Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 150
Date: Monday, 26 August 1996
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 150
Monday, 26 August 1996
Today's Topics:
"Nonsuch" Revisited
XTC Demos
Explode Dolby Together
(Andy Taints Brian)
Bit of a Downer - but here goes.
Peter Pumpkinhead
Re: Costello/Andy
Indeed, there IS no such thing
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Re:Demographic Survey Results
XTC & Rhino
D&W
Uncle Jonny's advice for the LoveLorn
RE: ammonite
This Is (Screwball) Pop.
Oh, you know me. All kinds of things.
Re: It's my big day
Re: Explode Together
English Settlement Disc One
New email address
Missing Morsels
xtc/talking heads questions
Nonsuch Playing Cards
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 16:31:22 -0400 (EDT) From: Claudia S Cauchon <Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu> Subject: "Nonsuch" Revisited Message-Id: <Pine.OSF.3.91a.960822162820.8058A-100000@hopper.unh.edu> I've been lurking on this list for quite a few months and I have to say the list has reinvigorated my interest in the band which had kind of wane over the years. I have to admit it never occurred to me that there would even be a mailing list for XTC until I accidentally came across the FAQ in the news.answers newsgroup. I guess I just didn't think they were well known enough for them to warrant a list, I guess I should have know better than to think such things. The main reason I'm writing this is to thank the people who have wrote in such positive terms about XTC's last album "Nonsuch" that it made me go back and actually listen to it. When the album first came out I have to admit it didn't exactly catch my ear. Well, I actually thought they had lost it and should maybe pack it in because to tell you the truth even though I quite enjoyed their previous album "Oranges and Lemons" I thought "Oranges and Lemons" suffered from too much Dukes influence still being present in their music and I didn't think they had progress that much musically. It made me wonder where the Dukes ended and XTC began. Also, with "Oranges and Lemons" I thought the sound quality was lacking in that it sounded as if the whole album was recorded in a tin can, I especially hear this in "Mayor of Simpleton" and "King for the Day", and I won't even go into how much I hate "Here Comes President Kills" the first XTC song I outright can't stand. There are always songs on their albums I don't quite like, but never so much that I couldn't at least listen to them when I played the record. Here I was starting off about "Nonsuch" and I end up writing about "Oranges and Lemons" instead, sorry that wasn't my intention, but I do want to state that I do like "Oranges and Lemons" in case anyone misinterprets my negative comments as being that I totally hate the album. Now back to my point about "Nonsuch". As I stated earlier when the album first came out I wasn't that overly impress and I think I listened to it a few times before I filed it away. When I joined the list people were commenting on songs from the album and how good they were so I thought maybe I should give the album a second chance so I started listening to it and listening to it so much I realize what an idiot I was to so easily dismiss the album. It is an absolutely fantastic album and I can not say enough on how much I enjoy this album now. As a matter of fact it almost is like listening to a new album from them because I listened to it so little when it first came out. Oh yeah, as with every XTC album there are few songs on "Nonsuch" I don't quite like, but at least they are decent enough that I can listen to them. Once again I would like to thank this list for getting my interest back into the band and getting me to reevaluate my opinion of "Nonsuch". Claudia Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 21:11:10 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <199608230111.VAA01234@cyber1.servtech.com>
From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com>
Subject: XTC Demos
Hideho!
Quick question: the Chalkhills lyrics archive lists two unreleased
demo songs, Holding The Baby and Pearl, that I am unable to locate. They are
not from any of the sources for XTC demos I know of: The Extatic Demos CDs,
the two fan-club cassettes, or the "New Album" or Giant Peach demos. Could
someone please tell me where these two songs are from? Also, are there any
other demos of unreleased songs (not of songs on albums or somesuch) which
are not found on any of the above sources?
Also, somebody posted the following a while back as being a list of
"26 of the 28" songs being considered for the next album, culled from The
Little Express.
