Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 127
Date: Thursday, 27 June 1996
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 127
Thursday, 27 June 1996
Today's Topics:
collaborators for XtC
Dukes reference points
Look Look, Nonsvch, Carmen
cheap XTC CDs
my first post!
Band Popularity
resurrect the tape tree!!
New album titles?
Re: theatre & XTC
RE: Green Acres
Sux degrees of seperation
This and That
some nice chords!
re: Videos
Pigs 'n' Things
saying Gday
Nigel Drums....Help !
this is pop
Actually there isn't one, I just waffle for a bit
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Pulled me right overboard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 11:14:17 -0700 (PDT) From: Stephen Mahoney <stephenm@nethost.multnomah.lib.or.us> Subject: collaborators for XtC Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960626105806.24588C-100000@nethost.multnomah.lib.or.us> LIstening to the live BBc radio One recording from dec.22 '80 reintroduced my feelings that a drummer adds an important element to the XtC sound.....exhibit A: battery Brides ; daivid and andy are playing off of terry and colin's fun rythm loop ...not that I'm displeased with the Big Express or Mummer I just like the added layer of rythmic complexity. Stewart Copeland would fit in really well while also influencing the structure of their songs making them even better then they already are (someone mentioned bringing back terry c. which would be best, of coarse) . What happened to barry the, keyboardist? stephen mahoney portland,or.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <B1ECD62F01291300@ametsoc.org> Date: Wed, 26 Jun 96 14:57:00 -0500 From: dgershmn <dgershmn@ametsoc.org> Organization: AMS Subject: Dukes reference points Howdy y'all, Chalkhillbillies! This may be common knowledge to those of you whose record collections are quite extensive, but others of you may be interested to know the reference points of specific Dukes of Stratosphear songs. I'm actually only writing now to point out one of them (aside from the many Beatles and Beach Boys references that probably don't need mentioning), but maybe others of you who have figured out exact songs by various psychedelic groups that are being saluted in particular songs could pick up on this and let us hear your theories. In any case, the song "Bike Ride to the Moon" is based not so loosely on the song "Bike" by Pink Floyd (I believe it's on the "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" album...please correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm not 100% sure at this point, since I taped just that song and one other from a friend a few years back). The resemblance is pretty remarkable (and, of course, intentional). Take a listen, if you have the opportunity. (I'd be glad to tape it for you, if you can't find it elsewhere.) Any others? (Okay, here's one more, less specific one: "Vanishing Girl" is a pseudo-Hollies song.) Dave
------------------------------ From: myke <jerk@execpc.com> Message-Id: <199606262011.PAA17742@earth.execpc.com> Subject: Look Look, Nonsvch, Carmen Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 15:11:09 -0500 (CDT) > From: varga@ferndown.ate.slb.com (Stephen Varga) > Subject: Look Look > Now that XTC's contract with Virgin-EMI has been terminated, it's about > time a new compilation of videos was released. Hear, hear! I don't even have the Look Look video, so consider yourself lucky, but a complete XTC video compilation would be very dandy indeed. All of your production suggestions are great, maybe I'd add the director's name to your #2. And putting it on laserdisc would be neat too. > From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com> > Subject: New Album, Bungalow, English Settlement, Nonsvch, and Cheap > I dunno; if you mean Tricolor and Phrygian Cap, it's a bit too long (and too > similar to Oranges & Lemons). Just "Phrygian Cap" could work, tho. Anyway, > here are my choices for the next album name: Phrygian Cap sounds like some awful new They Might Be Giants song. Nix. > The Big Box Of Paints (from Wrapped In Grey) Maybe a title for Andy's third fan club release.. "Nature's Sunken Wreck" is a good title, but perhaps as a song... > And then there's Nonsvch. No one has mentioned "Crocodile." This is one of my perennial favorite XTC songs. There's plenty of great stuff on this album, although I don't particularly like Gus Dudgeon as a producer. "That Wave" just sounds like a bad The The B-side. Wasn't the Carmen album a promo-only thing? That might explain the difficulty in locating it.
