Chalkhills Digest Volume 3, Issue 145
Date: Tuesday, 29 July 1997
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 3, Number 145
Tuesday, 29 July 1997
Today's Topics:
Gerard Cosloy
Ahh....life is good....
Re: An Interesting Sidenote
Kevin Bacon
You're welcome
License plate sighting...
Crimson, Flint, IVA!!!, Idea, Whirlybird
Flynn vs. Flint
Open Season
From now on, I want you all to call me Loretta.....
New CD format coming
Radio, radio
Deification
Re: Ben Folds/TMBG --> XTC
Re: Prodigy over Prefab
addendum
Yeah.
Idea
In Like Errol Flynn, Angry Young Me, TR is OK!
Sara Lee...and Robyn Hitchcock
Mega rare XTC demos french promo CD
This is Pop?
Flynn Like Flint
Assholes/IDEA/Touring
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She's so exacting that she tells me when I go wrong.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-Id: <33DA4E43.72D0@together.net> Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 13:21:39 -0600 From: Chris Coolidge <cauldron@together.net> Organization: Eleventh Hour Cauldron Subject: Gerard Cosloy > However, from what I can tell, the label founder and > owner, Gerard Cosley, is a very opinionated man who only signs what he > likes. I spent a summer in his old house in Jersey City (I was subleasing, > so I never met the man). All of his records were there (the biggest > collection these eyes have seen), I never met him myself, but we had friends in common when he was at UMass in the mid-80's. He used to do a fanzine called Conflict, and only the most screaming alternative stuff met with his approval. He definitely hated XTC; he gave Mummer a very negative review in Conflict, saying(I paraphrase)"They're clever, like chimps. Let's kill all clever bands now!" He may have changed his mind with age(I wouldn't be too surprised if the more grinding offerings on The Big Express met with his approval, for instance), but I would be surprised if he has.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <33DA6272.7776@gate.net> Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 16:47:46 -0400 From: Pandrea <pann@gate.net> Subject: Ahh....life is good.... Hello Chalkies, About a month or so I had written asking about the demo's. Well, I have them now! Yessss! Yippee! Huzzah!! Man, I was so excited when my package arrived, (thanks PW, for helping out a fellow chalkie in need) I just ripped the package open, and immediately tossed the tape in. These songs are just incredible...I really loved most of them immediately. And I've only heard it once so far. I gotta let this all digest. Yes, life is good... Also a quick thanks to the other chalkies who offered to get me the tape, after I had already made arrangements. This list makes me so proud, sniff,,sniff,, Best to all, Perry
------------------------------
Message-ID: <t1lCqaANEm2zEwj7@emdac.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 21:41:49 +0100
From: Phil Hetherington <phil@emdac.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: An Interesting Sidenote
Chalks,
Somewhat off-topic, sorry...
>Ah no, yet again, ATN is slightly out to lunch..Barry Andrews has worked
>worked with Robert Fripp in the past, but not with King Crimson. The band
>was called "The League Of Gentlemen", and a few of the tunes that they
>wrote for their single, solitary album were re-worked for King Crimson's
>Discipline release, but, thankfully, ( 8) ), Barry and Robert never argued
>in KC together. The LOG album isn't bad, but not great, buy Discipline
>instead...
It's more confusing than you may think. The 'proper' League Of Gentlemen
album, just called 'League Of Gentlemen', is vinyl-only. It has a pink
cover. There was then a reissue, with the same pink cover printed
smaller and at an angle, on a white background, called 'God Save The
King'; this contains the music off the LOG album, but not the daft
samples and things that originally padded it out. Instead, a couple
of extra tracks from some other Fripp album (don't shoot me, I know
very little about Fripp's work other than LOG) were added on. This
reissue is on vinyl and CD, and is probably what most people have, I'd
guess.
One of the extra tracks features David Byrne on vocals, incidently. And
I saw him last night at the Shepherds Bush Empire... good, but (a) too
expensive, and (b) the solo material doesn't work as well live as the
Talking Heads material. The new(ish) album is excellent though.
