Chalkhills Digest Volume 11, Issue 58
Date: Tuesday, 25 October 2005
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 11, Number 58
Tuesday, 25 October 2005
Topics:
A Theory?
Re: XTC Lyrics Test
It's Friday, it's 5 to 5, and it's...
The Dutch XTC
Dukes gig got moved.
Re: the B*****s vs. g**s
XTC Geek List
MCartney, The Apple Box, Value For Money and Mortality
Holy Halloween, it's the Harridans!!
Why, oh Wiki?
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 02:09:43 EDT From: Telehead@aol.com Subject: A Theory? Message-ID: <5b.743a8dbb.30888ea7@aol.com> Hi Chalksters ... Ocassional poster, longtime lurker Warren from Sacramento here: I did indeed purchase the Apple Venus Box set (in advance) for three reasons: One, because I really do want to see how the double disc would have been sequenced; Two, because I have NO problem with spending my hard-earned dosh on products put on the market by two of my favorite artists of all time. And three; because I really, really, really want to download the new tracks ... Which led me to ponder this. The email from Idea said something about the rights to AV returning to Andy and Colin's control. Could it be possible that they were dissatisfied with the Cooking Vinyl deal and elected to let it run it's course by just putting out the demos and the "sing along" AV's ... essentially going on "strike" again? It would stand to reason, since they were unable to do the album "their way" ... hell, it cost them Gregsy in the process. So now, with the downloads available, it would seem that they haven't just been watching the grass grow at all. So why make the downloads available to only those who by the box set? Think it through, Chalkhillians ... Idea is an indie label, right? To make product available, capital is required. Yes, they do have their studio in Colin's garage, and I can attest personally to the amazing versatility of the POD amp simulator and a Telecaster so the recording overhead is pretty low. But to market the product you need to manufacture it, advertise it, and distribute it. The distribution end could take care of itself; any number of indies would happily sell a couple of hundred thousand XTC discs worldwide. But I would think that Andy and Colin's distrust of the whole music business would make them keep as much control as they could; there's plenty of examples out there from Ani DiFranco's Rightous Babe label to NRBQ's recent releases through their website on their own Edisun. So if Andy has raised some fair cash from APE, and a few thousand true believes pony up for the AV set ... bingo, cash for a new CD to hit the market. It might be a total pipe dream, but I think it makes sense. Oh yeah, this past Tuesday (October 18th) my wife and I brought a new XTC fan into the world ... Ian Thomas McGaffic Bishop has already shown me the true meaning of "Chalkhills And Children".
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 00:06:29 EDT From: JediShampoo@aol.com Subject: Re: XTC Lyrics Test Message-ID: <1d7.47c4985a.3089c345@aol.com> I am hanging up my XTC-fan hat and unsubscribing from Chalkhills. I only scored 63%. Man, I stink. There were songs on that test I'd never *heard* of. ;) Thanks for creating the test, though. It's not often that I get a meme that actually makes me think. It's not often that I post one in my livejournal, either, but I just had to see if anyone else on my friendslist would even recognize the band. So when will there be a big fun gathering in Las Vegas?? C'mon, it's a cheap place to travel to, I swear. If you live in the U.S. or Canada, that is. K
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 10:46:29 +0200 From: jeffrey.thomas@bayercropscience.com Subject: It's Friday, it's 5 to 5, and it's... Message-ID: <OF291BB2A7.386033D6-ONC12570A1.002C91A0@bayer.de> Hi, again, people of the collines de craie, In #57, some American-German-French-?? person wrote the following re. rare television appearances of XTC aired recently at The Meeting Place in Swindon: >and weirdest of all, the moment at which XTC was a "household name >band": the entire cast of a children's show (can't remember the name, >help me someone), dressed in medieval or renaissance style, concocting >a reason to sing a bang-on version of "Making Plans for Nigel", >complete with all the bits you love to sing along with! Excellent! If I am not mistaken, the name of that television show was "Crackerjack". I am sure someone amongst the British 'Hillers will be able to confirm this. Au revoir! - Jeff
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 17:37:13 +0100 From: "Chris Evans" <chrisevans@mpdetraz.plus.com> Subject: The Dutch XTC Message-ID: <000601c5d726$db711ec0$0201a8c0@acer20072f4638> ... a spot of news that is sure to be of interest to many XTC fans (and I am one such). There is but one band in the world who are fit to lick XTC's boots when it comes to sheer creative longevity, and that is the Nits. Like XTC, they started as a New Wave band in the mid-70s, diversified into all kinds of interesting areas and ended up with a core of just two members. Unfortunately, they had the massive cultural disadvantage (from a rawhk perspective, that is) of being Dutch. And they were further disadvantaged by the fact that their record label (stop me if this sounds familiar) didn't understand them and stopped releasing their albums in the UK and US. Those they did release, they did their best to