And then I played
this song for my Mum (see below).  Floods of tears in the hallways-

Thanks for being so beautifully Chalkified to me everybody.
Love Paul

Proudly Australian

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BLOWING BUBBLES

Sometimes my hands don't do what they should
That's not your fault, you did all you could
I guess I'm dumb and I try to hide it
But when I'm wrong I don't deny it

Mum: I won't cry 'bout how you raised me
Things weren't perfect but I'm not crazy
You did alright, I've got my troubles
But my inner child is blowing bubbles

I'll never go on Sally or Oprah
And say it's your fault that I can't cope
You did your best, for that I'm grateful
Those selfish-helpers are cruel and hateful

I've made mistakes, I've made a million
I've had regrets, a million times a billion
I am to blame, that I'll acknowledge

Mum: I won't cry 'bout how you raised me
Things weren't perfect but I'm not crazy
You did alright, I've got my troubles
But my inner child is blowing bubbles

c 1996 Moe Berg who espouses "The Pursuit Of Happiness"

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 18:49:51 +0100
From: "don device" <device@noos.fr>
Subject: smiled & wired, fuzzed and scratching tatoos
Message-ID: <010101c4c5bb$59664f90$3f3f4251@computer>

Hail Chalkians!

So much to say, so few keys on my clavier...

A few things to get out of the way before I recount THE MOST AMAZING XTC
coincidence of ALL TIME!!! (if you've got one to beat it, I'd love to hear
it!)

SO, SMiLe! Are you kidding? As one of those ob sesional types who tried
repeaqtedly to cobble together a version of what this disc might have
sounded like, my gob has been smacked. Even up against well-produced jetsam
that surfaced here and there (i.e. the then-titled 'cabinessence'), I'm all
the more impressed by the lack of modern recording techniques glariung their
way into my ears (i.e. 'Free as a Bird:' or 'Cloud Nine')... the sounds seem
genuine, clearly produced and even 'Good Vibrations' takes on a whole new
allure in this context! I've often wished to be able to re-hear songs
(particularly by XTC and the Beatles) for the 'first time'... If only, if
only 'Black Sea' or 'Revolver' could get the same treatment!!!

There was a recent article in Slate dreading the possibility of this very
disc... I totally agreed with the writer at the time, but I'm sure even he's
spinning this one in overtime! I myself was saddened a bit when they found
the Titanic, but this disc is so ghood it even makes up (and then some!) for
the lost possibilities testified to by my 'smile' lower-case recreations.
Brian's voice? Get outta here! Even when he was young, it was always the
hint of strain that kept it from becoming totally sacharine to my ears. Note
the difference in live recordings before and after he stopped touring...

Enuff!

As for DRUMMED and WIRED, what can I say? I'm jealous of those of you who
can see them live. I was priveledged to be one of a two-person audience for
a rehearsal a year ago at Ian's place and, whilme not quite XTC, this band
kicks ass and plays the songs as if they just wrote them themselves!
(disclainmer: the drummer, Evan, played for a while in my old band, devices)

FUZZINESS:    Got 5 and 6, and think they're definitely the best so far. I
was glad to note that the jewel cases were much sturdier and arrived only
slightly scratched... These are the only rtwo so far that i play repeatedly,
sometimes several times in a row!

BTW: Reaction to my last post in/re my shattered cases for the last two is
what's kept me from posting since. I'm no cry-baby, but perhaps I deluded
myself on two counts: . That XTC could always be relied on to deliver
surperior qkuality in everything they produced, never cutting corners just
to please Mammon, and 2. That XTC fans wouls generally aspire to the same
qualities of tolerance and citizenship that I do, never stoping to slander
and needless flaming. Andy is quite god-like, but he's human too, folks. I'm
sure he'd be the first to get a jibe in if he recieved plastic fragmentsin
the mail for an elevated price...

Now to THE INCREDIBLE XTC STORY!!!

I held my annual Haloween party a day early this year, on the 30th... I
never know how big a crowd I'll get as this is France, and depending on the
US's image here (and it's rrrreeeaaalllyyy good right naw, thaks W!), they
tend to boycot things percieved as US... Indeed, not too big a crowd...
LAter, some folks showed up who work in the adult film industry, and whle
forcing costumes on them (required for entry), a guy about 35 ca   me up to
me and said (in French, bien sur), "So is this your work?' I didn't
understand what he meant until I saw that he was gesturing to my wall
hanging. I have one of those plastic thingies (technical term) for
displaying CD covers full of every official XTC release. I informed him that
I hadn't designed the covers nor recorded tyhe music, but that, effectively,
it was I who hung them on the wall. He said, "Well, you're going to be
amazed at this!" (little did he know!) He pulled up his shirt, and there,
tatooed in black up the left side of his chest, the CHALKHORSE!!! He was
grinning with pride. I wasindeed surprised, but ot as much as he when I
pulled my pants down (just a couple of inches! The party wasn't THAT adult!)
to show him my tattoo of the little bird in the eye from Skylarking! He
recognized it immediately as well!

Up until that evening, I only knew of two people with XTC tattoos: Myself
and my ex-girlfriend (the drummer in the afore-mentioned band that Evan
replaced!)... We held a sort of secret wedding ceremony which climaxed (?)
with our getting matching tattoos low on our stomachs, but in reverse so
that they would match up when we made love. I still love mine. LAst I heard
she was cursing me for talking her into doing it, but... time has a way of
fucking with us all, n'est pas?

OK folks, that's it!

Ciao4now,

don device

"I was married by a judge. I should've asked for a jury!" Groucho

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 09:36:18 -0800 (PST)
From: Joseph Costello <joe_costello2004@yahoo.com>
Subject: Urgh!
Message-ID: <20041109173618.76798.qmail@web50101.mail.yahoo.com>

Hi,

Just a quick note to mention to any cable/satellite viewers who have
the INHD channel, that the movie Urgh! A Music War, featuring our
favorite beat combo, is on fairly regular rotation there at the
moment.

Catch it while you can....

Joe C

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 10:03:17 -0800
From: David Gershman <dagersh@pobox.com>
Subject: Old XTC concert review
Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20041112095919.03145300@mail.comcast.net>

Hi all,

  I don't know if this has been brought to our attention already (if so, I
missed it), but if not: I came across this 1981 concert review while
surfing around. As you'll see, it's not positive at all, but I for one
would give a lot to have been there, good or not...

http://www.tvparty.com/homeroom1/4-16-81.html

Dave

	[ It has been linked from Chalkhills for some time.  -- John ]

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End of Chalkhills Digest #10-52
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