Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 154
Date: Tuesday, 10 September 1996
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 154
Tuesday, 10 September 1996
Today's Topics:
"Poor fellow", indeed...
Calling all College Station Chalkhillians!
Sam Philips
HelloolleH
don't go near that tuck shop!
Big City Orchestra "Grass" cover version info...
FS: King For A Day
This Wes Over
Close encounters with The Verve Pipe
Meandering within Drums and Wires
Andy vs. Colin
XTC Unreleased video and audio
This is Omnipop? Yeah, yeah
Fossil - UK's lowest price?
Tribute tapes?
Dave Gregory, watchman
PAPER SNOW
River Phoenix & XTC???
Demo Help Required
Jamie Block
XTC/REM
MORE POSTINGS ON GREGSY ARE NEEDED!
Testimonial Dinner? Try overpriced appetizer.
The Gooder Things
At last, I think, "You and the Clouds..."
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The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors.
You played the hounds to those foxes!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 22:12:53 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <199609070212.WAA27029@cyber1.servtech.com>
From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com>
Subject: "Poor fellow", indeed...
Wow, this post is 1/4 the size of most Chalkhills Digests. :)
Either electrons randomly assembled themselves into this last post, or else
Melissa Reaves <MREAVES@KENTVM.KENT.EDU> wrote:
>I feel bad for our Joshua Hall-Bachner not receiving any song inter-
>pretations, but to my mind, XTC songs are simply too straghtforward
>to need any interpretation.
Well...I do include anything that helps understand the song under the loose
umbrella of "interp". Although, I do realize that a lot of XTC songs are
pretty cut-and-dried, but there is still a significant percentage that
aren't. Chain of Command, anyone? Ah well, it looks like this project is
doomed to failure. :(
>I know there are many out there who will disagree, but then why haven't
>you sent in your interpretations to this poor fellow?
I'm a poor fellow now, am I? Last digest I was told I should "slow down"
and the one before that it was "didn't it seem like *every* post last
Digest was from Mr. Hall-Bachner?" :)
>The main exeception is a couple of the New Demos, but only because I
>can't understand the lyrics or in the case of Prince of Orange, simply
>haven't figured out yet what he's talking about. But I expect a simple
>answer should exist.
I've got the lyrics and I still can't quite figure it out. BTW, they're on
Chalkhills, under "Andy Partridge Hello Single" or somesuch.
<Chalkhills Yearbook idea snipped>
Sounds like fun.
>And even those stupid
>Most Likely To... elections.
Seeing my comment above, I'm afraid of what you're going to vote me. :) Most
prolific, maybe?
>At first I was thinking in terms of a paper publication, but that seemed
>stupid and outdated. This should be an electronic thang, posted to
>the website. Is there any interest out there in working on such a
>thing? I could do a lot of the writing, but I couldn't do any graphic
>work or web-type work. It would require lots of audience participation
>and someone(s) to coordinate layout and other stuff. I can't even
>scan.
I don't (right now) have a scanner, but I can do the HTML stuff, some of the
art stuff, and host the page. I will do it! <melodramatic>You ruined my last
project, damnit, you'll give me this one!</melodramatic> :) :) :) Anyway,
I'd be happy to put it together, write the HTML, and put it on my site.
>What do the rest of you think? Could we get enough of us to even send in
>a current photo and brief bio to make it worthwhile? Do we have people
>who want to work on it? I'd like to see some discussion here.
I'd even be willing (gasp!) to contribute a picture if we do this (even
though I'm even less photogenic than Andy! :) I know I already have a bio
(from my webpage) and I could flesh it out a bit for the Yearbook. If I ever
get a scanner, or another one of you does, everybody could mail their
pictures to that person...it'll only cost about $1 total for the postage,
envelope, and picture (although it might be a bit more for Simon, Mark and
the rest of the Europeans out there)
>Easter Theatre
>I can't shake the impression
>it's a paean to puberty. Tell me if I'm mishearing the line "hairs will
>kick and leap". Hares possibly?
That's one of those great double-entendres that you'll never be sure of
without a lyrics sheet. :) Really, I think it's Hares.
>But then how do you explain "like the
>ground your breasts swell"??? What an icky song!!
Come on! I love that line! It's so kitschy that it's fun. Besides, the song
itself is so great that the "colorful metaphors" that fill it can't possibly
reduce it to "icky". ("Chocolate Nipple Brown"! I love it!)
>Why does everyone like
>it so much??? I admit I can't understand past the first verse. Could
>someone (Joshua?) post their hearing of the lyrics?
You called? :)
As far as I can tell, it's sort of a mixture of sex (which seems to be more
on Andy's mind with these demos than ever before; Easter Theatre, Some
Lovely, and Wonder Annual are about it or reference it, and I'd Like That,
Clouds, Dictionary, and Own Her are all about relationships in general...)
with the now standard seasons-changing thing. (Note the lines "Land awake
>from sleep" and "If we all breathe in and blow away the snow, new life...")
