Chalkhills Digest Volume 3, Issue 21
Date: Wednesday, 6 November 1996
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 3, Number 21
Wednesday, 6 November 1996
Today's Topics:
Related Bands
Re: Hey Hey, The One I Love
Ocean's Daughter Wearing Hot Leathers (a Fish A-Fire!)
More from a Farmboy's Sages
Calling all TEXtcANS again!
blatant overload!
Jellyfish do Big Express
Your the post you are I had
Wonderland vs Japan
All XTC content for a change
Collisions
Joe Jackson and some ideal testimonials
Time sigs and dirty minds
A Touring Song...
Re: #1-12:#1-30; #2-1:#2-27 (except #2-22); #3-1, #3-3, #3-4, #3-8, #3-12...
Church of Women
Andy from Colin from Andy (Dave doesn't feature)
The Blue Beret Adventure
Trash talk
Joshua......
XTC: They're no Smashing Pumpkins
harmonies, cadences, and that lovely farmboy E6
David Essex: Angry Young Man?
female response
Love and a Farmboy's Chords
A question, an answer and no bollocks
I Went Out With a Woman
Like pale Atlantis rising out of the west...
Time signatures / Joe Jackson
Stop the Insanity!
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-Id: <2.2.16.19961105205712.091f8054@cic-mail.lanl.gov> Date: Tue, 05 Nov 1996 13:57:12 -0700 From: DeWitt Henderson <dewitth@lanl.gov> Subject: Related Bands Hey Chalkdiggers - there have been a few who stated that they didn't want any recommendations of "XTC-related bands", but it seems to me that the group has ignored that, and recommendations have increased if anything. Great, because that's what got me into Jason Falkner (although I did hear a cut here on radio) and Sugarplastic (which I haven't decided on their level of greatness yet). Is anyone on this list acquainted with Toy Matinee? I think "they" were not really even a group - it was Kevin Gilbert (who was unfortunately found dead recently in LA - I think drug-related) and Patrick Leonard (who worked w/Bryan Ferry on 'Bete Noire' among other things). Anyway, check it out. Also, re: Joe Jackson - if you haven't heard "Laughter and Lust" or "Blaze of Glory", they're fabulous. I mention them only because they weren't as commercially successful as "Night and Day" or "Body and Soul". "The World if Full of Angry Young Men" as the most embarrassing XTC song? Huh? I LOVE that song! End of story. I'm jealous of these Chalkhills parties, but I think it's great they're happening at all. Good for the Internet, despite what Ann Landers says. * --------------------------------- | DeWitt Henderson | | Los Alamos National Laboratory | | CIC-13 MS P223 | | Los Alamos, NM 87544 | | 505/665-0720 | * ----------------------------------
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b04aea55312fae2@[199.171.191.7]> Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 13:32:14 -0700 From: gondola@deltanet.com (E.B.) Subject: Re: Hey Hey, The One I Love >From: particle@servtech.com (Chaos Harlequin) >Subject: Leave Vs. When Doves Cry >I assume you mean musically, because stylistically they couldn't be >further apart. Musically...well, yeah, there's a similarity, but >that's all it is. Sort of like the way that "Wonderwall" has the same >chord structure as "The One I Love." :) I got a better one for you. Compare "The One I Love" to Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My." You can swap the lyrics for those two songs, and they still work perfectly! GB
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 14:05:47 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <v01510103aea4f2cbe50f@[206.15.69.37]> From: mf@well.com (Mitch Friedman) Subject: Ocean's Daughter Wearing Hot Leathers (a Fish A-Fire!) I was the guy who got the letter that had the songs that came from the movie that lived in the house that Jack built . . . Around 1982 Andy was contacted by a film director who's name escapes me at the moment who specialized in inventive underwater lighting and camera techniques and had made a short film which showcased his talents with the intention of trying to interest someone in commissioning him to make a much longer film. Being that he also lived in Swindon, he asked Andy to compose some music for his film, which was originally