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 15:23:45 -0500 (CDT) From: ierano_j@DD.PALMER.EDU Subject: cheap XTC CDs Message-id: <Pine.PMDF.3.91.960626152151.8879C-100000@DD.PALMER.EDU> Best Buy was selling cheap XTC CDs. $4.99 for either Rag and Bone Buffet, Big Express, or Nonsuch. WHat a bargain ! Joe Ierano
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v02130558adf75843dee6@[128.89.11.23]> Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 17:21:46 -0500 From: abissaro@bbn.com (Andrew Bissaro) Subject: my first post! Hi, y'all A few thoughts before plunging in to my first post: * Lee Lovingood, your XTC testimonial from a few weeks ago really moved me, and reaffirmed why I'm striving to be a good bassist. Kudos! * People who dislike The Smartest Monkeys and/or fail to see the cynicism are, IMHO, a few cards short of a full deck. The song is dripping with it! Or, is it hip to say that Colin's cynicism has come full circle into sincerity? * The person who claims that U2 and REM haven't grown or evolved...hasn't grown or evolved with them. Compare the sounds and songs of "Monster" and "Zooropa" to "Green" and "Joshua tree," and I'm sorry, I hear strong evolution--"not for the better," it could be argued--but evolution nonetheless. They've both come an enormous way, and I look forward to charting their growth with each new release. I am a big XTC fan, and Colin/Red Curtain is one of the main reasons (along with Tony Levin) I took up the bass... However, as they--and I--age without maintaining our producer/consumer relationship, I must say that my interest in XTC is beginning to wane a bit. I still love the songs and feelings they conjure within me, but whaddya all think about this: ARE SOME OF XTC'S ALBUMS BEGINNING TO SOUND DATED? COULD THE ADVENTUROUS PRODUCTION BE SERVING TO DIMINISH THE TIMELESS QUALITY OF THE SONGWRITING??? (sorry, i got carried away 8>) I'm finding the the more organic-sounding productions are holding up better. I bring this up because I was playing my fave XTC, English Settlement, for friends the other night, and one, who doesn't know the band really well, said, "Oh, that sounds so 80s..." I wanted to dismiss his dismissal, but had to grudgingly give it some credence. English Settlement sounds like what it is: Hugh Padgham's Master's degree. Soon, he would go on to his timeless PhD, "Synchronicity." ES DOES sound organic, but in a processed kinda way, like raising an embryo in a petri dish. Mummer: Overall, pretty spot-on great production. "love on a..." sounds like it could have come from the 13th century. "Wonderland" sounds like a moist rural vista, dripping, fecund. D&W/BS sound pretty timeless, urgent rock that sounds like it came from another planet. But Big Express? Earthbound, songs gasping for breath amid Fairlight sounds and electronic percussion... Skylarking should be an incredibly timeless album. It's fucking magical: great themes, melodies, adventurous tones, but the production, unfortunately, has the depth of...plastic aquarium flora...same for Nonsvch, which has killer tunes, but sounds like it spent too much time in a Ziploc sandwich bag on a sunny day. Gus Dudgeon? Please...he turned a vigorous set of songs into a stillbirth. It's a fine album, but I doubt it'll accompany Sgt. Pepper into the time capsule. The only XTC album I feel uses adventurous production to best advantage is O & L. A monument to studio craft; the best players, the best songs, the best production ideas, acoustic and electronic magically coalescing; a challenging, rewarding work. I ask: what are these producers thinking of? Or is it XTC's fault: does Andy seek to obscure his message in studio gimmickry? For those of you wondering why the boys aren't more well-known, this fact may nudge us slowly toward