I think it's Andy comparing this woman to the coming of spring after the
"winter" of his divorce, with of course the theater metaphor thrown in for
good measure. ("as the prompter's fingers...") There's a lot of double
entendre here. ("Flowers climb erect...", "Buds will laugh and burst, racing
to be first...") And then, "Easter....in her bonnet. Easter....in her hair."
Implying again that she is like the spring.
Hey, that's an interp! That makes two! :)
Dave From PA (Jumpthecup@aol.com) didst pen:
>Hi! My modem's been down for a week and in the meantime Joshua Hall-Bachner
>beat me to the punch with his transcription of the lyrics for You And The
>Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful (which I had transcribed the week before).
>Curse you, Josh!! Anyway, here's my stab at some of the lyrics Josh was
>unsure about:
Doesn't it seem like every post in #153 was about me? :P *
>line 3: "For I see people who will scratch and spit and kick and fight"
Right...
>line 5: "And I don't scrounge inside your head, could amplify the blight"
No, I'm certain that it's "and every stone inside your head..." Note the
weather theme, and the "No matter what the weather, You..." chorus. It's a
metaphor for the fact that no matter what her mood, be it sunny, rainy, or
anything else, he'll still love here.
>line 8: "And every Troy with wooden horse I take to peaceful waters but
>can't make 'em drown"
That's it!
>line 9: "And every Bastille that gets stormtroopered, hail to the chief
>comes raining raining raining down"
Again, sounds right.
>Line 10 is the trickiest line in the song. I'm fairly confident the above
>lyrics are right, however, this one I had a lot of trouble with. After about
>a dozen listens I came up with: "I see people gummed up like they melt to a
>summer day".
Howzabout "I see people conduct lightning down to a summers day"? Again,
makes more sense with the weather theme.
>Line 12: "And I don't rain inside your head, could seriously put a stop to
>play"
Again, I'm sure this is "and all the rain inside your head..." if only
because it makes sense within the context of the song and yours doesn't seem
to. :)
And, just to round out this huge-ass post, here's two more song
transcriptions for good measure. I know they're missing a lot in some places
and inaccurate in others, but I figure that posting the lyrics here is the
very best way to get my mistakes pointed out (as evidenced by the
corrections of my Like and Clouds transcriptions.)
River Of Orchids:
(note: I don't cover all the backing vocals, because they're just repeating
things Andy already said earlier in the lyric.)
Hey....
I heard the dandelions roaring the (? ?) in circles
I heard the dandelions roaring the (? ?) in circles
Take a packet of seeds
Take yourself out to play
Wanna see a River of Orchids where we had a motorway
Push your car from the road
Push your car from the road
Just like the mad-doggie chasing your tail in a circle, uhhhhh
Just like the mad-doggie chasing your tail in a circle, uhhhhh
It's all in your backyard
You've the whole world at your feet
I said, the grass is always greener when it bursts up through concrete
Push your car from the road
Push your car from the road
River of Orchids, winding my way
Want to walk into London on my hands one day
River of Orchids, a road overgrows
Want to walk into London smelling like a (pecken) rose
I had a dream where the car was reduced to a fossil, uhhhhh
I had a dream where the car was reduced to a fossil, uhhhhh
Take a packet of seeds
Take yourself out to play
Wanna see a River of Orchids where we had a motorway
River of Orchids, winding my way
Want to walk into London on my hands one day
River of Orchids, a road overgrows
Want to walk into London smelling like a (pecken) rose
Wonder Annual:
Hustle, fossil**
Push of bustle
Soul is a (dent) in the willing mask
Work, rent, mortgage
Magic shortage
Why keep the milk from their golden (ass)?
Open up your Wonder Annual
Turn all the leaves in your private book
Open up your Wonder Annual
And, if I may, can I lay and look?
And the (goal) and the silver
That will fly from your hands
Hands of whipper
Pores (bank) stripper
Toasting the worms in their shallow graves
Throw your blinds down
Sketch and unfrown
Show me the door through which all are saved
Open up your Wonder Annual
Turn all the leaves in your private book
Open up your Wonder Annual
And, if I may, can I lay and look?
And the shells full of pearls
That will (close) from your gate
And if lust equals knowledge
Then I side with the snake
Open up your Wonder Annual
Turn all the leaves in your private book
Open up your Wonder Annual
And, if I may, can I lay and look?
*Look. Between my lyrics transcriptions, my interp archive, and everything I
said in response to #152, 2/3 of the posts either referenced me, responded
to me, or were from me. :)
**Both of these songs mention fossils. Coincidence? I don't think so.
/---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\
| particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ |
| "And I see nations playfully hurl snowballs packed with stolen clay." |
\--------------XTC, "You And The Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful"----------/
------------------------------
From: LAG2471@ACS.TAMU.EDU
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 21:22:45 -0500 (CDT)
Message-Id: <960906212245.2044bd60@ACS.TAMU.EDU>
Subject: Calling all College Station Chalkhillians!