>Interesting sidenote, Sara Lee was the bass player in League Of Gentlemen,
>and she also did an album and tour with the B-52s, Love Shack era. (Just
>for the rivia buffs out there...)
There's also a LOG 'official bootleg' (thanks to John Relph for alerting
me to it a while back), which came out last year I think. It's called
'Thrang Thrang Gozinbulx' or something ('scuse spelling), and I'd
actually recommend it above the studio album - it's excellent.
Sara Lee wrote some comments for the liner notes. She was also in Gang
Of Four for a while after Dave Allen left GOF to form Shriekback with
Barry. Sara Lee was last spotted (by me anyway) playing bass for Ani
Difranco.
Incidently, when LOG toured, they were supported by Barry's 'other' band
of the time, Restaurant For Dogs, with Barry playing in both bands. Very
little RFD material is out there though, which from the little I've
heard is probably a good thing. :-)
More trivia... the vocalist in RFD was Carlos Asciutti (spelling?), I
think. Who also did the vocals on Shriekback's "Hapax Legomena", and
has more recently (I think) worked with Fluke. Who were then remixed
by Shriekback on the 'Tosh' single - actually that's the only recording
on which the most recent lineup of Shriekback can be heard playing
together.
>Not XTC connection at all...except the timing of League Of Gentlemen was
>probably right after his departure from King Crimson and just before he
>wound up Shriekback.
Hey. None of what I said was more than 2 degrees away, was it? :-)
Great news about the record deal...
--
_
|_) |_ * | My web page: http://www.emdac.demon.co.uk/phil/
| | ) | | Shriekback web pages: The above + shrkindx.html
===========
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01550100b0007b34ab24@[205.231.217.113]> Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 23:18:48 -0500 From: gott@li.com (Ben Gott) Subject: Kevin Bacon Just returned from a Bacon Brothers concert (those elder Chalkhillians might remember my story about last year's concert, where I asked both Bacon brothers - Kevin and Michael - if they had ever heard of XTC, and where both said "no.") Still no XTC on the Bacon's menu, but I'm having coffee with their percussionist tomorrow, so I will again name-drop our boys to Marshal Rosenberg (the percussionist) and to Paul Guzzone (the bassist, who is a huge XTC fan), and see what happens. Maybe I'll come armed, tape in hand, screaming "Look! They sang 'Happy Families!' From your damned movie, Kevin!" If anyone's interested in incredible music (you'll have to take your finger off the "PgDn" key to raise your hand, folks), get David Rice's albums - either "Orange Number Eight" or "Released." Any Houstonites on the list? He was signed with Randall Hage Jamail's (sp?) Justice Records. CDNow has copies of the albums. Ben - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - B e n G o t t http://www.wp.com/58596 Who said I'd lied, because I never...
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 09:56:15 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <v01510101b000c9c9b0b1@[206.80.8.177]> From: mf@well.com (Mitch Friedman) Subject: You're welcome Everyone, Thanks very much for thanking me very much. It's my pleasure to serve you. But you should really be thanking Andy since he's cool enough to tell me everything and even cooler to give me permission to tell you. Here are some more little tidbits of info you might want to know: The '73 song "Rock On" by David Essex is a huge influence on Andy. He said he likes it because it's so empty. He's also greatly enamored with Stealers Wheel's '73 hit "Star" saying that he was as excited about this when it came out as he was hearing a new Beatles single. The reason these songs came up in discussion is because I was telling him about all the Rhino Super Hits of the '70s CDs I had just purchased. These two songs are on Volume 12 (along with "Seasons in the Sun" and "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo", plus others). On the visual arts front, he's a very big Popeye fan. He also really loves the animation of Czechs Jiri Trnka and Jan Svankmajer. As for British TV, the recently completed series of Henry Hill shows as well as all of the Vic Reeves Big Night Out series are big favorites of both he and Dave. Mitch