the answer... My examination of XTC is becoming more harsh lately, I must admit. This may be because it's a great time in music right now without them, sad as it sounds...John Leckie makes incredible music happen with Radiohead and Stone Roses; Tragically Hip is making some of the best Rock on the planet; the Indigo Girls are slowly becoming the Lennon/McCartney of our time; Richard Thompson is getting Mitchell Froom on the right track; Blur is kicking ass; Ani DiFranco is cranking it out; the Posies, Del Amitri; oh, I could go on... I may be a curmudgeon, but I'm finding that time is not being kind to my favorite band, and it makes me a little sad. love, Andrew Andrew Bissaro BBN on the World Wide Web http://www.bbn.com abissaro@bbn.com (617) 873-3024 "I do everything from the heart, from personal conviction. If you try to find love by charting a course, you'll never find it." --Van Cliburn
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 22:46:08 +0100 Message-Id: <199606262146.AA09364@felix.dircon.co.uk> From: Simon Sleightholm <nonsuch@dircon.co.uk> Subject: Band Popularity A short note on this topic. A lot of "casual" small town record buyers in the UK do their record buying in Woolworths - a shop which seems to operate it's own chart system. Compilation albums - which rarely hit the *real* chart - make up the majority of its chart placings. When Nonsuch and Oranges And Lemons both made (I think) top 50 in the UK, they didn't make the Woolworths chart. A record can be number one in the national chart and never ever scrape onto the Woolworth Top 75. Woolworths seem to place what they think will sell. If this pattern is repeated in other major chains there could be a problem. It might be a conspiracy. Or perhaps that just what THEY want us to think... From: heggej@ipcsun3.den.mmc.com (Jonathan Hegge) >I don't understand the attitude toward Terry Chambers. I have not been >around to catch the reason that Terry even left the band in the first >place. I have heard many times about Barry Andrews and his further >adventures but never about where Terry went or why. As I understand it, the main reason was that since the band had stopped touring he was denied his one real "outlet" - the chance to wallop the skins before an eager audience. The studio, I think, didn't appeal to him. Simon * --------------------------------------------------- http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~nonsuch/bungalow.htm * --------------------------------------------------- No Thugs In Our House, only XTC.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 18:11:54 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ted Harms <tmharms@library.uwaterloo.ca>
Subject: resurrect the tape tree!!
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.960626175744.2773B-100000@library.uwaterloo.ca>
I've been listening to the tape of Golden Guts/Jules Verne non-stop and it's
pretty much lived in my tape deck since I got it. Thanks again to all those
that put it together and to my leaf, Steve Lutz.
If y'all could see me now I'm on my knees begging and pleading that some
kind soul would put together a tape of B-sides, live tracks, studio
outtakes, alternate takes, whatever to further enlighten us. If everybody
who was in on it before is willing, the tape tree could be revived and
xTc could be spread to the unfortunate and disadvantaged.
I'm not trying to guilt those that have spent countless hours and
numerous dollars putting together an exhaustive collection, but being
hampered by my location (Waterloo, intellectually fertile but culturally
sterile) and my own financial situation ("...bought a house that won't
repair itself..."), it certainly would earn somebody several thousand karma
points by spreading some of this great music around.