Operating on the hope that Sara Lloyd and I aren't the only XTC fans at
Texas A&M, I'm putting out another call for aggie (or at least central
Texas) Chalkhills subscribers. E-mail me, then if there's sufficient
interest we'll arrange a get-together at a local restaurant -- perhaps a
listening party upon the release of "Fossil Fuels"!
Write now, so that we'll have a use for the dandy name I've chosen for our
as-yet-nonexistant group: XTamC.
\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///
Lore Guilmartin Data's evil twin Lore@tamu.edu
This sig for decorative use only. Not for phonetic purposes.
///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\o///o\\\
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b00ae5673f049b3@[169.132.99.102]> Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 01:43:25 +0100 From: pjmuck@mail.idt.net (Peter McCulloch) Subject: Sam Philips >I'm curious about what anyone >thinks about this record. While it has some great moments that work as a >natural succession to "M's & B's", some of the tracks seem pretty wacko! I just picked it up a couple of days ago, and I have to say it's slow in growing on me. (But I know it's growing!). It's definitely moodier and darker than her previous efforts, with an occasional smidgen of melodic pop, but I've yet to find that obvious, all-purpose, bonafide pop hit yet. I think in due time it will prove to be an album of greater depth and maturity than her other efforts, however. >The album's subtitle, "It's only a fleshwound, lambchop" will certainly >provide a huge chuckle for anyone who knows the movie reference it came >from. Well the lamb chop part doesn't ring a bell, but the fleshwound portion of the quote conjures up the imagery of that poor black knight getting disemboweled in "The Holy Grail". Am I right? Regards, Peter
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199609070511.AAA22624@soli.inav.net> From: rushton@inav.net Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 00:14:27 +0000 Subject: HelloolleH I've been look looking on any respectable street and over rusty water for the "Hello" CD that Andy made a while back as part of that subscription record club. I'd been burning with optimism's flame that a copy would turn up in used bins here or there, but nonsuch have appeared. Am I on a desert island here? Or do I have to go to the statue of liberty to find it? It doesn't need to be a gold CD, but sometimes I feel that all of a sudden it's too late to get my hands on either the actual CD or a copy. Dear god, there must be an egyptian solution to this. I'd jump and feel like a king for a day if I could get it. What in the world? I'd prefer the CD, but a dub would do as well. If you're interested in trading, email me privately! Mark Rushton author of the Bill Nelson WWW site <http://soli.inav.net/~rushton/nelson.html>
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 05:36:17 -0500 (EST)
From: Brookes McKenzie <RMCKENZI@smith.smith.edu>
Subject: don't go near that tuck shop!
Message-id: <01I96P27F2EABRNBSJ@SMITH>
i'm shocked that no one has beaten me to the punch yet, but here are
the lyrix for "Pupil Haze" - i was waiting to listen to it a few more
times to see if i could get some of the grey areas, but knowing me i'd
probably just guess something even more wildly improbable, so here
goes and hopefully others can step in w/ suggestions:
"Pupil Haze"
from the Drunken Jam Sessions
Pupil haze, all through my brain
Lately examination results don't seem the same
Acting rather irksome and I don't know why
Excuse me while I kiss the most attractive pupil in 3-Y
Pupil haze, all through my brain
Lately Matron doesn't seem the same
Acting rather noisom [annoysome?] and I don't know why
[Sodding de Minor] has a fly up his eye
Yes, mark me
I say
I say [it anoints?!]
Oh, mark me
We'll never [....] at this rate
Pupil haze, all through my brain
Lately parents' fees don't seem the same
Acting rather annoying and I don't know why
Excuse me while I cane the entire form of 3-Y
Detain me, O detain me
O, Headmistress -
You're such a buxom [lady], Headmistress
Excuse me while I kiss the dorm
Don't go near that tuck shop
Don't go near that tuck shop
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah
Pupil haze, all through my brain
Lately examination results don't seem the same
Acting jolly funny and I don't know why
I think I'll hold the whole school in detention for a while
* ---------------------------------
thank you to whoever asked for these - i'd forgotten how absolutely
hysterical they were. lately Matron doesn't seem the same, indeed.
if someone wants me to i could be motivated to transcribe "Community
Worker Breakdown", "Whole Lotta Age", "Silver Sewing Machine" (all
2 lines of it!) and/or "Shaving Brush Boogie" if people think they
can hack it ("Orange Dust" and "Orange Dust (Slight Return)" have
no words that i can think of).
in a (completely un)related note, was it AP who said that there weren't
going to be any drums on the new album? or did we make that up?
because judging from the demos, i would have to heartily disagree that
he's moving away from drums. one or two songs are sort of orchestral,
but others are noticeably heavily rhythmic, like "you & the clouds"
and "the green man" (the latter even to the point of being reminiscent
of "beating of hearts").
_was_ i hallucinating, or did someone write something about Smurfs?