called 'Liquidream'. This guy wanted Andy to make music that sounded like Tomita which as I understand is a Japanese instrumental band from a while ago, but Andy semi-compromised and did a half Tomita/half what he wanted musical score. The film was shown on public tv and places like that but was never put on video as far as anyone knows. And it was renamed 'Ocean's Daughter' before it was finished. I first read about this project in a Musician Magazine article about XTC from around Mummer time (I think?). I asked Andy about the project and he sent me some of the musical snippets which you all now get to pay $40 for thanks to the people of the country that spawned Tomita. 'Hot Leathers and a Fist of Fire' was a pseudo-metal song which Andy wrote during the Black Sea sessions at The Manor. One night Richard Branson, who owned the place and lived there, stumbled in very drunk with a girlfriend on his arm and XTC asked him to do the vocals with the tape running. If you hear this recording you can hear Richard Branson (head of Virgin) say something like 'hot leathers times two' which was his drunken interpretation of the instructions on the lyric sheet to repeat the line twice. And if anyone in the Bay Area is planning to go see Jamie Block this Saturday night, I'm going to be there and maybe we can figure out a way to say hello to one another. Email me in you're interested. Mitch
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199611052241.JAA01779@warchives.riv.csu.edu.au.> From: "Simon Knight" <sknight@warchivegw.riv.csu.edu.au> Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 08:32:01 +0000 Subject: More from a Farmboy's Sages Joshua wrote: >What I meant was that the final chord of the song does not provide >the proper resolution given the chords just previously. If it had >been followed with the "proper" chord, I wouldn't have minded, but >as it is it's like leading someone on with an ice cream cone, then >at the last moment smashing it to the ground and going "A ha!" Ah, but isn't it fitting that a song which is about the protaganist's unresolved fears of an impending marriage and desperate financial situation ends on an unresolved chord? It leaves the song hanging, up in the air... a properly resolved ending would imply that everything would be fine, which is a lie. Andy obvious had thought carefully about the music reflecting the lyrics... see how the music gets more frantic in the chorus, where the boy is hard at work earning money. I don't even find the end chord dissonant, it's more of a reflective chord... I always see Farmboy as a companion piece to Earn Enough For Us. I like to imagine the Farmboy has gone to town with his new bride and is worker harder to make ends meet. I think the music to EEFU has a more bustlier, urban air about it. It's a city job song rather than a country job song. The songs both sit on opposite sides of a wedding, one before, one after. Maybe the "Big Day" itself. Maybe the farmboy was one of "The Affiliated". They have a "Pink Thing" and the family settles into "Respectable street" where the wife spends her time in "Washing away the dirt". The marriage degenerates into "Punch and Judy". Then one day she becomes a "Vanishing Girl" and he become bitter with "Your dictionary" You can make a pretty good life-line by linking up XTC songs in sequence! Maybe that's a good idea for a mix tape!
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b00aea586cc1ea1@[207.15.170.44]> Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 18:11:40 -0600 From: kmarkman@netwestonline.com (Miss Piggy) Subject: Calling all TEXtcANS again! Do I actually have to say Hi y'all to get your attention? People in other parts of the worl are getting together, I feel left out, and I *know* there are more than 2 XTC fans in Texas! C'mon, it's a *huge* state. I hear Austin's a cool town....any takers? Drop me a line! -Kris ***************************************** watch this space for further developments
------------------------------
From: rwatson@unlinfo.unl.edu (randall watson)
Message-Id: <9611060015.AA19096@unlinfo.unl.edu>
Subject: blatant overload!