Ted Harms Library, Univ. of Waterloo
tmharms@library.uwaterloo.ca 519.888.4567 x3761
"True affluence is not needing anything." Gary Snyder
------------------------------ Message-Id: <9606262317.AA2766@worldcom-47.worldcom.com> From: Martin Bell/New Zealand/IDG Net <Martin_Bell/New_Zealand/IDG_Net@idg.com> Date: 27 Jun 96 10:59:31 Subject: New album titles? In Chalkhills #2-126 Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com> replied/wrote >>"tricolor and phrygian cap"* >>* from Then She Appeared, definetely my choice as next new album title... >I dunno; if you mean Tricolor and Phrygian Cap, it's a bit too long (and too >similar to Oranges & Lemons). Just "Phrygian Cap" could work, tho. Anyway, >here are my choices for the next album name: >Vintage Wine (from My Bird Performs) >Nature's Sunken Wreck (from Humble Daisy) >Whispering Chimneys (from Rook) >Countless Cathedrals (from That Wave) >Cloud Eleven (from That Wave) >Pale Atlantis (from Then She Appeared) >The Big Box Of Paints (from Wrapped In Grey) >Any other suggestions? Maybe we should set up a betting pool. :) Anyway, >"Pale Atlantis", "Cloud Eleven", and "Nature's Sunken Wreck" are my >favorites, and the ones I think have the best chance of being picked. I know it breaks the "line from a song on the previous album" pattern, but how about using a song title? In fact, how about "Then She Appeared". Given the protracted label wranglings and the anticipation (in me, anyway) that the new Andy demo's are generating, I think this would be PERFECT. The lustful tone of many of Andy's new songs would also suit a feminine album title. And given that any XTC album is a "vessel" for Andy (and Colin's) songs, nautical convention would dictate "She" as the correct gender. By god, those new demo's are exquisite. Now that XTC are free from the clutching Virgin, I wish they'd hurry up and sign to another label! The world needs these songs! Oooh, I've come over all funny. Excuse me and farewell for now - I'm off to listen to "The Green Man". Martin Relevant XTC-related quote - "Banish the old, bring in the new"
------------------------------ Message-ID: <31D20319.3C34@uky.campus.mci.net> Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 20:42:17 -0700 From: "Raul Escudero, Jr." <ccbree@uky.campus.mci.net> Subject: Re: theatre & XTC > I have no evidence that an interest in theatre and an interest in XTC > naturally go together, but if anyone feels like conducting a poll, count me > in as a professional theatre critic. You could also add a friend of mine > who does a lot of theatre music (sometimes with deliberate, not to say > obscure, XTC references) and also the literary manager of the Manchester > Royal Exchange Theatre. So that's three of us . . . > > Mark Fisher (fisher@easynet.co,uk) You can count me in, too. I've been involved in the community theatre scene here in Lexington, Kentucky as an actor, sometimes-stage manager, and supporter. But, I doubt this is a trend or that it means anything, just a happy coincidence that there are that many of us connected to theatre. Any one else? Raul Escudero, Jr.
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 19:35 -0600 (MDT) From: Miles or Gigi Coleman <coleman@cougarnet.byu.edu> Subject: RE: Green Acres Message-id: <0DTMXQF1D00CKE@ACS2.BYU.EDU> >You know, fun and hilarity on the farm >with Eddie Fisher and Eva Gabor? What was the pig's name? Anyone remember? Arnold Zukerman Miles and Gigi Coleman Provo, Utah http://www.byu.edu/~coleman Family Home Page http://www.mission.net Index for Alumni of LDS Missions
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199606270246.MAA30143@warchives.riv.csu.edu.au.> From: "Simon Knight" <sknight@warchivegw.riv.csu.edu.au> Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 11:26:56 +0000 Subject: Sux degrees of seperation >From: "J. D. Mack" <jdmack@nicom.com> >Actually, there is a link between Celine Dion and XTC. One of the >orchestral arrangements on Celine's latest album was done by Andrew Pryce >Jackman, who did the orchestral arrangements on "Fish Out Of Water" by Chris >Squire, which had Bill Bruford on drums, who now drums in King Crimson along >side Pat Mastelotto, who drummed on "Oranges and Lemons." So don't be so >quick to dis Celine! >There's also a Mike & The >Mechanics link - Pete Phipps drummed on a Mike Rutherford track for the B-side >of a Phil Collins single. >How about a new thread; the most depressing XTC connection? Maybe someone >out there can provide a link from XTC to Rod, Jane and Freddy (one for the >UK Chalkies there), or XTC and The Goombay Dance Band. Any takers? NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! If people start playing "Six degrees of seperation" on this list i will personally walk the earth until i find each culprit and lay a "reign of blows" down upon their respective heads! ;-) Oh, all right then: XTC live on the same planet as Bon Jovi. (And it only took me one step!) Incidentally, has anyone thought about adding a video list to the archives, where a description and any information about the recording of each could be found? Maybe fan interpretations as well. Having never seen the videos for the "Mummur" and "Big Express" singles, i'd like to at least know what they look like. (Chalkhills & Children only makes vague references to most of the videos). Oh, if only someone would write as detailed an XTC book as Marcus Gary's R.E.M. tome, It Crawled From The South, a treasure trove of useless obsessive information. Exactly what a fan wants!