- brookes
* ---------------------------------
http://www.smith.edu/~rmckenzi
------------------------------ From: Jumpthecup@aol.com Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 14:38:24 -0400 Message-ID: <960907013657_279317025@emout15.mail.aol.com> Subject: Big City Orchestra "Grass" cover version info... A few people have e-mailed me about this cover version of "Grass" that I mentioned a few digests ago. It's a 2 song single by Big City Orchestra, it's packaged in inch-thick Astroturf and was reviewed in the July 1996 issue of CMJ (see earlier post for transcription of review). Anyway, I found out the mailing address for Big City Orchestra's record label. It is: Sick Muse P.O. Box 28664 Bellingham, WA 98228-0664 I haven't written them yet, so I don't know what the ordering costs would be or any other info like that. Still, this should help... Dave O'Connell York PA P.S. In addition to the XTC cover, they also perform another cover version of a song called Grass, this one originally performed by Ivor Cutler. Cutler's is the A side, XTC's is the flip side.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b01ae57ae2c0f7e@[199.171.191.6]> Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 16:00:57 -0700 From: gondola@deltanet.com (E.B.) Subject: FS: King For A Day I have a copy of the Geffen King For A Day CD5 I'm willing to part with. It includes "King For A Day (Czar mix)," "King For A Day (Versailles mix)," "Toys" and "Desert Island." The remixes are very strange, high-tech and commercialized, and those are the reasons to own this, since the B-sides are now bonus tracks on the Mummer CD. Essential for completists, I suppose. :) E-mail me if interested. Bids start at $5? Eric
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 00:11:37 -0400 From: WES HANKS <W_HANKS@wow.com> Subject: This Wes Over Message-ID: <199609080011_MC1-95C-7E8A@compuserve.com> Strange Tales, A fellow named Wes (myself) just purchases a copy of The Sugarplastic "Bang, The Earth is Round" cd on Friday. Saturdays Chalkhills has a post from another gentleman named Wes wishing to sell his copy... I have to lie down now. Blessings, Wes
------------------------------ From: PiriyaV3@aol.com Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 13:15:14 -0400 Message-ID: <960908131512_280151863@emout13.mail.aol.com> Subject: Close encounters with The Verve Pipe Hello Fellow Chalkhillians! I haven't posted in a REALLY long time, and I've only posted that one time. I've also been bad, and I haven't kept up with the mailing list for the past few months because I've been away for most of the summer, and now school just started back up. ANYWHO! I have a story to tell, and you must excuse the spastic-ness of it, but I was really wired when I wrote it this morning. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it! :-) September 8, 1996 I busted my knee up, I was the most obnoxious person on earth in doing this, I can't hear very well right now, and I literally gave the shirt off of my back in the process, but oh, was it worth it. :-) Okay, as the most of the Chalkhills community should know, The Verve Pipe did a cover of "Wake Up" on the XTC tribute album. This solitary fact forced me to attend the concert that The Verve Pipe was giving at my school (Lake Forest College). This was an LFC event - students and faculty only. The concert was held in the ice rink, and I went to see the opening band "Lifter," which was okay, but I was definitely more interested in The Verve Pipe. I bought a T-shirt, and I chatted with the T-shirt guy about XTC and David Yazbek (yea!). As I recall, The Verve Pipe did a show with him in Philadelphia? Anyway...went back to my room, and hung out there until the "real" concert started. I headed back about half an hour later, and I happened to walk past some open windows... I casually glanced in, and I see some people, just hanging around, relaxing. I turned to my friends and I said, "Hey! Is that the band?? Is that Verve Pipe??" They looked at me and said, "Um, guess so..." (None of my friends know about The Verve Pipe, and OF COURSE they don't care much for XTC. ::sigh:: I'm still trying to convert them, though. ;-) So, I thought for a moment, "I wonder if I could make a request!" Normally, I would have NEVER done this, but I HAD to. I ran over to the window, stuck my head in and said "Hi, um, are you The Verve Pipe?" One of the members (the bassist, whose name is Brad) looked at me and said while pointing to some others, "Well, some of us are." Me: "Oh, okay...some of you are. Could I make a request?" Brad: "It depends... What do you want to hear?" Me: "Uh, well, could you play something by XTC?" Brad: "Ah! He's the one to talk to (as he pointed to Brian, the lead singer) Actually, I ended up talking to the drummer (Donny), which was still cool. Okay, I'm going to start paraphrasing now, because a word for word wouldn't be accurate, nor would it be practical. Donny said that they usually don't play anything by XTC live and that he didn't know anything off of Black Sea anyway. They didn't know any songs well enough to play them, so that request was scrapped. However, Donny said that if I could convince Brian...MAYBE I could talk him into playing Blue Beret. I thought that would be EXCELLENT, but it didn't happen. But that's okay! It gets better. Donny and I start talking about Andy Partridge and how he walked into one of their recording sessions. I was in awe because I remember reading about it. Donny said, "He's a freako! He's a total freako! I mean, he just walks in and we're like...wow, that's Andy Partridge!" At the time, I was wearing my Chalkhills t-shirt (which is my favourite shirt!), and I showed it to Donny. He said, "Wow! THAT is one of best albums (English Settlement, referring