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v03102800b001663b5e06@[207.77.26.207]> Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 16:57:03 -0400 From: Ira Lieman <ira@myself.com> Subject: License plate sighting... Just a quick one here... This afternoon my girlfriend and I came back from Baltimore to Hoboken...on the I-695/I-95 split, there was a truck with the MD license plate "U2 XTC" -- I almost swerved off the road. I thought it was too cool. It's not one of us Chalkfolk, is it? If so, e-mail me privately. L8r... -ira
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 16:31:50 +1200 (NZST) Message-Id: <v01540b0ab00279c19aff@[139.80.228.157]> From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Crimson, Flint, IVA!!!, Idea, Whirlybird David Hathaway was a-scribblin': >>Also contained an interesting bit of info: I didn't know that Barry >>Andrews was once a member of King Crimson << >Ah no, yet again, ATN is slightly out to lunch..Barry Andrews has worked >worked with Robert Fripp in the past, but not with King Crimson. The band >was called "The League Of Gentlemen", and a few of the tunes that they >wrote for their single, solitary album were re-worked for King Crimson's >Discipline release, but, thankfully, ( 8) ), Barry and Robert never argued >in KC together. The LOG album isn't bad, but not great, buy Discipline >instead...< correcting a correction here... there are two LoG albums - the self-titled one from the mid-80s and a recent live album from their one mammoth tour of the same era, called "Thrang Thrang Gozinbulx" (catchy, huh?). The latter is the better of the two. >Not XTC connection at all...except the timing of League Of Gentlemen was >probably right after his departure from King Crimson and just before he >wound up Shriekback.< now I'm really confused... Mark Strijbos schrijven: >BTW: I was (pleasantly) surprised when I read in the new Andy Partridge >interview from Consumable Online that the Australian Icehouse bloke Ivor >Davis was going to collaborate with him.This makes him very probably the >only musician in the world to have worked with both Andy P. and Terry >Chambers but NOT with XTC... Cor blimey!< Not only that, but he has covered XTC, his better than I'd ever have expected cover of Complicated Game, on "The Berlin Tapes". *IVA* Davies (NOT Ivor, and definitely NOT IRA!!!!) actually works with some impressive folks from time to time - Surprise surprise, my favourite Icehouse track is "Cross the Border", with a Mr. B. Eno on backing vocals... >Man, this is why nobody hangs out with XTC and King Crimson fans. Sure, >it's all very concisely stated, but the usual refuter, "But you can't >dance to it," sounds suprisingly convincing.< Play "People" from Thrak... loud. Not dancy??? >* XTC starting their own record label?! I thought only very wealthy bands >could pull that off, ie: The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zep, Frank >Zappa. Often they don?t work out. Will XTC be producing other artists? Is >this all true?< well, this leads on from the previous comment, in a way... King Crimson are not a very wealthy band (they got thoroughly done by the collapse of EG records, as Robert Fripp frequently recounts in his liner notes. Yet their self-formed label, Discipline Global Module, now has quite a stable of artists and looks very promising indeed. Considering the (tenuous) connections between XTC and King Crimson, perhaps they've learnt from the Crimso experience! >in like flint and styling / all the world is neatly curled around my >littlest finger" I thought the line should be "in like Flynn". Am I wrong >or was Andy being his usual clever self by changing it to "in like flint" >y?know - related to sparking a burning (optimistic) flame?< yeees... the original phrase was "In like Flynn", but there was an earlier play on exactly that phrase, the James Cockburn movie "In like Flint". Also, with poetic licence, Flint would be a little easier to sing in that line. >And does anyone (like, our English readers) know if 'Whirly Bird' is a >common name for a Helicopter in England? That's what those things are >called in Legoland, Windsor (I've been all over that beautiful country, it >seems)< don't know if it's a *common* name for them, but if you say "whirlybird" then people will know what you mean. I think it started off as slightly derogatory R.A.F. slang for them, much like I think "chopper" may have done. Don't know about Britain, but the term whirlybird is known in New Zealand, but is old-fashioned, and will get you marked down as being a Pom (i.e., English) instantly. James