"BOARDED UP"
"BUMPER CARS"*
"CHILD'S NIGHT"
"CHURCH OF WOMEN"*
"DAME FORTUNE"*
"EASTER THEATRE"*
"FRUIT NUT"*
"GANGWAY, ELECTRIC GUITAR IS COMING THROUGH"*
(being re-worked due to Dave's prodding)
"I CAN'T OWN HER"*
"I'D LIKE THAT"*
"KNIGHTS IN SHINING KARMA"*
"LIFE IS ALWAYS"
"MATES"
"NEW COUNTRY SQUIRE"
"PLAYGROUND"
"PRINCE OF ORANGE"* (lyrics being altered some)
"RIVER OF ORCHIDS"*
"SOME LOVELY"*
"THE GREEN MAN"*
"THE LAST BALLOON"*
"THE MAN WHO MURDERED LOVE"*
"THE SHIP STUCK IN ICE"
"THE WHEEL AND THE MAYPOLE"
"WONDER ANNUAL"*
"YOU AND THE CLOUDS WILL STILL BE BEAUTIFUL"*
"YOUR DICTIONARY"*
(might also be called "DICTIONARY OF DOUBT" ???)
Then, from the discography comes #27 and #28:
"Our New Dark Ages"
"Wounded Horse"
Anyway, demos all of those marked "*" are circulating out there. Has anybody
out there heard any of the others? Are there any demos of those? Anybody
know which songs are by Colin? What are your opinions of the ones you have
heard? And is there *any* new information or news about the lads? I haven't
heard *anything* since they split with Virgin. Have they found a label? Are
they recording? What's up? :)
/---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\
| particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ |
| "Life is like a jigsaw. You get the straight bits, but there's something|
\-----missing in the middle."--XTC, "All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late)"-----/
------------------------------ From: 7IHd <ee92pmh@brunel.ac.uk> Message-Id: <2710.9608230145@molnir.brunel.ac.uk> Subject: Explode Dolby Together Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 02:45:35 +0100 (BST) Replying to some before I've read the others, so there might be some more >from me in a bit. Well there will, actually. Still, here goes... # From: Ira Lieman <aym@intercall.com> # Subject: Partridge/Dolby # # Yep, Andy played harmonica on "Europa", but he also played drums (!) on # "Urges" and "Leipzig." (which came out before Europa, mind you) They were on early US copies of the album, but got dropped. Available also (originally) as a 7" I think, but they can also be found on part 2 of the 'Silk Pyjamas' CD single. # And on an additional note, when Barry was dismissed from XTC, Andy had # designs on asking Dolby to join them, but wither there was a conflict or # Colin wanted a more flexible artist like Greggsy. Oh dear. Firstly, Barry wasn't dismissed, he left of his own accord. Mind you, I think things were pretty terminal after they dropped all his songs >from Go2, but they certainly didn't sack him. He announced that he was quitting mid-tour. Dolby, meanwhile, was a big XTC fan and had been trying to join for years, but as I understand it Andy didn't want another Barry, someone who'd want to do their own thing within the band. So Dolby wasn't really considered. # From: sellheim@zfn.uni-bremen.de (Erich Sellheim) # Subject: Explode Together lyrics <snip> # If there's any interest,I could write down the other lyrics for you # in the near future (BTW,they didn't write down lyrics for The Forgotten # Language Of Light!). I, for one, would love a copy of the complete Explode Together lyrics, so please get typing. Or at least send me a photocopy... :-) Especially 'New Broom', which is quite simply a lost classic. I think I'll go and play it now, actually. More to follow... Phil _ |_)|_ *| | | )|| http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~ee92pmh/ ========
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 19:10:15 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <v01510101ae425fd1cd7f@[206.15.68.93]> From: mf@well.com (Mitch Friedman) Subject: (Andy Taints Brian) On the subject of replacing Barry Andrews in 1978/9, the first time I met Andy in person, he told me that once Barry had left, Brian Eno expressed great interest in joining the band. Andy summed up the decision to go with Dave as "Well, we didn't want *another* bald keyboard player!"