to the Uffington horse)...one of my favourites. Ya know, I WANT that shirt. I will trade you ANY of those t-shirts out there for that one." I was rather hesitant about giving up my beloved shirt, but he said think about it. I also mentioned that I had demos available for trade. Donny asked me if I had the Hello recordings, and being the good XTC fan who collects rarities, I do. I went into the ice rink, and the concert started. They were INCREDIBLE! The Verve Pipe is just absolutely rocking. Granted I didn't know ANY of the songs, but it was fun anyway! They played Strawberry Fields for an encore, though, which was very cool. I was front and center throughout the entire concert, and I noticed that *I* was noticed. Hehehe. After the concert was over, I went to talk to the t-shirt guy (I feel bad that I don't know his name!), and I explained how I had sort of made a deal with Donny. The guy was kind of antsy about it - I would be too if a kid walked up to me and tried to weasel their way into a free t-shirt. ;-) For the most part, I bargained with the guy, asking for free CDs, signed, for the Chalkhills t-shirt. A big no was the answer to that one - they had 3 CDs for sale, and I wanted those more than anything else. He didn't seem to think that 3 signed CDs was equal in value for my faded Chalkhills t-shirt. Also, he couldn't guarantee that he could anything signed. So, I waited around, hoping that maybe one of members of The Verve Pipe would walk out. Sure enough! Doug, the keyboardist, walks out and he spots me sitting on the table right outside the ice rink. He said as he gestured to me, "Hey! Hi, did you have fun?" I resounded with an excited "YES! It was GREAT!" He walked over to talk to the t-shirt guy, and I followed him. He looked over to me and we started chatting. He said, "Man, THAT is a great t-shirt. Where did you get it from?" I explained to him about the great Chalkhills mailing list and how Phil Corless (yea!) offered to make a t-shirt for those interested. I also explained to him how I sort of made a deal with Donny, and Doug gave me a sly grin and said, "Ahhh! So, uh, which of these t-shirts are ya looking at?" Then I bargained with him about getting some free CDs. So, he said, "Okay! No problem! I'll help you out there!" Me: "Signed?" Doug: "Of course! Yeah! I'll help you out." We also started talking about the various unreleased demos from the Nonsuch and O&L eras, and I said that I would send those to him as well. So, he took them backstage to get them signed. Donny (the drummer) came back out with the CDs and he poked me in the back and said, "Hey! Here ya go!" I turned around quickly and thanked him. Then he said, "Sure, no problem! (Looking at my t-shirt again) THAT is just a f*ckin' cool t-shirt. What can I do to get that from you? Do you have a shirt on underneath? (I didn't.) Will you mail it to me? Okay? I'll give you an address!" So, in return for two free signed CDs, I'm mailing Donny a t-shirt, and the rest of them the demos tapes that I have. THIS may very well be the coolest trade that I have ever made in my life. :-) Donny asked me again if I had the songs on the Hello CD, and we started talking about that. He sang part of Candymine, and I completed it. :D He walked out of the ice rink singing "Candymine! Candymine!" TOO cool! Doug said to keep in touch and email them, and he'll be looking out for those demos. :-) Needless to say, I was in the stratosphere (Stratosphear?) of highs! I was running on pure adrenalin and endorphins, and perhaps burning with optimism's flames! They were so incredibly nice and friendly, and I felt so at ease with them. Of course, I was the most hyper I have been in my entire life for the rest of the night! Oh, what about busting my knee up, some of you may ask? I think, out of sheer excitement, I was bouncing around at the speed of light that my knee gave out on me and popped out of joint. Painful, very painful. Endangered my staying at the concert, but I downed some painkillers and I was rolling. :D That's it! I think that I am STILL on a high from last night. Not one drop of alcohol, no drugs. Just the pure and simple happiness that all started with XTC; they're my drug. ;-)
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 17:34:57 -0400 (EDT) From: Karthik Swaminathan <kqs7816@is4.NYU.EDU> Subject: Meandering within Drums and Wires Message-Id: <Pine.OSF.3.93.960908171318.19764C-100000@is4.NYU.EDU> Drums and Wires was the first XTC record I had listened to and even though it is probably there most dated sounding next to White Music, it gives me the most memories of any of their records. In the days of anti-masterpieces it was one of the most quirkiest pop records of its time, though the only stand out track was Nigel which was the first song of theirs I had ever heard, the other tracks were not your tread of the mill type of fillers. What made Black Sea an amazing follow up was that Andy cut lose on the taboo of creating masterpieces (you know, the anti-Stairway to Freebird sentiment). And side 1 of English Settlement showed Andy and Colin at their peak. ES was the last album that seemed to me like a band album. >from Mummer on the Partridge and Moulding songs seem to not fit well together. Andy's songs seemed to progress and expand whil Colins songs were sounding more and more lifeless which is sad since his songs introduced me to the band in the first place. The band photos now show Andy in the middle with the other two flanked to the sides. With Terry gone, XTC became Partridge and Co. This isn't nessesarily bad but if you listen to the energy of Go2 which was definetly the work of a group and compare it to Oranges and Lemons, four sides of Andy Partridge with two half assed Moulding pieces, its just plain sad. K.