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 09:53:13 -0400 Message-Id: <9707281353.AA10586@notesgw2.cc.bellcore.com> From: "Michael D. Myers" <mmyers@notes.cc.bellcore.com> Subject: Flynn vs. Flint Chalkies; I want to try and clear up a minor discrepancy from a couple of recent posts: Ralph DeMarco <r.demarco@elsevier.com> wrote: > >?* "Burning with Optimism's Flame": I was checking the lyrics section >of Chalkhills and noticed that the line "Now you see I'm smiling / >back to juvenile'ing / I learnt her lesson / in like flint and styling >/ all the world is neatly curled around my littlest finger" I thought >the line should be "in like Flynn". Am I wrong or was Andy being his >usual clever self by changing it to "in like flint" Our esteemed Mr. Relph replied: >You are wrong. Derek Flint was the main character of at least two >James Bond type spy films, _Our Man Flint_ (1965) and _In Like Flint_ >(1967). Flint, played by James Coburn, had a knack for breaking in. >Thus, "In Like Flint". (_Austin Powers_ spoofs _Our Man Flint_.) Well, in a way, you are both right. The term, "In like Flynn" arose in the 1940's or maybe earlier and did in fact pertain to Errol Flynn. Mr. Flynn was known as Hollywood's greatest and most prolific lover. If memory serves, his career went downhill after a sexual exploit with a minor. Anyway, the expression was a polite way of complimenting someone who was, how can I say this without being offensive, was with a woman, well, you know, "in like Flynn". I have verified this with several older people who used the expression often way, way before the Flint movies came out. As an assignment, the members of this class should check with your dads or maybe a favorite uncle. When the Flint movies were popular in the sixites, the expresssion was altered a little by the populace in order to make it contemporary. As for how Andy understands or uses the phrase, I have no clue. Mike
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01550100b0028c9bae94@[205.231.217.106]> Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 12:56:54 -0500 From: gott@li.com (Ben Gott) Subject: Open Season J.D. Mack asked: >Does anyone play XTC songs at their local open mike! Surely. I've done "Mayor of Simpleton" before...they stuck me in between the Bob Dylan wannabees and the Smarshing Pumbkinz. (I also did a tenor version of Crash Test Dummies' "Superman's Song," but it seems that that band is off limits.) <NAME DROPPING> Spent more time with Paul Guzzone (bassist for the Bacon Brothers) on Saturday, and had lunch with (it turns out) Kevin Bacon's "personal assistant," whatever that means. She said she'd tell Kevin that "Happy Families" was in "She's Having a Baby," and that the band should add some XTC songs to their repitoire. They're all at the Power Station this week, recording an album, and I'm sending Paul a tape...Any suggestions on what XTC songs would work live with two guitars, bass, perussion, and some famous guys? E-mail me privately. </NAME DROPPING> Ben - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - B e n G o t t http://www.wp.com/58596 Who said I'd lied, because I never...
------------------------------ From: "Lee Lovingood" <lvngoods@beachlink.com> Subject: From now on, I want you all to call me Loretta..... Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 13:11:20 -0400 Message-Id: <19970728130719.00e0dd28.in@mail.beachlink.com> 'Ello! Just a quick jot to let you all know that in my last post, my intentions were not to insult anyone who happens to like The Prodigy. As I had clearly stated, I thought, to each his own. It just seemed to me that anyone who enjoyed the melodic tones of XTC and the like would be a bit scuffed by the angry assault of the Prodigy. Then again, perhaps I am just the most mellow dude on the earth! (I mean, after all, I still listen to Elton John's "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" on a regular basis, and am a big Frank Sinatra fan.) Anyway, one more point... judging Prefab Sprout on "Jordan, the Comeback" is hardly giving them a chance. Try "Two Wheels Good" (Steve McQueen) next time. Not that I expect anyone to love them, for they certainly are a mellow lot, but as I said, to each his own! Ah, it's good to talk like this. By the way, you don't have to call me Loretta. Castaway on a barrier island..... Leeeeeeee, eeee eeee eeee zure.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 13:06:17 -0400
Message-Id: <9707281706.AA00007@notesgw2.cc.bellcore.com>
From: "Michael D. Myers" <mmyers@notes.cc.bellcore.com>
Subject: New CD format coming
Chalkhillians;
I found the following reference on CNNFN that could impact us all soon.