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 18:15:41 -0600 (CST)
Dearest Chalkies,
Your response to the free CD offer by the band I'm in, The
Return, has been staggering!!! Over 25 folks have replied... What I
hope to do is mail out at least 10 CDs. I'll be nice, hopefully, and
mail them out on a first-come basis. So, some of you will
unfortunately not be getting a CD. HOWEVER, if those that do receive
the CD deem it somehow worthy, I'd sincerely like to get at least some
tape dupes for the late-arrivers. I hope no one gets upset; I've
always believed in "giving" my music to folks: there's no other more
sincere way for me to express myself. Thanks so very much for the
interest; if nothing else, keep in touch and I'll see if maybe those
who receive the CD would be willing to make dupes for others.
Randall Watson
rwatson@falcon.inetnebr.com
"No round of drinks can extinguish this
Feeling of love and engulfing bliss."
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 20:27:51 -0500 (EST) From: J_ARTECONA@rcmad.upr.clu.edu Message-Id: <961105202751.20400cc5@rcmad.upr.clu.edu> Subject: Jellyfish do Big Express About other bands covering XTC. There is this british band called, I believe, Jellyfish. They are quite poppy and, to be honest, not very much to my liking. But i did read an interview with them where the interviewer said that they sang ALL of the BIG EXPRESS a capella! while going somewhere in their limo....ever since I have always wondered......just the intro for Wake Up would do it for me.....oh well another one I will probably never get to hear.
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 19:57:33 -0500 From: WES HANKS <W_HANKS@wow.com> Subject: Your the post you are I had Message-ID: <199611051959_MC1-BBD-B052@compuserve.com> Hello seperated twins of Chalkhills, Has anyone else experienced this bit of weirdness while listening to "The Everyday Story of Smalltown"...near the end when the children's voices, etc come in, a few things happen to me. I either: 1) Think my kid is shouting from the other end of the house for me, or 2) I believe a cat is in distress. Don't get me wrong, I love the song...it's just that the noises at the end tend to throw me. As to true love and your mate not "liking" XTC; if I may: I have been married going on 14 years. (I discovered XTC long before I ever met my wife) About the only XTC song my wife readily recognizes (i.e. sings along with) is "Love on a Farmboy's Wages." Part of her charm is that while she has never outright stated anything along the lines of "please turn that off..." on the same hand, she has never requested I put XTC on the portable Sony entertainment center. My point being that any enjoyment of XTC is her choice and if she does...well then more's the bonus. Yours in Nihilon, Wes "It adds to the mystery when you don't know whats going on." Crow T. Robot
------------------------------ Message-ID: <c=AU%a=_%p=JDEAUNZ%l=MEL_SERVER-961106025053Z-29@mel_server.jde.com.au> From: Paul Haines <Hainesp@melbourne.jde.com.au> Subject: Wonderland vs Japan Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 12:50:53 +1000 >>I love Colin's songs, but these extra syllables always bothered me, like he >>couldn't think of words to fit the rhythm or something. Especially >>Wonderland (doesn't this song sound eerily like the band Japan?). >Well, considering that "Mummer" was mostly produced by Steve Nye, who had >previously worked with Japan in "Tin Drum," it's not *that* eerie. >Paulo, from Brazil (and a newbie to this list who also happens to bea big >Japan fan I too am a big Japan fan, and Wonderland never in a million years ever reminded me of anything Japan ever did. Haines, kiwi in OZ