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 00:20:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Bill Curran <bcurran@freenet.hamilton.on.ca> Subject: Bit of a Downer - but here goes. Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.91.960823000121.16340B-100000@james.freenet.hamilton.on.ca> First off - apologies for the following - a bummer thing happened to me a year ago. My father passed away. Two days before his 60th birthday - he had a heart attack while cutting the grass at his cottage. He was getting the place ready for his own 60th birthday party. I won't dwell on the death thing, but as I was driving to Trenton to help in any way that I could, I was playing XTC various tapes during the three hour drive. As I listened to Summer's Cauldron, it leapt out at me that this is what my dad felt - drowning in Summer's cauldron - this is how I would want to go - please don't pull me out - floating 'round and 'round like a bug in brandy - this had it nailed! I suddenly had this thickly sweet drowning sensation as I drove and listened and I think I shared something of my dad's that day. Then the next song on the tape, Grass. I hear these songs differently today - and often. I have tried to explain this to friends and family, and I get a few strange looks. Most things in my life relate to music somehow, there are songs that mark the most critical paths and choices. The indelibly etched ones are those that are not controlled or chosen. They just converge. Bill Curran http://www.freenet.hamilton.on.ca/~aa131 All Standard Disclaimers Apply
------------------------------ From: KB305@aol.com Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 03:23:20 -0400 Message-ID: <960823032319_185852501@emout17.mail.aol.com> Subject: Peter Pumpkinhead I knew Peter Pumpkinhead. Mr. Dole, you're no Peter Pumpkinhead. Kevin
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b06ae4321a87066@[199.171.191.100]> Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 02:06:54 -0700 From: gondola@deltanet.com (E.B.) Subject: Re: Costello/Andy Someone was discussing the possibility of Elvis Costello working with Andy, while someone else commented upon how "The Green Man" seems to borrow melody from Jesu, Joy Of Desiring. It's worth noting that on the new Costello album All This Useless Beauty, the track "Poor Fractured Atlas" borrows liberally from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.... Synchronicity? EB
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 04:40:14 -0500 Message-Id: <199608230940.EAA15559@dialup1.galesburg.net> From: JH3 <jh3@galesburg.net> Subject: Indeed, there IS no such thing I may have inadvertently helped start the so-called "FF" thread, but not matter. I've said this before, and forgive me for I have to say it again. There really are a handful (maybe even an armload) of us out there who really believe, *with complete conviction,* that XTC has NEVER recorded or even written a bad song. I've begun to call our little group "The Converted," though I've also heard the terms "The Yet-To-Be-Disappointed" and "Cockpit Dance Mixture fans" in this context. If you consider yourself to be one of us, you mustn't feel in any way embarrassed or defensive about it. Remember, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. And if you're *not* one of us yet, you can be! Join us! It costs nothing! No one will knock on your door trying to sell you anything -- not even an autographed vinyl test-pressing of "Looking for Footprints"! You couldn't afford one anyway! Fellow Convertee Simon Knight sez: >I realise that saying "There are no bad XTC songs" might sound a lot >like pointless drooling over my favourite band, but it wasn't meant >that way. It's just i truly feel that every XTC song has something >to offer... Simon, you shouldn't feel like you have to explain yourself. Drooling? Hey, why the hell not? As long as saliva doesn't get onto the record, rendering it temporarily unplayable, drooling is considered acceptable. Pointless? Hardly! Permit me to take this just a bit further. I won't speak for all of us, but to me at least, there are three basic levels of musical quality: 1) XTC; 2) The few other artists who aspire (whether they know it or not) to be as good as XTC and occasionally manage it; and 3) everybody else. This isn't to say that artists in category 2 are actually capable of topping XTC in any way; however, I will admit that a few are able to reach the heights, so to speak -- sometimes even for an entire album, and in rare cases, several albums. Also, there are certain XTC tunes (the aforementioned Dance Mixture, for example) that, IN MY OPINION, *might* sink below the usual XTC quality level into category 2, but *never below that.* (And none of them are on Go 2.) Anyway, this is just what I think. Go ahead, call me a wacko, tell me to get a life, I don't care. I'm really very happy just like this. --John Hedges