Time to save your currency for a new system, because it sounds like we'll
have XTC in surround sound with room to spare for lotsa bonus tracks and
other media.
Fifteen years after making
the push to compact discs, the recording industry
now reportedly plans to replace compact discs with
a new format in about two years.
Record companies and electronics manufacturers
have agreed on technical guidelines for "digital
versatile disks," or DVD audio, according to a report
in the New York Times. The new format will have
better sound quality, the industry claims.
The agreement represents a major shift from the
two-channel stereo sound that's been the
predominant recording mode for 35 years. CDs
won't become obsolete, but the new format will offer
multi-channel "surround sound" using six speakers.
The new disks will be able to store seven times
more digital data than today's CDs. Some of the
space may also be used for extra channels of
interactive text, images or video sequences that could
be played on a TV monitor.
Consumer electronics manufacturers hope the
new format will draw the music business closer to the
home-theater market.
Mike
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03020900b002834d38f5@[141.212.142.135]> Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 13:32:24 -0400 From: Natalie Jacobs <gnat@umich.edu> Subject: Radio, radio Harrison Sherwood sez, >(On a related note, Riley uses that "dancing about architecture" trope >as his epigraph, and attributes it to Elvis Costello. But only I know >its _true_ origin: On one of the dolmens at Stonehenge there's an Ogham >inscription that's been carbon-dated to 1000 B.C.: It sez "carving on >stone about hitting stones together is like jumping around on stones >about putting one stone on top of another.") Aha! I thought so! Thanks for answering my question - I can sleep easier at night now. :) (Incidentally, Harrison - don't ever think of resigning as clown; you're the funniest person on this list.) Simon Sleightholm fulminates, >Sorry about that, but Natalie's initial post seemed to suggest that I was in >some way a *fan* of Prefab Sprout and I'd sooner be choked with a lobster >than have people believe that of me. My God, Simon, I am so sorry. . . I *never* meant to insinuate such a thing. I really have to learn how to write more precisely. Indeed, I think that you could very well sue me for libel, and I hope this apology is enough to avert your wrath. In other news, my friend and I are hopefully going to do an all-XTC radio show in the near future. My friend has an on-going slot on WCBN, the University of Michigan station, and he's almost as big an XTC fan as I am, so we're going to play as much stuff as we can possibly cram into 3 hours, including demos, interviews, Agony Andy, and anything else we can think of. I'm going to suggest to him that we take requests, also. We haven't settled on a date yet, but it will be from 12-3pm on a Tuesday, some time in the next three weeks. If you are within receiving distance of WCBN (88.3 Ann Arbor), stay tuned for further details, and if anyone has suggestions for stuff to play, let me know. Overheard at a party: "All those alternative bands out there just *wish* they could put out an album as good as 'English Settlement'!" Natalie Jacobs Perdix: The Andy Partridge Appreciation Page http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gnat/perdix.html
------------------------------ Message-ID: <C828D92F01291300@ametsoc.org> Date: Mon, 28 Jul 97 14:13:00 -0500 From: dgershmn <dgershmn@ametsoc.org> Organization: AMS Subject: Deification Harrison said: >That's why he's Andy and we're just a bunch of >assholes sitting around _talking_ about Andy. WE ARE NOT WORTHY!!! Sorry, it had to be said. Dave "Wayne" Gershman