------------------------------ From: box@nemesis.com.au Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 12:57:42 -0500 Message-ID: <TCPSMTP.16.11.6.12.57.42.2156250573.1768786932@nemesis.com.au> Subject: All XTC content for a change #> From: h.h.name@mail.utexas.edu (Spiritual Generation, Etc.) #> the beginning of "Living Through Another Cuba" (when I first #> heard that I thought, "What the hell? This is so completely #> bizarre!" Now it's part of my musical furniture) I love that song, particularly the opening bit. I love how it continues the beat from the fadeout of 'Generals And Majors'. #> From: "Witter, Karl F" <witterkf@aetna.com> #> >Have XTC ever written a song about touring? #> Wow, nobody may believe this, but I wasn't thinking XTC! I know you weren't, I was just using your comment as an excuse to ask the question. :) #> From: particle@servtech.com (Chaos Harlequin) [where's JHB?] #> I loved ['The Disappointed'] immensely when I first heard it on #> my first XTC mix tape; however, since then I have gradually #> liked it less and less until it became sort of a background #> song. :( It had the same effect on me. It's probably the fact that Andy wrote it as a single with immediate commercial appeal. His songs are normally like those multilayered gobstoppers that last forever, change as you get used to them, and get *better* as you go further in. 'The Disappointed' is like a chocolate coated peanut -- ace when you start, then you get to the nut and it's boring. :) #> From: "Simon Knight" <sknight@warchivegw.riv.csu.edu.au> #> what songs would you all suggest #> that you think would appeal to a Blur fan? 'Respectable Street'... oh hell, just give her _Black Sea_. :) #> From: "Jeff Smelser" <jsmelser@access.tucson.org> #> Is the demo worth paying $7.50 for It's 'The Smartest Monkeys', so no. :) #> maybe there's something different about the single version of #> The Disappointed that makes it and the demo worth having 'The Disappointed' has a clean ending, unlike the segue into 'Holly Up On Poppy' on the album. Adam On the music box: Adrian Belew, _Op Zop Too Wah_
------------------------------ Date: 6 Nov 1996 02:17:26 -0000 Message-ID: <19961106021726.22695.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "G.M. Quinn" <lovechunks@hotmail.com> Subject: Collisions Chalky Chillun with a Penchant for Hills, I had a terribule experience last Sunday...urgh...horrible car accident which my recently-depleted-by-buying-XTC-stuff pocket cannot afford. To make matters ridiculous, I was listening to Oranges and Lemons at the time - the exact song is wiped from my memory... But I am afraid, not only for my future. As I was having my car towed home ($144 worth) I was thinking about when an American gentleman hit me on the road...I was late for a performance and listening to Elvis Costello's 'Mighty Like A Rose'. I have never listened to that album in the car again... So please! Save me from torture! Convince me that when something horrible occurs it is no reason to exclude one of the best singalong albums in the world from gracing my shitty car-speakers! I am scared... By the way, my current beau (of the male variety) didn't like XTC when I first met him. He said the songs were too erratic...mainly Andy's songs, funnily enough. I of course proceeded to beat him about the face and neck. But there is hope...he is a ska muso and it wasn't until I forced him through 'White Music' that life began anew Now he has a glorious tape of 'White Music', Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric, and Elvis Costello that I can proudly say has influenced others in his XTC-free friendship zone. The turn-around songs were 'Neon Shuffle' and 'Spinning Top'. Listen to them again and you'll understand why that's what it took to get a keyboardist interested. But I can claim a little Partridge credit on the evidence on the arranger's identity.. Yours with hope for the future, GM Quinn * --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com * ---------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 16:10:57 +1300 (NZDT) Message-Id: <v01540b04aea667649d8e@[139.80.126.8]> From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Joe Jackson and some ideal testimonials Jim McKnight <mcjim@voyager.net> (welcome aboard!) noted: >My wife was playing Night and Day by Joe Jackson not long ago and I >noticed some similarities between his and Andy's vocal style as well as >other similarities. Is there any plausible reason for this? Well he is obviously impressed enough with XTC to have recorded a track on Testimonial Dinner. However, I don't know of any other obvious connections - certainly none of JJ's regular side-people have appeared on an XTC album