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199608231155.MAA05134@aoife.indigo.ie> From: "Daniel Prendiville" <modjp@indigo.ie> Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 16:23:20 +0000 Subject: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 1. Tim Kendrick's survey results are interesting:- (a) 67% of correspondents are 30+ (b) 43% of correspondents are either married or divorced. This ties in with my own perception of how XTC's fan would have been constituted, and which view got me into *severe* grief some months back. I don't mind being called a "flamebait moron" as long as I'm right... 2. Joshua Hall-Bachner suggests that the R&BB version of TEN FEET TALL is the best version. Naah... IMO, of the three versions of the song that I've heard (D&W, R&BB, D&W/LESS), the D&W version wins by a mile. Why? - the "tricky" opening. All the other versions just launch straight into the song and are, in my view, inferior for that reason; - the beautiful, restrained guitar solo, which changed the perception of one occasional Chalkhill type (Hi, Don!) of guitar playing. Just listen to the silly arsing-around on the synth on the D&W/LESS version... 3. I have just sent an e-mail to Ireland's national pop/rock station, 2FM, to please, please remember to play FOSSIL FUEL as often as possible on release. Should we all contact our own local stations? 4. On a similar vein, UK correspondents might consider whether there is any merit in contacting Channel 4's THE SLOT to raise public consciousness about XTC (the group). Any volunteers? 5. On a totally unrelated vein, I hear Mel Gibson is being considered to play the part of No. 6 in a movie version of THE PRISONER. Sounds like the type of project that could do with a soundtrack composed in Swindon.... Wait Till Your Beau Goes Down, indeed... djp
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v02110109ae41d0416fc7@[134.32.48.166]> Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 14:52:49 +0100 From: varga@ferndown.ate.slb.com (Stephen Varga) Subject: Re:Demographic Survey Results I've spotted another surprising result. It appears that the vast majority of Chalkhills subscribers come from the US. That in itself is not too surprising. What is, is the fact that the majority of these claim to be an XTC fan for more than 9 years. Why the surprise? Because I thought that in the US, XTC had a relatively small following until Dear God became an accidental hit in 1987. Even Geffen was planning to drop XTC from their distribution label had that miracle not taken place. Therefore, the reults seem disproportionate to XTC's sales in the US. I therefore assumed that the vast majority of US fans got into XTC from Skylarking onwards. Do I assume therefore that most US Chalkies got into XTC before 1987 which explains the results? Do the the rest of the US XTC fans not have access to the internet? Or are there Chalkies out there who don't like to admit they only got into XTC post 1987? Or maybe the vast majority of US post 1987 record buyers aren't serious fans of the band. They bought the record cos they liked the sound of the music and nothing more, hence they are not registered Chalkies. Is there maybe another explanation?
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 09:42:14 -0500 (CDT)
Message-Id: <199608231442.JAA23286@sky.net>
From: Scott Taylor <staylor@sky.net>
Subject: XTC & Rhino
Quick question: What, if anything, has XTC done in connection with Rhino
Records? I only ask this after seeing their biography page on the CD-Now!
server (www.cdnow.com --- search for XTC then click the "Biography" icon).
It has five pics of the band, credited thusly:
"Virgin/Geffen - Photo by: Paddy Eckersley" (2 pics)
"Virgin/Epic - Photo by: Allan Ballard" (2 pics)
"Rhino - Photo by: B.C. Kagan" (1 pic)
The "Rhino" photo is too small (on my monitor, at least) for me to make out
any details, but the band is noticably younger and there are four guys in
the frame, so I'm not guessing that these are any publicity stills taken
yesterday to promote a new album.
Anybody know the scoop?