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 13:21:42 -0400 (EDT) From: Andrea Rossillon <alr@UDel.Edu> Subject: Re: Ben Folds/TMBG --> XTC Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.970728131751.29343A-100000@copland.udel.edu> > From: Ira Lieman <ira@myself.com> > > I'm currently listening to the Paul Fox-produced "John Henry" by They > Might Be Giants. And someone else tell me that "Destination Moon" and > "Garden of Earthly Delights" have some production similarities? I might > be going crazy. The "over-the-topness" of both of those songs are > uncannily similar. Well, I mean, both John Henry and O&L were produced by Paul Fox (who also did _Cereal Killers_ by Too Much Joy, if anyone out there listens to them as well). Silly Ira.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v03102800b0028df2bd41@[209.50.99.29]> Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 14:17:03 -0400 From: arthur james virgin <audio@one.net> Subject: Re: Prodigy over Prefab Simon wrote: >Augh! I simply must tidy up a point that Natalie fails to make clear in her >account; I was playing the Prefab Sprout album only to demonstrate just how >*DULL* it was. It was Jordan: The Comeback and I think we got three songs >into it before we ditched it. I bought it cheap in a Woolworths sale ages >ago having heard great things about it and hated it from the off. And this >though it had contributions from the ever-inviting Jenny Agutter. Natalie >asked me to play it so she could see it if was as bad as I said. Indeed it >was. "The Fat Of The Land" is a fine album, but it's not quite up there >with the previous album; "Their Law" is not easily beaten. The Prodigy have >a tremendous energy and seem to subscribe heartily to Cathal Coughlan's >"Keep Music Evil" campaign. Sometimes, people just want to get *dirty*. Err...Prodigy over Prefab?? How surreal that someone would post this on a mailing list dedicated to a band who's strongest asset is melody. >Sorry about that, but Natalie's initial post seemed to suggest that I was in >some way a *fan* of Prefab Sprout and I'd sooner be choked with a lobster >than have people believe that of me. Thats funny, I feel the same way about Prodigy. On an xtc tangent. I heard Sting's new 40Million dollar publishing deal the other day. Makes me even MORE sullen over xtc's treatment in the past. Aj (who doesnt give a *damn* what people think of his musical tastes)
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03102800b002b15e9b67@[146.6.72.33]> Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 15:28:53 -0500 From: jason garcia <h.h.name@mail.utexas.edu> Subject: addendum Oh yeah, I forgot about "Polly Brown". Jason
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199707281949.MAA22900@mail.eskimo.com>
From: "Matt Keeley" <mrme@eskimo.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 12:48:05 +0000
Subject: Yeah.
Very, very short today....
> From: dgershmn <dgershmn@ametsoc.org>
> both under their own name and under various pseudonyms, including 'The Dukes
> of Stratosphear,' 'The Three Wise Men,' and even 'Buster Gonad and His Jolly
> Jesticles' [that's what he called it]. Who is this band?"
> Any guesses? (No, please, just kidding...)
Oh, this is so easy! Everyone knows that it's Devo!!
Anyway... I got a very, very good birthday present recently... my
friend Sasha gave me my present 34 days early, and it was one of the
best I've recieved in a long time. It was XTC records... and this is
one of the few times that when I say records, I actually mean vinyl
records... It was English Settlement (2 disc version with liners),
Waxworks and Beeswax! I was estatic for a long time afterwards, but
I was also amused to note that the first track on Waxworks,
according to the record label was "Science Fiction"... Of course the
picture sleeve had the correct title (it was done by Andy, wasn't
it)... Well, this is probably old news, but it was still amusing....
Ah well, that's this world over...
Matt
(who is still trying to figure out if Dear Mr. Branson is fit for
human consumption...)