AFAIK. Certainly Joe hits the same general musical territory as XTC a lot of the time, and also the same as other bands frequently mentioned on Chalkhills. Joe seems to wear his influences on his sleeve quite often, for example the dead ringer for Crowded House (down to the Finn-like vocals) "It's all too much" on the seriously underrated "Laughter and Lust" album. In lieu of a sig, my ideal Testimonial Dessert is humbly presented for discussion: 1) Summers Cauldron - Falling Joys 2) Mayor of Simpleton - Elvis Costello 3) Earn enough for us - The Chills 4) Generals and Majors - Midnight Oil 5) Towers of London - Kirsty McColl 6) When you're near me I have difficulty - Public Image Ltd 7) Bungalow - the Front Lawn (this won't mean anything to non-New Zealanders... TFL was Don McGlashan's band immediately prior to the Muttonbirds) 8) Deliver Us from the Elements - The Church and Brian Eno (man... I'd buy the album for this alone!) 9) Holly up on Poppy - uncle Macca McCartney himself 10) Funk pop a roll - Blur 11) Travels in Nihilon - King Crimson 12) Chalkhills and children - Kate Bush PS: what's this about a new Suzanne Vega album??? Any sigtings in Oceania? James
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v03007800aea5ae1e2ef9@[207.77.26.120]> Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 22:07:56 -0500 From: Ira Lieman <aym@axe.intercall.com> Subject: Time sigs and dirty minds Josh, these two lines appeared one after the other in your post...might they be related? (me and MY filthy American mind) >"She has sex once singing in her sauna..." Me and my filthy American >mind. :) >Josh, swallowing is easy when it has no taste And whoever mentioned Dream Theater, I heard them once and I really like what they did. They had a drum solo in something like 13/8 and it had to be heard to be believed. Of course after that, they reminded me of Rush, which I *HATE*, so I didn't give them a second listen. Please let Tim (mailto:tken@dictaphone.com) or myself know if you'd be interested in the NY/CT area get together in New Haven on 12/7...it's bound to be a fun time...so far there's something like 6 of us interested but I just *KNOW* there's more than 6 NYers out there. Glad Election Day is over and I don't have to see any nasty political commercials for another 22 months. -ira "He died grinning on live TV" < - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > Ira Lieman - aym@intercall.com <> http://www.intercall.com/~aym "If the opposite of pro is con, what's the opposite of progress?"
------------------------------ From: Aaron Pastula <apastula@pepperdine.edu> Message-Id: <199611060439.AA17090@pepvax.pepperdine.edu> Subject: A Touring Song... Date: Tue, 5 Nov 96 20:39:31 PST > >Have XTC ever written a song about touring? I wonder if there's a > >lyric which acts as a metaphor for touring or the breakdown. > >Forgive my ignorance if this is common knowledge. And please forgive me if this has been answered before, but here's a little bit from a press release interview that was stuck inside a copy of ES a bought a while back: * * * INTERVIEWER: "Jason and the Argonauts" seems to be a metaphor for touring-- something XTC has done more of its share of. ANDY: Oh, much more! We've been to Australia twice, to New Zealand, to Japan, and upcoming is our _fifth_ tour of America. "Jason..." is about seeing straightforward, everyday things from a very different perspective and background, and how these things become really magical. "Jason..." is an attempt to express the sense of newness and wonder you get when traveling in a foreign land. There's a definite aquatic feeling to the music as well. * * * There you go, a song somewhat about touring, obviously before his neurosis was in full swing...it's interesting to note, also, that later in the interview he talks about how excited he is to tour the states...who knew. Aaron.