------------------------------
Message-Id: <v03007800ae5901982ea6@[206.98.168.69]>
Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 19:19:39 -0400
From: Ira Lieman <aym@intercall.com>
Subject: Andy vs. Colin
Howdy Chalk-a-muffins...
First of all, THANKS STEVE! You're too kind. That's one kind plus one kind.
And you pack your tapes so well...
Secondly, for all those who have heard the various demo tapes for the XTC
albums, I have made an observation -- did you notice that most of the time
there's at least one lyric or two from each of Andy's songs that gets
changed from demo to 'real' recording? This is in opposition to Colin, who
rarely, if ever, has any lyrical changes in his songs. Take "Omnibus" for
instance -- An original lyric goes: "There's nothing in the world like a
gold skinned girl, to make your FORTUNE COOKIE and your bamboo curl..."
I chalk (ha ha ha) this up to one of two ideas:
1) Andy is constantly tweaking with his songs, trying to make them better
sounding, better flowing, etc. On the other hand, Colin likes how they
sound already and he doesn't need to tweak with anything.
2) Conversely, Colin has done all the tweaking already, while Andy records
demos even before the songs are completely written.
Any ideas?
-ira
< - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >
_/_/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ Ira Lieman | Visualize
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Angry Young Man | Whirled
_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ aym@intercall.com | Peas.
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ www.intercall.com/~aym | Stop the Violins!
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 22:12:53 -0400 (EDT) From: William Willham <thatguy@iglou.com> Subject: XTC Unreleased video and audio Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.93.960908220846.26810A-100000@iglou1> Hello All! I've been a fan of XTC for about 6 years, but as of yet started to collect the unreleased audio and video. I collect other artists, and was looking for somebody that wants to trade dubs... In the event I have nothing that is of interest to you...go ahead and write if you have any other suggestions or requests in which it would make a trade possible, either be it trade for blanks or monetary. Well I hope to hear from one or all soon.... William thatguy@iglou.com ehh....oh yeah can someone post the track listing of the upcoming collection....
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 21:48:05 -0500 Message-Id: <v01530501ae58ed590901@[204.153.64.155]> From: musicvil@idir.net (John Yuelkenbeck) Subject: This is Omnipop? Yeah, yeah Although I have purchased the new Sam Phillips, I haven't ripped off the plastic yet. I've been too busy listening to an advance promo copy of "William Bloke" by Billy Bragg. Bragg has been sorely missed on this front. "Bloke" has some nice material on it from the couple of times I've spinned it. My first-off favorite is the closer, "Goalhanger," which has a kind of loopy feel that reminds me of the theme to the sitcom "Soap," and a bridge that cops from the Stones' "Bitch." Now ain't that a combo? Anyway, since XTC is a stale issue until they release something new, thought I'd bring it up. By the way, I was looking through some old albums in my collection the other day and on the back of a Marianne Faithfull album (or was it Pet Clark?) I saw a photo of her and Gus Dudgeon. He looked pretty old then. Don't know much else about him. Back to my picaresque life. Your mileage may vary.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v0211011bae598d7ba5ef@[134.32.48.166]> Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 10:09:58 +0100 From: varga@ferndown.ate.slb.com (Stephen Varga) Subject: Fossil - UK's lowest price? In Chalkhills #153 I estimated the price of Fossil Fuels to be around 17 pounds at the Music and Video Club. Now that details of this CD have been put on the system, I can confirm that the price for the limited edition CD is in fact 15 pounds and ninety nine pence. (24 dollars to our friends in the US) Is this Britain's lowest price or do you know better?
------------------------------ Message-ID: <783ED72F01291300@ametsoc.org> Date: Mon, 9 Sep 96 09:49:00 -0500 From: dgershmn <dgershmn@ametsoc.org> Organization: AMS Subject: Tribute tapes? To those involved in the production of either of the XTC tribute tapes: What's the latest on them? What's the final track listing going to be? When will they be available and how can we order them? It's been a while since I've heard anything, aside from an anguished plea from Richard Pedretti for song submissions, and I just wondered how it all was going. Dave Gershman
------------------------------ Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.19960909230318.0067109c@dave-world.net> Date: Mon, 09 Sep 1996 18:03:18 -0500 From: Eric Adcock <eadcock@dave-world.net> Subject: Dave Gregory, watchman From the trivia section of today's newspaper: "Gregory" comes from the Greek word for "watchman." Take care, Eric Adcock Mr. What Bloomington, IL, USA mailto:eadcock@dave-world.net http://www.dave-world.net/~eadcock/
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 08:17:22 +0800 (SST)
Message-Id: <199609100017.IAA03921@mailh1a.cyberway.com.sg>
From: Kevin M Mathews <mathews@cyberway.com.sg>
Subject: PAPER SNOW
Got hold of the advance cassette of the Heads'
forthcoming album, basically for Partridge's contribution - Paper Snow.
Overall so-so it comes across like a funked-up Minature Sun. It's kinda
strange to hear Andy's distinctive vocals backed by a rhythm section this
un-XTC. You miss Colin's melodic bass lines and Dave's virtuosity.