-=>Matt Keeley mrme@eskimo.com<=-
Living Through | Visit my home page
Another | http://www.eskimo.com/~mrme
Cuba -- XTC | I used to be temporarily insane!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now I'm just stupid! -- Brak
(ICQ UIN: 1455267, Name: MrMe)
Yeah.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <9707282008.AA21443@axtx0060.scent.mccaw.com> From: steve mcallister <steve.mcallister-next@attws.com> Date: Mon, 28 Jul 97 15:08:16 -0500 Subject: Idea Bravo! The band is starting their own lable. What wonderful news. Of course I wish the very best, if only for the selfish reason of new music I get to hear. I've been reading the posts that have brought up the idea of sending $ to help for start-up costs, and while I think it's a nice idea, I doubt I'll contribute. I'd rather just buy the releases. I'd wager there're enough XTC fans as consumers, DJ's, etc, to give a first release enough sales to properly promote subsequent records. I imagine their records will be distributed well (what distributor wouldn't want to?). Also, I'd rather spend $10 or $20 for a CD of shed-tunes, with the proceeds going to Idea. Someone brought up the point that the reason for XTC starting their own lable was to finally make money. I think that misses the point just a bit. The issue is not wether Andy, Colin, and Dave are rich men, but rather they've made others quite wealthy while remaining, shall we say, underfunded. Anyway, I hope the new record is out soon soon soon. Any word on producer? (My vote is for John Leckie). All the best sm
------------------------------ Message-Id: <s3dcc58b.072@elsevier.com> Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 16:14:50 -0400 From: Ralph DeMarco <r.demarco@elsevier.com> Subject: In Like Errol Flynn, Angry Young Me, TR is OK! Dear One Armed Bandits and Affiliated Members: For some reason I did not receive Chalkhills #143, so I am late in responding. I wrote: >?* "Burning with Optimism's Flame": I was checking the lyrics section >of Chalkhills and noticed that the line "Now you see I'm smiling / >back to juvenile'ing / I learnt her lesson / in like flint and styling >/ all the world is neatly curled around my littlest finger" I thought >the line should be "in like Flynn". Am I wrong or was Andy being his >usual clever self by changing it to "in like flint" John Relph responded: >You are wrong. Derek Flint was the main character of at least two >James Bond type spy films, _Our Man Flint_ (1965) and _In Like Flint_ >(1967). Flint, played by James Coburn, had a knack for breaking in. >Thus, "In Like Flint". (_Austin Powers_ spoofs _Our Man Flint_.) Really? What am I wrong about? I simply asked a question, which you failed to answer. The movie title "In Like Flint" is an obvious take off on "in like Flynn" which IS a real saying (based on Errol Flynn's sexual promiscuity! Thus "In Like Flynn") and pre-dates the 1965 movie by a good 20+ years! So, again we are back to Burning With Optimism's Flame's lyric line in question. Any other takers? Response #2: Stormy Monday responds to my question regarding my love for "The World Is Full Of Angry Young Men": >I for one, think that this is one of the band's finest moments. Colin's >lyrical vision is clear and honest. The arrangement reminds me that at >least Dave, (if not the entire band) is a Steely Dan fan. It calls to >mind some of the tracks from the excellent "Katy Lied" collection. If >you don't know what "feel" means, listen to this one again. Yes! I can't believe I missed that "Katy Lied" connection! I have always been a Steely Dan listener (I am afraid to use the term "fan" now in case I am considered a fanatic). Ben Gott responded that he also liked this song very much but mentioned that "My Bird Performs" is his fav Colin tune of all time. Good Choice. TR is OK! Regarding favorite singer/songwriters: I failed to mention Stevie Wonder and Honorable Mentions to Donald Fagen and Todd Rundgren. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why I have read so much Todd R. bashing in Chalkhills in the past. Yes Todd has a big ego, but during his 70s - mid 80s solo years, Rundgren created some incredibly magical and inventive music. Check out his 60s band Nazz and the albums "Something/Anything" and "Hermit of Mink Hollow". One of my personal favs of his later stuff is "A Capella." I can't say many good things about the band Utopia or his recent recordings which is all a bunch of techno-crap. O.K. kids..fire away... Ralph D.