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <32802C69.7170@sirus.com> Date: Wed, 06 Nov 1996 01:13:50 -0500 From: Peter Dresslar <pdresslar@sirus.com> Subject: Re: #1-12:#1-30; #2-1:#2-27 (except #2-22); #3-1, #3-3, #3-4, #3-8, #3-12... In the spirit of the increasingly multi-layered, mega-faceted, 3-tiered replies in this list, I would like to present a quick summary of what we've covered: ==== Chalkhills readers' favorite band members are Andy, Colin, Dave, Barry, Sting, and the kid who sang on Dear God (identified as the boy downstairs, Andy's neighbor, the voice of Lisa Simpson, Dave's niece, Todd Rundgren's fiancee, depending on whom you speak with. Nevermind that it's in the FAQ.) Favorite album: All except Nonsuch. All except White Music. Or Black Sea. Also: Through the Hill. Definitely not Big Express, except where it is. Strangely, Go 2 is a 100-percent-unanimous second-to-last. Favorite song: One faction prefers Senses Working Overtime. The other prefers only the most secret home demos which they own and no one else can hear so it is pointless to list them here. A third faction seems to dislike most XTC music but sees some merit in "Really Groovy Lovin" by Phil Collins on which Dave Gregory played bongos. A fourth faction likes only covers of XTC songs by the Crash Test Dummies and its initials are AMANDA. Favorite Colors: Orange, Lemon, Pink, Blue, Black, Gray, and Fire. The Consensus Desert Island 5: Grass, Generals and Majors, Making Plans for Nigel, Love on A Farmboy's Wages, and A Star-Trek-style Transporter to get me back home to the rest of my XTC stuff. ==== Depending on when and where you are reading this, the new album is: a) not out yet. b) not out yet. c) not out yet. d) Nonsuch. e) not out yet. ==== The entire XTC catalog is transcribed here: E6. D4. AmajD5. Eflat7DIM9 minor with a triple twist. Twang! Twang! Krung! Oops! That's the transcription for the sitar! ==== There is a lyric somewhere resident in the song "Great Fire" which goes: --> I've been in love before... --> But it's never been as hot as this (XXXX) ....where XXXX equals: fuck (alternately, f***, or whoopie) toke joke poke Hogeboom puck coke Coke Coca-Cola bloke huck chuck Shiite bagel <cough> Shark! AAiieeggh! locus or, perhaps, smoke (or sm*** for those who prefer not to inhale) ==== IMHO, the VBS by XTC is TINLIOL on BS. I LIKEITVERY MUCH, IMHO. XTC is RG. ==== 1.26% of Chalkhills members are aged 0-33. 3.97% are aged 35-96. 2.1% are female. 94% are 34 year-old guys named Fred. 46% are hermaphrodites. ==== Here is a summary of bands You Will Like if You Like XTC: The Beatles. Not Pearl Jam. Not Nirvana. You will like TMBG *even better* Maybe not REM. Actually, you might not like the Beatles, either. You will most likely not like Oasis. Crash Test Dummies if your name happens to be entirely capitalised. also: any act which has sold less albums in the last five years than XTC. to rephrase - obscure bands. ==== Also: 50% of Chalkhills readers report to prefer Dear God. >49% like Mermaid Smiled. <1% had their fingers snipped off with tinsnips by their respective governments in punishment when they were found to own a copy of Dear God and are unable to type their preferences. ==== It is opinion of all on this mailing list that it really really sucks that not everyone loves XTC. This is seen by many as a direct result of MTV and the inferior minds of Americans, and also the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, not to mention the rising levels of flouridation in world water supplies. Also suspected: sunspots. Chalkhills respondents have mentioned only one greater fear than than XTC slipping completely into obscurity - a Number One Smash Hit. ==== Finally, a short personal reply: --In Chalkhills Digest #1-12, lb9237Zx4@aol.com wrote: ----In Chalkhills Digest #1-10, jdoe@inter.net wrote: #> #> #> #> #> #> #> #> #> #> #> #> Yes. ;-) #> #> #> #> #> #> #> #> #> #> #> Really? Yep. ==== my apologies for the length. @@@17-line .sig with flashing colors and attached 789Kb GIF omitted@@@ -Peter Dresslar Holland MI USA