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199606270326.AAA09382@Fox.nstn.ca> Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 23:31:08 +0100 From: enrico@fox.nstn.ca (Erich W.) Subject: This and That Happy to see people finaly acknowleging ES. It's still my choice for getting converts. Had my nephew over on the weekend, a music major at college, and he'd never heard of the lads!! What the Hell do they teach nowdays? Ran some tracks by him, ie. Yacht dance (he said it sounded African - guess they don't teach Medieval music) and English Roundabout. Happy to say we have a new disciple! Wait till he hears Black Sea and the ever popular Nonsvch! Re Fripp being difficult - I saw the League of Gentlemen years ago (the date's on the back of their album) here at a bar venue and wound up playing pinball beside him. He was most polite, talkative, and a generally nice bloke. As for Mr. Belew, he's worked with some of the wonkiest people in the biz ie, FZ, Laurie Anderson, Byrne: I don't think Andy would give him any trouble! (By the way, anyone out there ever hear THE BEARS? And what ever happened to them?). Producer: Andy Drummer: Terry Best Bassist of all time: Alphonso Johnson Bye Bye! Enrico in cool, calm Ottawa
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01530500adf7c279fc91@[139.80.196.84]> Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 16:46:32 +1200 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: some nice chords! I know, I know, sometimes I'm slow to work out guitar chords (although when I do try, I can usually find them quite quickly). But last night I was just mucking around with the old six string in D and I played a variety of Gm xx0333. "Hmmm..." I thought, "that sounds familiar!" So I tried repeatedly swapping between a standard, boring old D (xx0232) and this Gm pattern. Before I knew what I was doing, I was singing "Holly up on Poppy" at the top of my lungs, quickly changing to a G and a A7sus (x02030). What a great song! And from a wonderful, wonderful underrated album, too (he says, adding his 5 cents to the debate!*) James * New Zealand no longer has 1c and 2c pieces :)
------------------------------ Date: 27 JUN 96 12:28:19 EST From: PCulnane@dca.gov.au Subject: re: Videos Message-ID: <0000txvjfprt.0000sgskwsqc@dca.gov.au> While agreeing with most of the sentiments expressed by Steven Varga in 'Hills # 126; that the video portion of XTC's body of work should be upgraded, I must, with respect, correct him on a couple of points if I may: (1) My copy of Look Look has a hi-fi soundtrack, and all clips have been re-mastered with true stereo sound. My Look Look looks and sounds great! (The original UK Virgin release was mono/non-hi fi but still looked pretty good I reckon). (2) Do you realise, Steven, what's entailed to produce a Dolby Surround soundtrack? It would mean that all the clips would have to have their soundtracks re-mixed into surround to suit this format. I doubt anybody would bother. Why, XTC seldom even did remixes for singles. I'm just thankful that somebody did a good job in "stereo-fying" the old clips for Look Look. Apart from that, I agree it would be nice to have an upgraded compendium of all the video clips ever made by the band for Virgin. I'm not optimistic, however, that such a beast will ever see the light of day. Thanx for listening; I wasn't trying to be a smart-arse, just realistic. PAUL