Which gives everyone an idea of what I think of the
album. Without Byrne, the Heads are half-baked. Though I must admit that the
Richard Hell track Never Mind (!) is quite amusing.
Where's that new album, guys?
Cheers, Kevin.
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 01:12:07 -0400 (EDT) From: kathryn lynne burda <klburda@umich.edu> Subject: River Phoenix & XTC??? Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.960910005616.3256C-100000@galaxian.rs.itd.umich.edu> Burning question: why is River Phoenix thanked on O&L (tape only?). Also, why isn't *anyone* thanked on the CD version? Did the liner notes not have enough room or did someone get lazy? Josh- the reason you're not getting any interpretations is because the "Dear God" one set off flame wars that lasted for three weeks. At least. I think people realized their XTC limit when we'd get a digest a day of nothing but bantering. Who's Paul Bailey, the mysterious personage who told us nothing new two digests ago? Is it possible that he's the lawyer the boys hired to get them de-Virginized? (Bad) joke of the day: what do you get when you cross the Dukes with Richard Marx? The Dukes of Hazard!! (no applause, please, just throw money!) Big time-comsuming project because Fossil Fuel isn't here yet: a trilogy of XTC/Dukes/TD songs titled "A Town Called Misery". The cover has a picture of a wooden sign with the word Misery on top and then a "10km" with an arrow underneath. It's cool. Cooler than "Snowman". Travelling in Nihilon, Kate & (All Of a Sudden) It's Too Late, Jen
------------------------------ Message-Id: <9609100902.AA0741@mailgate.mandg.co.uk> From: David Goody/M&G <David_Goody@mandg.co.uk> Date: 10 Sep 96 9:57:21 Subject: Demo Help Required I have recently been on holiday and returning I have had four editions of Chalkhills to catch up on, which was great. But reading through them has made me realise that I am missing out on an awful lot of XTC music by not having any of the demos in my collection that appear to be available. I have always been proud of what a great fan I am by having all the albums available on CD, plus a couple of the live CD's (Fab Four in Philly plus another whose name escapes me at the moment), but all this conversation on Chalkhills regarding unreleased tracks and demos of songs (both old and new) makes me a trifle sad. Is there anyone out there who can help me out of this predicament? I realise that it is more than likely that you people have payed good money to obtain these demos, etc., so I am not expecting to get things for nothing, but can anyone let me know how I can obtain these demos? Please help me as I am desperate to get a new fix of XTC!!!!! If you can help, please E-Mail me, my address is... david_goody@mandg.co.uk You could help to make an old XTC fan very happy. Thanks very much.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 11:06:58 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <v02130500ae5a2f9c2aa1@[204.141.49.16]>
From: gramercy@angel.net (Richard Luckett)
Subject: Jamie Block
"I wish I'd come up with some of his songs...knowing me, I probably will."
- Andy Partridge
Who is Jamie Block and why does the creator of The Swindon Sound give him
the time of day?
Perhaps it was because of the rough demo tape he received two years ago.
Although he loved the songs, Andy implored Jamie to seek a more lucrative
line of work. When that failed, he begrudgingly agreed to help secure a
record deal.
The result of this collaboration is LEAD ME NOT NOT INTO PENN STATION, the
debut BLOCK CD.
To hear selected tracks, point your Web Browser to:
http://www.gramercy.net/block
To order it:
US:1.800.206.0067
Rest of the World: 908.219.9327
Thanks, Andy, Yazbeck and all Chalkhillians for your continued support.
Love, BLOCK
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Sep 96 09:51:11 EST From: "John Christensen" <christej@vrinet.com> Message-Id: <9608108423.AA842374559@PO2.VRINET.COM> Subject: XTC/REM XTC: Mummer. 1983. Album cover: an obscure mix of shadows and shapes in subdued earth tones. REM: Murmur. 1983. Album cover: an obscure mix of shadows and shapes in subdued earth tones. I know that REM were big XTC fans when they started and played XTC covers in concert (and opened for XTC on part of one tour), but are the above similarities just a coincidence? Jasper Now let's compare their current record deals . . . well, on second thought . . . let's not.