hush up. For those few Brits like me who got to hear these wonderful records back in the late 80s, however, the relationship has endured till this day, despite the fact that the Nits have only ever played once in the UK - at a Womad festival. But after much harassment from yours truly, they have finally agreed to give British audiences another chance. They are playing a gig at the delightful Bush Hall in Shepherd's Bush on December 9, with tickets just #10. Now I kid you not, for anyone who loves inventive, utterly distinctive pop music of the kind purveyed by XTC, this really is a must. I promise you, this is not just your standard issue hype. If the Nits had been British or American, they'd be - well, at least as popular as XTC, and Prefab Sprout and Stackridge, and all those other bands who don't fit the record companies' marketing categories. ... All the best Chris Evans Downtown Wolverhampton
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 17:07:09 -0500 From: Chris Vreeland <CVREELAND@austin.rr.com> Subject: Dukes gig got moved. Message-ID: <9A881A27-A755-4D00-9A8E-94BB4B615C74@austin.rr.com> The Dukes of Simpleton gig that I announced a couple weeks ago has been moved across town. We're still playing Friday Nov. 4th, but now the show will be at Threadgill's World Headquarters which is at 301 West Riverside Drive - Austin, Texas. We'll be playing from 9 to 10:30. Hopefully, the stars will align, and we'll get a little video of this occasion on our site soon afterwards. Hope to see some of ya'll there! XTC content: Now playing on Radio Tejas: Scissor Man, by Primus -- http://chrisvreeland.com/Radio/Radio.html Chris "whose idea was this, anyway?" Vreeland
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 10:11:15 -0700 (PDT) From: Todd Bernhardt <beat_town@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: the B*****s vs. g**s Message-ID: <20051023171115.28844.qmail@web32002.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi: Mark Fisher pointed out: > Interesting how much Gray seems to know about me on the basis of three > short sentences. I happen to be a Beatles fan, but the Beatles thread on > Chalkhills got out of hand years ago and it's never been reined in. Well, there was a good reason for that. The Beatles thread had to do with music, which we're here to discuss. The guns thread did not. -Todd If the gods listened to the prayers of men, all humankind would quickly perish, since they constantly pray for many evils to befall one another. Epicurus, philosopher (c. 341-270 BCE)
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 22:11:08 +0100 From: "David Seddon" <D.Seddon@btinternet.com> Subject: XTC Geek List Message-ID: <002301c5d816$4a76b1a0$0200a8c0@seddon> Aside from music, one of the things I am passionate about is boardgaming - which is something that Andy enjoys very much, too. I've actually chatted to him for 20 minutes about the very thing. Anyway, if you've never been to BoardGameGeek, it's the best for this sort of thing. It's a great site to browse when thinking of a Christmas pressie for someone. Anyway, I've just done this list about the Songs of XTC. Take a look: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listid=11042&commentid=279092#279092
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 10:23:55 +1000 From: "Simon Knight" <homefrontradio@hotmail.com> Subject: MCartney, The Apple Box, Value For Money and Mortality Message-ID: <BAY109-F82813E56962CAE9BB2DA4D0760@phx.gbl> RE: McCartney: Listen to his obvious influence in songs like `I'd Like That', `Brainiac's Daughter' and the extremely under-rated `Ladybird', (a song I dearly wish had been covered by a singer like Nina Simone or Billie Holiday), and you'll understand why he's relevant. And I'll defend both `Let `Em In', (a study in Nursery Rhyme simplicity that's hypnotic in its use of repetition, and I'm sure is intended as nothing more than that), and `Magneto and Titanium Man', (which is an obvious roots nod, and rocked my world with its comic book imagery when I was 6 or so). I guess growing up without watching an artist develop gives you a different perspective. I was able to listen to his stuff free of expectation or comparison and take each song on its own merits. (Which is probably why `Ladybird' appeals to me so much, thinking about it, since I was working my way back from `Skylarking'). RE: Apple Box and Anger People aren't upset at the Apple Box existing, as such. They're annoyed by the use of `Bait Tracks' to force them to re-purchase what they already own. It feels exploitative. And yes, there's the obvious argument that "You don't have to buy it". But when you pair it with the first airing of eagerly anticipated new material in a few years, it seems a mercenary business decision. A few thoughts: 1) The releases of `Homespun' and `Homegrown' were the kind of things only fans would buy anyway due to their premium price. (They would have been perfect mid-price releases). If we pay the same monetary price for what really are sketches of a finished product already available elsewhere, then are we unintentionally sending a message that quality isn't important and we'll buy any `sketches' that are lying around if they're slapped onto CD? Where's the encouragement to properly record new material if we gladly shell out for Fuzzy Warbles? Each FW disc here is $30 Australian. To put their lack of value for your dollar I give you