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 22:49:10 -0700 Message-Id: <199606270549.WAA27737@dfw-ix3.ix.netcom.com> From: mikem9@ix.netcom.com (Mike Martis ) Subject: Pigs 'n' Things Some XTC wishes and things that must be removed from my chest... New album's drummer - Michael Urbano...plays on Paul Westerberg's latest, "Eventually." A "fatback" (don't ask me what it means, but it's supposed to be a large compliment) drummer, he's done remarkable work with a variety of people and styles. And if the Swindonians want to bring in a session guitarist (three guitars a charm?), they know how to get ahold of Lyle Workman (Jellyfish, Frank Black, etc.). Workman, who broke in with Urbano when they played together in Bourgeois Tagg, is greatly admired by his friend, Dave Gregory. New album's producer - A genetically-engineered hybrid of John Leckie, T-Bone Burnett, Hugh Padgham and Don Was. If the science world isn't ready for that, offer it to Leckie. New album title - 'Then She Appeared.' If that doesn't qualify because it was an actual song title (as opposed to just a lyric), then my first runner-up is 'Milk and Coins.' If that's deemed too close a Lennon 'Milk and Honey' ripoff, then the second runner-up is 'Balloons and Streamers.' Consolation prize: 'Yep, It's Us!' Blatant Beatle (McCartney, anyway) Heist No. 3,973: The Sugarplastic's 'Another Myself' off their Bang, The Earth Is Round album. These guys cleanly and neatly lift a few bars from the chorus of Band on the Run's 'Jet' and deposit into their own chorus. Unbelievable. For good measure, they also help themselves to the opening bars of 'Happy Trails' on their 'Say Katie.' Blatant XTC Heist No. 722, 723 and 724: The Sugarplastic's 'Sheep,' 'The Way This Is' and 'Polly Brown' off same album. All three could've been rejects from the Drums and Wires sessions. Pertinent Musical Question No. 4,681: Does this type of larceny bother anyone? And why? Where is the line of good taste drawn? Why are some artists lauded (or at least forgiven) for their "interpretations" or "influences" of other bands while others get lambasted for their borrowing habits? MHO Of a Tasty "Influence": The World Is Full Of Angry Youn Men. OK, maybe you can't credit these guys with being Colin's sole source of inspiration for this one, but it absolutely nails the Steely Dan sound. Fagen and Becker would've loved to have written this song. Three More Songs Jazzy Guys Wish They'd Written: I Remember The Sun, The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul, Miniature Sun. And While I'm At It - The Most Beautiful, Most Urgent and Most Enchanting XTC Songs (IMHO), In Order: Chalkhills and Children, Wake Up, Jason And The Argonauts. To Yazbek: Love the record, but...what's up with the devil cover and lyrical references (Welcome To My World, 666)? Just curious. Finally, The Pig: Arnold. Arnold Ziffle. Next to Zeb, probably my favorite Green Acres character. There, I feel much better now... --Mike
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 16:35:35 +0930
From: John Clark +63 08 204 9347 <JCLARK@mars.lands.sa.gov.au>
Subject: saying Gday
Message-id: <01I6ERRAUBYQ0014DE@mars.lands.sa.gov.au>
Hi Chalkhills people.My names John Clark and Im a First Timer here-a kind
of E-mail virgin.Hopefully this works.
Anyway,Im a big XTC fan and was surprised to find so much information on
the band on the net.Technology actually can be wonderful.
Now that Ive found out that XTC have so many other tracks around that Ive
never heard as theyre not on the albums,Im hoping that someone whose got
some rare tracks may email me so I can get a tape of them Etc.Its sad as
I havent got a lot of the b-sides or even Dear God as Ive only ever
bought the albums but not the singles.