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 10:14:16 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: MORE POSTINGS ON GREGSY ARE NEEDED! Message-id: <01I9B66E5WF68ZGNZP@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> This guy gets the least amount of attention in the spectrum of XTC admirers. I'd like to know why! Okay, so he doesn't write songs and pretty much makes up the background scenery to King Partridge and Sir Moulding, but the guy is very talented and rather visually appealling....anyone notice on the inner sleeve picture on the Black Sea cd, that he bears a slight semblance to Noah Wyle? Now everytime I watch ER I think I'm seeing Gregsy back in the early 80's! BTW-Saw a lot about top ten Colin songs.....I always hated Bungalow, always loved Grass and The World is Full of Angry Young Men. Later and goodbye, Amanda Owens
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 10:20:29 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: Testimonial Dinner? Try overpriced appetizer. Message-id: <01I9B6BS7VEW8ZGNZP@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Me again....I just recently purchased A Testimonial Dinner, and was more than a little disappointed by what permeated through my cd player. Only 11 songs? XTC had so many more enticing tidbits than were offered. There were too many songs off of Skylarking, and none from Go 2, Nonsuch, Mummer, or Oranges & Lemons (their best album, IMHO) As far as the actual covers go, I'm surprised Andy liked Dear God. I sure as heck didn't. The only listenable songs on the whole thing were All You Pretty Girls (this is coming from a Crash Test Dummies mega mondo incredibly devoted fan here.), The Good Things (of course), Statue of Liberty (always loved Joe Jackson), and The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul (this one always gets me dancing.) Funny thing is, I like most of the artists in their own rights. Just not as cover bands. Amanda Owens
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199609101743.MAA23447@mailgate.execpc.com> Subject: The Gooder Things Date: Tue, 10 Sep 96 12:45:53 -0500 From: Constantine Pappas <pappas@execpc.com> Hrm, ok, let's see if I can remember all I wanted to say: re: The Good Things -- Does anyone else like the demo version better than the TD one? The drums and bass seem too heavy on the later version and Colin's voice just doesn't have the same punch, imho. re: Peter Blegvad -- I'm looking for yet another copy of the 'King Strut and Other Stories' CD, so if anyone has an info on how to get one, I'd greatly appreciate it! I was able (thru a fellow chalkhillite) to get a copy for myself, but now it seems that a friend I played it to is dying for his own. re: BATMAN & ROBIN -- You know, I was thinking of the exposure that Seal got from his megahit which never appeared in the last Batman movie, yet appeared on the soundtrack. I think it would be a match made in heaven if Andy were to write a song for the new movie! He's a DC collector I've heard (which is by far the superior comic company ;), and after stuff like Brainiac's Daughter and ...Supergirl, I'll bet he do could a great song for the new movie. If any of you have his ear...you might want to bring it up...I'll bet there is still time. re: The Green Man -- Can anyone post the lyrics or mail them to me? My shower singing every morning is suffering greatly from my da da da fills. re: Then She Humanasaurused -- Which came first, Goodbye Humanasaurus or Then She Appeared? They have a couple melodic lines in common, and I was curious which was taken from which. re: Robyn Hitchcock -- Comments on Moss Elixir ( i know it's not XTC but hey) re: Sugarplastic -- I disagree strongly with those who feel that the Sugarplastic CD fall apart half way through. I think some of the best songs are near the end, like Soft Jingo. re: Sir George's Ears -- When I posted that bit about George Martin's hearing, I think some people took it a bit too far. I did NOT mean to suggest that he's practically deaf now, but rather that he has lost a significant amount of hearing. All this according to a magazing interview. Well, I'm sure there is much more I'm forgetting, but that's plenty for now. Thanks for listening. Constantine Pappas ************************************************************************** * * * ...a heart without love is a song with no words, --Andy Partridge * * ...and a tune to which no one is listening * * * **************************************************************************
------------------------------ Message-ID: <8941D72F01291300@ametsoc.org> Date: Tue, 10 Sep 96 14:08:00 -0500 From: dgershmn <dgershmn@ametsoc.org> Organization: AMS Subject: At last, I think, "You and the Clouds..." There seemed to be some serious uncertainty about a few of the lyrics to "You and the Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful," so I decided to give it my best shot. As a result, I'm 99% certain that I've got them down right. I listened to it again and again on my Walkman as the batteries ran down, and the slower speed actually helped things somewhat. So, without further ado, here's what I believe to be the full and final set of lyrics: ******************************************** And every morning before I'm awake I walk around the world to make sure she's alright And every evening I put the cat out and I stir the sky to make sure it will spin all night For I see people who will scratch and spit and kick and fight And I see nations war about whether right is left and whether wrong is right And I know storms inside your head can amplify the blight But no matter what the weather, you and the clouds will still be beautiful (x2) And every Troy-ward wooden horse I take to peaceful waters but can't make him drown And every Bastille that gets stormtroopered, "Hail to the Chief" comes raining, raining, raining, raining down I've seen people conduct lightning down to a summer's day And I see nations playfully hurl snowballs packed with stolen clay And I know rain inside your head can seriously put a stop to play But no matter what the weather, you and the clouds will still be beautiful (x2) So let it rain We see flying saucers, flying cups, and flying plates And as we trip down lover's lane we sometimes bump into the gate And I know thunder in your head can still reverberate But no matter what the weather, you and the clouds will still be beautiful (repeat to end) ******************************************* That oh-so-tricky second verse took a while, but I'm nearly certain that "Troy-ward" is correct...it makes full historical sense. The difficulty with figuring it out is that it simply is not a word you'd be listening for...and on first hearing, it sound like two words. The third line in that same verse is indeed correct as Eddie (Saints3Den@aol.com) heard it in his correction to that line. So what do you think? I think we've put together the whole set of lyrics... --Dave Gershman
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #2-154 *******************************
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