Scott M. Taylor (staylor@sky.net)
/-----------------------------------------\
| Like a pig pulls a cartload of sausages |
| Guess I'm drawing my own conclusion |
| - Julian Cope |
\-----------------------------------------/
------------------------------ Message-Id: <321D7842.7245@mci.com> Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 09:22:10 +0000 From: Jeff Langr <jeffrey.langr@mci.com> Subject: D&W Drums & Wires is also my first crack at XTC. I would only listen to the first side for quite a few months but finally I flipped the disc and got into the second side. The whole thing is a very nervous but awesome album; maybe it just unsettles some people too much. Don't know if the DI5 belongs here but oh well: Then She Appeared Senses Working Overtime Helicopter Yacht Dance Heaven is Paved With Broken Glass Later, Jeff L.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 09:34:53 -0400 (EDT) From: "John E. Daley" <John_E.._Daley.ZIFF-DAVIS@zd.com> Subject: Uncle Jonny's advice for the LoveLorn Message-id: <9608231924.AA2516@mail.zd.com> >gary minns sez: Has anybody got any >good advice on how to overcome the hostile attitude that my girlfriend >seems to take? Well, old chap, the obvious answer is to get a new girlfriend! :)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 14:00:54 -0500
Message-Id: <21cae7d0@burntas1.bvc.frco.com>
From: chrikas@burntas1.frco.com (Christopher Kasic)
Subject: RE: ammonite
Back in Chalkhills 148 James Dignan said, 99 percent completely:
> "If you want to hunt out a picture of them in
> rock music, the cover of an album by the Sundays (can't remember
> its title, sorry!) features some ammonites."
the Sundays' album would be "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic" from
1989.
King "of the off-XTC post" for a day,
chris
------------------------------
From: richard.pedrettiallen@octel.com
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 11:40:30 -0700
Message-Id: <21DFC950.1240@corp.octel.com>
Subject: This Is (Screwball) Pop.
I have just sent an article I scanned to John Relph for posting on the
web page.
The article, culled from Keyboard Magazine (November 1987) entitled DAVE
GREGORY - XTC'S RELUCTANT KEYBOARDIST REVEALS RUNDGREN'S PRODUCTION
STYLE, came out shortly after the release of SKYLARKING.
http://reality.sgi.com/employees/relph/chalkhills/
Even for the non-musician, the article is worth reading.
Check it out!
Here are a few excerpts:
While the punk movement was turning late-'70s London into a morass of
multi-colored mohawks, black leather, and under-developed performance
skills, XTC jumped upon stage with its own brand of screwball pop.
To the punk formula of stripped-down arrangements and high-energy
delivery, XTC added hooks, humor, and precision.
Most XTC songs don't lead Gregory to stray too far from the usual
triads of rock and roll, but one song from the band's most recent
album, Skylarking, gave his chord-finding sense a workout.
Originally given a folky acoustic-guitar setting, "The Man Who Sailed
Around His Soul" spontaneously combusted into a too-hip jazz chart in
the hands of producer Todd Rundgren.
As it happens, Rundgren's involvement in the Skylarking project was
largely Gregory's doing. Having been told by their record company
that they sounded "too English," the band members received a list of
American record producers. "It read like a roll call from Fort
Baxter," Gregory laughs. "We hadn't heard of anyone except for Todd.
I said to the other guys, `Forget all those other names. Let's go
with Todd.' I'd been a fan of his for so long, and it was a dream
come true to work with him."
The working relationship between Rundgren and XTC yielded what may be
the band's finest record to date, and certainly one of the best rock
records of the year. Skylarking is a Beatlesque amalgam of styles
and moods, strung together Sgt. Pepper-style by a nearly continuous
thematic and musical thread. The songs are overtly pop-oriented,
featuring the melodic inventiveness and lyrical cleverness that are
the hallmarks of XTC's style, and a structural complexity that skews
otherwise simple song forms into labyrinths of well-turned musical
phrases. And, of course, the keyboard work is prominent. Gregory
modestly calls it "a bit of decoration."
Gregory's musical witticisms range from frivolous (bell tones
answering Partridge's line "Are you deafened by the bells?") to
subtle (the organ's pious overtones in "Season Cycle," which
celebrates the changing of the seasons) to the essential (the
spacious timbres of "Another Satellite").
As it to turns out, Rundgren conceived and executed the keyboard
parts in "That's Really Super, Supergirl" at the band's request. "We
really didn't know what to do with it," Gregory says. "It was just a
'B' side, and he could obviously see possibilities in it. One
afternoon, we just left him to it." It's typical that Rundgren took
no credit for the work, given his attitude that any task involved in
producing is all in a day's work.
Another area of Rundgren's impact is the string and brass
arrangements, of which he did all but one. "He did most of those
arrangements in one evening" Gregory exclaims.