the following comparisons: For an extra $6 more I bought a three pack of Bob Dylan: "Bringing it all back home", "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Blonde On Blonde". For $5 more I can buy the three disc deluxe edition of the Kink's "The Village Green Preservation Society". For the same price I bought the 2 Disc Split Enz "Spellbound" collection for an American Friend, (39 re-mastered tracks!). For $20 you can buy 2CD packs of Crowded House: "Crowded House" & "Temple Of Low Men" or "Woodface" and "Together Alone". That's almost their whole catalogue for $10 more than a FW! For $20 you can buy a pack of the Beach Boy's "Pet Sounds (Stereo and Mono)", "Smiley Smile" and "Wild Honey". So, for $30 for "Fuzzy Warbles Volume 1" I got six inferior demo versions of songs I already owned, half-arsed instrumentals, some ok but slight material, a few jokes and two lost gems: "Dame Fortune" & "Wonder Annual". Brilliant songs but not worth $15 a pop. Loving a band and wanting to be a completist shouldn't mean I have to become a unquestioning consumer, and coupled with the Homegrown and Homespun albums, turned me into a 'buy anything XTC without question" fan, into a "What am I really getting with this purchase?" one. Which now gives me the power to look at the `Apple Box' and think `meh, I can live without hearing those songs". (All that being said, they'd want to be *killer* songs, or people are going to be pissed). 2) Not enough time has passed for this kind of re-release. I consider `Black Sea' and `Skylarking' two undeniable classics. I have a sneaky feeling that `Apple Venus' might be their third, but it's going to take a lot more water under the bridge to make me feel that way about `Wasp Star'. More than likely, the unsold stock of all four albums were returned to the band by the record companies, and it's a way of putting these unsold cds to waste by putting them in new packaging. 3) As to finding a studio etc- Didn't the band build their own studio with their advance? I thought there were pictures on this site of it somewhere. If the guitar for `I'd Like That' was done in Colin's hallway, and the guitar for `Knights In Shining Karma', and the harmonica from `In Another Life' were both lifted from their demos, then why do you really need to head down to Abbey Road? Why did they go to all that trouble to build the studio but don't seem to be putting it to use? 4) The other possibility is the guys *did* put it to use, and slipped out an album under a pseudonym that nobody's picked up on yet. 5) And, well, rather tactlessly - the guys *are* getting on in years. We're impatient because there's only so many years in a life and each wasted one is that one step closer to when the book is finally shut for good. I'd for one, would like to hear more of what they have to say. Cheers, Simon
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 18:28:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Todd Bernhardt <beat_town@yahoo.com> Subject: Holy Halloween, it's the Harridans!! Message-ID: <20051025012840.4027.qmail@web32014.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi: Everyone who lives anywhere near the Washington, DC, area is cordially invited to howl with the Harridans this Saturday night (29 Oct.) at Jay's Saloon and Grill, 3114 10th Street North, Arlington, VA (near the Clarendon Metro stop), 703/527-3093. Who are the Harridans? They are: Harrison Sherwood: geetar, voices (in his head) Todd Bernhardt: drooms, sangin' Bob Sherwood: the big thing with four strings, yodeling And you want scary? Well, Bob lives in Massachusetts and the four of us have never played together before, so we'll be rockin' with some classics -- the B*****s, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, et. al. (even some XTC) -- strictly by the seat of our pants. Or trousers, if you're British. In any case, it'll be an audacious audio adventure with plenty of potential for patastrophe (hey, alliteration is hard sometimes). How cool is Jay's? This cool: http://snipurl.com/izbj Where is it? Here: http://snipurl.com/izcf Come on down and say hi. Tell us Chalkhills sent you, and we'll play a song just for you. Really we will. -Todd The first 40 years of life give us the text; the next 30 supply the commentary on it. Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (1788-1860)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 08:08:39 +0200
From: "don device" <device@noos.fr>
Subject: Why, oh Wiki?
Message-ID: <001b01c5d92a$8ba83e40$a43e4251@computer>
Chalkies,
In the Hitchhiker's spirit of things,
I thought the following link might be of interest to some of you. It's from
Thr Guardian, and is basically a bunch of 'experts' rating the respective
entries in their various specialities and rating them on a scale of 1 to 10.
I thought it might be amusing for us (''experts' in XTC that we all are,
'natch) to do the same thing with the XTC entry and then to write a few
lines as to WHY in our posts, along the same lines as The Guardian's
crew....
LEt's try to resist the temptation to fix the mistakes we find until the
games's over, so as to not invike the spectrer of Heisenberg too ovetly)....
Anyone game?
xo,
d2
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/opinion/story/0,16541,1599325,00.html
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #11-58 *******************************
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