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 13:46:32 -0500 (CDT) From: Marshall Joseph Armintor <mojo@owlnet.rice.edu> Subject: Sara Lee...and Robyn Hitchcock Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.96.970728132748.20093A-100000@long-eared.owlnet.rice.edu> Didn't Sara Lee also play for awhile in Gang of Four? I don't have my Trouser Press Guide in front of me here... While I'm at it, I was just listening to "Knights In Shining Karma" the other day, and, as it reminds me mostly of the Robyn Hitchcock album _I Often Dream of Trains_, I was wondering why I haven't seen much mention of him around here, considering 1) he's contemporary for the most part with XTC's musical output 2) they tend to mine similar musical territory [in a way] and 3) they have similarly fanatically devoted and creative followers...Funny the last time I actually saw him in Austin (in 1992), the music played over the PA before and after the gig was exclusively from _Nonsuch_, which had then just been released....I dunno...any other Robyn Hitchcock fans out there? marshall
------------------------------ Message-ID: <01BC9BA6.BAAE6900@ras17.afair.fr> From: SCHMITT_Sebastien <friviera@afair.fr> Subject: Mega rare XTC demos french promo CD Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 22:20:39 +-200 Hello, I'm a french collector and i've got a very rare XTC french promo CD for sale. It's XTC "Gribouillage" (The home demos) It features : - The ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead - My bird performs - Dear madam Barnum - Humble Daisy - The smartest monkeys It comes in a digipack sleeve and houses a nice poster. I've only got one copy and it's still SEALED. Please visit my web page full of rare CDs by other bands too : http://www.angelfire.com/biz/rarecds/index.html or, for more informations, email me privately at friviera@afair.fr. Best regards. Sebastien
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.1.16.19970728133811.2b674bbe@cyber1.servtech.com> Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 13:38:11 From: Chaos Harlequin <harlequin@tmbg.org> Subject: This is Pop? Ted Harms: >For example, most 'major' artists make about $2/CD sold I've seen various numbers tossed around, but they're usually much closer to $0.50 than $2. It was my understanding that $2 was how much it cost a major label to print a CD *and* pay royalties. >Also, just out of curiousity, is the single version of This is Pop a >different recording, or just a different mix? It's a different recording. The production is more thick-bodied and full than the album version; it sounds "hi-fi" compared to the album. The performance itself is also far improved -- it's jauntier, catchier, more driven. It's also got some great Barry Andrews keyboards, a bizzare Andy vocal, and *much* better-sounding guitars than the album version. /---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\ | harlequin@tmbg.org http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ | | "We all have our idiosyncracies -- maybe thinning hair, or gum disease."| \---- Kowanko, "Will You Come To?" ------ Thank You, And Goodnight. ------/
------------------------------ Message-ID: <33DD3C47.2624@sprintmail.com> Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 17:41:43 -0700 From: Stormy Monday <stormymonday@sprintmail.com> Subject: Flynn Like Flint Folxtc, For those who've been following this thread, I think that the title of the movie "In Like Flint" was a pun on the original "In like Flynn" phrase. I publicly forgive Harrison for inadvertently starting the "French Trombone Wars", when all he really wanted to do was yank Amanda's chain. I have been enjoying his clever and insightful posts ever since, including his latest, where he used the word "abstruse". Maybe one day he'll be collaborating with "Mr. P."! The new World Party record is entirely satisfying, but I'm now finding the new Ben Folds Five wearing thin after only a few listens. Stormy Monday
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.32.19970729165828.00685694@acton.com> Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 16:58:29 -0500 From: Dave Ledbetter <dbetter@acton.com> Subject: Assholes/IDEA/Touring Hello all, I just had to point out this most excellent observation from the previous digest. Harrisson Sherwood wrote in response to Jason's response, referring to the analysis of "Mayor of Simpleton,": >And yes, you're perfectly right: I don't for a minute suggest that that >sort of analysis is going through Andy's mind while he's writing and >arranging a song. That's for us, the discriminating listeners, to do >later, if we so choose. <underline>That's why he's Andy and we're >just a bunch of assholes sitting around _talking_ about Andy. ></underline> Well put. Although I too enjoyed the analysis. Hooray for the Label IDEA. Since they are in charge of their own label, and therefore their own promotion, maybe they will see the irreplaceable promotional value of touring. A while back (last winter) it was reported on the digest by ???? that Andy and XTC were seriously considering touring to promote their next album (Mitch maybe??). Can anyone out there affirm or negate this? Or, better yet, does anyone know their current position on touring in support of the next album? Dave
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #3-145 *******************************
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