While Rundgren did most of the orchestral arrangements, the elaborate
string lines in the mournful "1,000 Umbrellas" are Gregory's
handiwork.
Don't ask me what I was doing with a 106 month old magazine with Todd's
mug on the cover. The article on Todd is pretty boring and doesn't talk
of XTC much except to say, "Rundgren describes pencil-and-paper tedium
during our discussion of the string arrangements for XTC's SKYLARKING,
which he scored - yet the band's keyboard player explains that Rundgren
did all the arrangements in a single night using a Macintosh-based
notation system."
And!! Dave Gregory still has the printed scores to prove it!
Cheers, Richard
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 20:55:23 +0100 Message-Id: <199608231955.AA11753@felix.dircon.co.uk> From: Simon Sleightholm <nonsuch@dircon.co.uk> Subject: Oh, you know me. All kinds of things. From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl> >Secondly, let's clear one thing up... >I like Frost Circus. I like ALL XTC songs - more or less :) Me too. I love it, it makes the hairs go up on the back of my head. (If only I had a few more at the front, I'd be a happy man). Oh, and congrats on the new page you've set up - a very, very pretty page, I must say. From: MR DAVID P O'CONNELL, Jumpthecup@aol.com >I was reading the responses to my post about my assertion that >Todd Rundgren perhaps was not reponsible for those predictable >bells in Big Day and all I have to say to Simon is: I was right and you >were wrong! Okay. Let me see. If I remember rightly, you are the gentleman who asserted that you loved, and presumably found some kind of value in, eveything that Todd did. Is this correct? (I am lacking the last few Chalkhills' after installing a new hard disk) If this is so then I was wrong on one count (the Bells fiasco) and you, on the basis of that appalling compilation I bought (which even now languishes at the bottom of a box somewhere, rubbing shoulders with the Ace Of Base and Betty Boo albums I bought in rash fits of mania) if I am generous in your favour with the track count on said compilation, are wrong on around sixteen counts. I am, however, graciously willing to forget about it if you are. From: pjmuck@mail.idt.net (Peter McCulloch) >Your suggestion does conjure up a rather pleasant scenario, >but after anxiously awaiting to hear something new and predictably "XTCish" >from Andy I guess I just wasn't in the mood to listen to minimalist >instrumental music on that particular day. (Perhaps it was the cheap wine >impairing my better sense of judgement. You'll have to suggest a few good >wines). I guess my preconceived notions of what an Andy Partridge record >should sound like got the best of me. (How quickly we forget the Lure of >Salvage). I *really* like the Lure of Salvage, and while I don't spend my mornings attempting to brainwash my milkman into whistling the "Well For The Sweat Of The Moon", I really love "Through The Hill" too. Remember, it's an ambient album, designed to be absorbed not devoured. In my listening advice I did manage to get two pages stuck together - by what means I know not how - but if you include several buckets of warm custard, a little plastic cat mask and a couple of very large paintbrushes to the set-up, you will find that you forget all about the music and get on with the real fun soon enough. From: Giancarlo Cairella <vertigo@like.it> >I read about someone, whose name escapes me at the moment (sorry), who >regretted not having bought the XTC "Special Edition" boxed set (the one >with the picture disc versions of "Drums & Wires", "Black Sea" and... "Go >2" if I'm not wrong). Well, you might be happy to know that while browsing the >XTC section of the CDNow online store <http://cdnow.com> I spotted a listing >for the boxed set That was me, thanks very much for the info. From: David Hathaway <davidh@electric.net> >Being that I'm a guitar player, I often indulge in painful torture >attempting to replicate Andy's "so cool it blocks out the sun" guitar >playing, usually with very little success Heartbreaking isn't it? I either have too few fingers, too many thumbs or else I am actually some form of mutant amphibian naturally averse to the art of guitar playing. (My ever helpful spouse has just entered her vote for the latter possibility) From: Gary Minns, 101377.2113@compuserve.com >I have read with interest the various mentions made in CH about >unconverted partners listening to XTC tracks. Has anybody got any >good advice on how to overcome the hostile attitude that my girlfriend >seems to take. >Then I tried tying her to a chair and forcing her to listen. I tried this one too, but after tying the last knot I got a MUCH better idea. Anyway, I digress. So far, the best I have come up with is fitting a CDROM to the computer, so I can listen in my play-room, or dubbing all the stuff on to tape and spending around an hour a day on a bike with my walkman. Take care, y'all Simon * --------------------------------------------------- http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~nonsuch/bungalow.htm * --------------------------------------------------- No Thugs In Our House, only XTC.