P.s-Has anyone bought the eight or so Extatic Series Pirates/rarities
cds.I bought one and thought the quality was a bit suspect.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199606271047.LAA17780@aoife.indigo.ie> From: "Peter Fitzpatrick" <beatle@indigo.ie> Subject: Nigel Drums....Help ! Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 11:49:47 +0100 Hi, ok, I give up. My attempts to recreate THAT drum pattern have been apalllllling. I've stooped to sampling it.......tried writing it down.......ARRGH! Can anyone help me with this ? a transcription ? midi file ? ~Peter
------------------------------ From: fisher@easynet.co.uk Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 12:10:22 +0100 Message-Id: <v01510100adf8c516e864@[194.128.83.69]> Subject: this is pop It simply isn't true to say that U2 and REM have not progressed musically over their careers. What's quite surprising is that despite the level of their success, they have made conscious efforts to change. As it happens, I haven't been personally inclined to listen to U2 since their first two albums (and it's a long time since I've given even them a play) and I do prefer the earlier enigmatic REM to their rockier incarnation (though even here there's lots of brilliant stuff). But that's as much a question of my taste as their art. I think there *is* a general point to be made about less demanding stuff being more likely to be popular, but that is far more true of, say, Bryan Adams and Phil Collins than it is of U2 and REM. I think these two bands have achieved success in a way that XTC haven't not because of the music but because of better promotion. In the case of U2, an appearance at Live Aid propelled them overnight into a major international live act and - like Bruce Springstein before them - they have become one of a select number whose support has been sustained by their live performances. XTC had a big live following that would surely have grown bigger (not as big, perhaps, but bigger) had events not turned out as they did. In the case of REM, I remember when Murmer came out in the UK (close to the time of Mummer I recall) and it was obvious that this unkown band had the backing of a major marketing campaign. You'd see record shop windows full of Murmer merchandise, where there had been virtually nothing for Mummer, which was by an established and reasonably successful act. I just think REM's management knew what it was doing in a way that XTC's did not. Having had a couple of hit singles, REM's most recent live dates where considered to be a major public event. And good on 'em. I also think the comparison with Elvis Costello is spurious. Costello might not be up there with Prince and U2 in popularity, but he is still (at least in Britain) a major act who has sustained his popularity through continual live performance and frequent album releases. I don't think we need to feel sorry for him. I'm sure he's doing very nicely. Probably about as nicely as XTC in similar circumstances. I don't think playing live is any longer the answer for XTC. They were brilliant when they did tour, but their subsequent material is not designed for the live environment. Most of the "live" radio sessions they have done just sound like clumsy versions of the recorded material, with no special quality to compensate. They'd have to do a lot of reworking and a lot of rethinking to get back into the way of being a decent live band again. That being the case, it will take an extra special effort to re-establish them in the popular imagination as a living - but not live - band that might be worth further investigation from people who've never heard of them. Perhaps a new record label will make that effort. Mark Fisher (fisher@easynet.co,uk)
------------------------------ From: jde@abingdon.geoquest.slb.com (Jon Eva) Message-Id: <9606271323.ZM18108@rs560.abingdon.geoquest.slb.com> Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 13:23:17 +0000 Subject: Actually there isn't one, I just waffle for a bit Dear All, I'm in the middle of marking a pile of GCSE maths. papers at the moment, and I'm sad to report that the lowest mark so far (a magnificent four out of ninety) was submitted by a certain A. Partridge. Perhaps Colin And Dave should insist that they handle the royalty payments in the future. From: smcdow@arlut.utexas.edu (Stuart McDow): > Whoops - "pissed off" means "angry" in America, as opposed to > drunk. Actually "pissed off" means exactly the same over here. I always thought that Americans used "pissed" to mean angry (which _does_ mean drunk in Britain). Are there regional difference or something? I don't suppose there are too many fans of the great Welsh band "Man" on this list, but, whether you are or not, if you get the chance read the recently published book by their lead singer, Deke Leonard, called "Winos, Rhinos and Lunatics". It's the funniest "Rock and Roll" book I've ever read, and will make you want to start taking drugs again.
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #2-127 *******************************
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