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 17:08:08 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199608232108.RAA09239@cyber1.servtech.com> From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com> Subject: Re: It's my big day >I'm new at chalkhills and I have been a serious fan of XTC since ' 79. Well, you've got me outdistanced by a good fourteen years, then. >You know, alot of people slag "Skylarking" (it's pretty good) *I* like it. I don't think it's quite as strong as, say, ES (probably their peak) or Nonsvch, or even Big Express (which I quite like, despite the general opinion of it as "weak") but it's still pretty strong. IMHO, far better than O&L. >but quite a >few also slag "Mummer", which is my favorite XTC album. Ah, this is where I come in. I wouldn't be caught dead "slagging" Mummer, it's a very strong album, generally speaking. I just feel it's weak compared to XTC's other albums. It's got some "killer" tracks, like ILMoaN*, Ladybird, and Funk Pop A Roll, and the bonus tracks fill it out nicely (other than the two Homo Safaris, which just get in the way), but I find several of the songs to be kinda weak (like Alchemy, Elements) and the production to be fairly poor (although the sequence of three producers is surely responsible for that.) But, like I said, compared to music in general it's still better than 95% of what's out there. >In fact, in the >17 years I've listened to them, I've yet to hear a "bad" album. Exactly. I only say XTC albums are "weak" or "strong" or whatever in comparison to their other albums. Even their worst album is head and shoulders above the vast majority of albums out there today. But on this list I should be able to talk about which albums or songs I like or dislike, and why. >It's too >bad "Blame the Weather" never made the "English Settlement" cut. That's a >brilliant one too, probably their best. The song or the album? :) Seriously, I like both. However, I really don't think BtW would have fit on ES at all. It's way too melancholy. I think it might have fit better on Mummer. It just goes to show that so many of Colin's great songs never make it to an album. (at least BtW, Angry Young Men, The Good Things and Down A Peg made it as B-sides. Where Did All The Ordinary People Go and It Didn't Hurt A Bit were not quite so lucky.) *Gotta love acronyms like that. :) /---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\ | particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ | | "Life is like a jigsaw. You get the straight bits, but there's something| \-----missing in the middle."--XTC, "All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late)"-----/
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 17:07:58 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199608232107.RAA09216@cyber1.servtech.com> From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com> Subject: Re: Explode Together >One mistake that I found: > >> This is a thing that's definitely going to make up for being part of this >> magic band, little bear." > >This should be: > >This is a thing that's definitely going to make Captain Beefheart and his >Magic Band look bad Hah! That *does* make a lot more sense than my version (especially considering that both Andy and Colin are big Beefheart fans). Then again, it's not exactly as if The Rotary makes a lot of sense. :) /---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\ | particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ | | "Life is like a jigsaw. You get the straight bits, but there's something| \-----missing in the middle."--XTC, "All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late)"-----/
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 17:08:04 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199608232108.RAA09225@cyber1.servtech.com> From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com> Subject: English Settlement Disc One >> The sequence of five songs, "Senses Working Overtime" through "All of a >> Sudden," IMO are some of the best stuff XTC has ever done. > >Agreed wholeheartedly. And AOAS is one of the best songs on the album. >The bit where Yacht Dance spills over into All Of A Sudden >sends shivers down my spine everytime I play this album (and I play it a lot!) I wouldn't start with SWOT. IMHO, you'd have to extend this to the beginning of the album. If I could have one LP and only one, I would have to say that it would have to be English Settlement, Disc One. Although, while I like the lyrics to All Of A Sudden (check the .sig), it just doesn't grab me musically. It's not that I dislike it, it's just not a favorite of mine. OTOH, Yacht Dance...ohhhhh. The guitar on that song is just *amazing*. Wow. I think XTC were in the zone on that one. Jason And The Argonauts, too, although it's definitely "alien", is really great. And the bass is awesome. And Andy's vocals...wow. "Ohhhh, my head is spinning..." "I have watched the manimals go by..." And how can you forget the smash SWOT, or the catchy B&C, or the aggressive and biting NTioH, and...you get the idea. /---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\ | particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ | | "Life is like a jigsaw. You get the straight bits, but there's something| \-----missing in the middle."--XTC, "All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late)"-----/
------------------------------ Message-ID: <4cxvnDAb3wHyEwvr@emdac.demon.co.uk> Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 15:12:43 +0100 From: root <root@emdac.demon.co.uk> Subject: New email address Dear all, This message is going to a long list of people, so bits of it will be irrelevant to some of you, for which I apologise. I also apologise if you've forgotten who I am, or don't wish to ever hear from me again, or something. I also apologise to those who I owe mail to... Right then. New email address is: phil@emdac.demon.co.uk My home page is now at http://www.emdac.demon.co.uk/phil/home.html My Standard Ten is at http://www.emdac.demon.co.uk/phil/car.html And finally, the Shriekback web pages are now at http://www.emdac.demon.co.uk/phil/shrkindx.html Please update your links etc. Also, I've been having a few problems with one or two of the pages, so please report anything that doesn't work. Thanks. Those of you receiving this who have my old email address on mailing lists etc., could you please update the list accordingly? Thanks... Special apologies to Chalkhills. :-) -- Phil Hetherington
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199608241706.KAA18301@sgi.sgi.com> From: "jim coyle" <jcoyle@lindsaycomp.on.ca> Subject: Missing Morsels Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 12:45:19 -0400 Chalkhillers of Canada beware! Me train's running low on soul coal. While upgrading my XTC collection to compact disc I discovered a terrible thing -- domestic Canadian copies of Skylarking do not include "Dear God", and domestic copies of English Settlement do not include "Leisure" and "Down in the Cockpit" (in order to facilitate a single disc, they say!!). Considering Virgin's latest attempts to flesh out all the studio albums for compact disc with unreleased material, I think this Canadian imbroglio is inexcusable. I'd love to get my hands on the above two COMPLETE discs, but I hate the thought of putting out another $50. I assume this isn't a problem in the UK (is it?).
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 15:06:38 -0400 (EDT) From: Richard Austen Wallace <rwallace@warren-wilson.edu> Subject: xtc/talking heads questions Message-ID: <Pine.SV4.3.91.960824150154.7605A-100000@owl.warren-wilson.edu.> heya. My name is Richard Wallace and I just signed onto chalkhills today. I've been listening to xtc since the fifth grade; needless to say mr partridge et al have kinda become the background soundtrack for my life... I read on the FAQ that Andy was a-workin' with the "new" talking heads. This struck me as very interesting; the talking heads are my "other" favorite band (them and King Crimson). If anybody has any more info regarding this whole reformation of the talking heads and/or Andy's work with them, please respond privately, as i don't want to clog up this here publication with non-XTC related excretions. Also, if there has ever been any collaboration betwixt partridge and robert fripp, I'd love to know about it. Thanks a bunch, Richard.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.19960824204739.006fd6a0@cityscape.co.uk> Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 21:47:39 +0100 From: Allan Toombs <bt18@cityscape.co.uk> Subject: Nonsuch Playing Cards Does anyone on this list actually posess the ultra-rare promotional playing card pack that was produced to hype Nonsuch? I once saw it advertised in Record Collector but have never seen a set. I expect the court cards to use the mock-Elizabethan portraits from the CD booklet but I'm hoping someone could scan anything interesting for us. "And I get on my knees and pray, we don't get fooled again..." mailto:toombs@cityscape.co.uk http://www.cityscape.co.uk/users/bt18/atoombs.html Copyright 1996 Allan Toombs, email me to negotiate permission.
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #2-150 *******************************
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