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b02aea58a411b11@[169.132.97.155]> Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 02:30:02 +0100 From: pjmuck@mail.idt.net (Peter McCulloch) Subject: Church of Women Two separate posts I encountered re: women and XTC: >First off, I would like to add myself as a diehard female XTC fan, who >absolutely loves Andy's voice, thank you very much. >For your information, yes I AM a woman, and I love XTC! Glad to see so many women responding in XTC's defence. Now if we men could just get enough of you to admit to an appreciation for the Three Stooges, we'd all rest a little easier. (Nyuk, Nyuk). >To illustrate the difference between the two >figures, take Hootie and the Blowfish's "Cracked Rear View" album, for >example. Please, let's try to keep this a Hootie-free zone. Sean writes: >I must be losing my hearing - 'cuz i have a difficult time >discerning andy's and colin's voices. i never realized colin was the >vocalist on 'bungalow', until i cracked open the CD booklet. i just >thought it was andy singing more subtley. I've never had a problem discerning their voices, (except for "Collidescope" which I swore was Colin) but I do believe that as Andy's voice has become more polished and less manic in recent years, their tonal quality is closer than before. Both seem to have adopted a lighter, more ethereal approach in their later years. > submit their 5 all time, "if you like XTC, you'll love..." bands. 1. BEN FOLDS FIVE: smart, melodic, progressive pop with an interesting twist: no guitars! 2. JASON FAULKNER: But you knew that already 3. LOLLIPOP FACTORY: local band from Akron, Ohio with indy self-released, self-recorded/produced album. Brilliant Jellyfish-like trio. Good luck finding it. 4. THE BOGMEN: unique, diversified, great fun, should be the future of alternative music, BUT their debut album produced by Gerry Harrison on Arista went over like a fart in church. It wasn't their fault, however. They're great songwriters and a great live band, but they had very little creative control, Gerry ripped them off and did not capture the essence of the band on tape, and Arista's pretty much inept at marketing anything deemable as "alternative". 5. THIS ISLAND EARTH: This is a shameless self-plug. This is my band and we have an indy release coming out next month. A few of you expressed an interest in wanting to participate in our focus group to help us test market the album and get feedback, so I'm extending an invitation to all of you. if you'd like a free copy of the CD and are willing to answer a few questinos in return, then please e-mail me privately. Well, it's been 1 week now since I declared Pulsing, Pulsing to be the all-time worst XTC song, and my claim has yet to be refuted. I guess it's official. Peter
------------------------------
From: Damian Foulger <Foulger@cardiff.ac.uk>
Organization: UWCC
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 09:18:11 GMT
Subject: Andy from Colin from Andy (Dave doesn't feature)
Message-ID: <15EA3402876@nrd2s.cf.ac.uk>
Sean Robison wrote:
2a. I must be losing my hearing - 'cuz i have a difficult time
discerning andy's and colin's voices. i never realized colin
was the vocalist on 'bungalow', until i cracked open the CD
booklet. i just thought it was andy singing more subtley.
This made me ponder. I've always had difficulty telling Colin's
and Andy's singing apart. I can do it only if I really listen and
concentrate. I usually get it by Andy's strange inflections. If
they aren't there then I assume that it is Colin. Does anyone
other than Sean and I have difficulty of this type. Email me
directly with yes or no and if anyone is at all interested I'll
colate the yes and no answers. Don't be shy if you can't!
Dames tWd
P.s. Big Day is well wierd if you adjust the balance!!!!
------------------------------ From: gbbglgim@ibmmail.com Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 04:58:52 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199611060958.EAA18652@Arl-Mail-Svc-1.compuserve.com> Subject: The Blue Beret Adventure I got my copy of The Adventure Club Sessions CD the other day, which I can highly recommend to everyone. Apart from XTC's cut of the previously unreleased Blue Beret, there are some other top recordings. I am just curious to know if Colin played on this track? There is a bit of banter between Dave and Andy before the song kicks in, however, I hear no traces of any kind of bass and I can't really hear Colin's voice doing any backing vocals. Was this just a duet or is Colin playing acoustic guitar or what? Answers on a postcard please! NB: If you want to get hold of a copy of The Adventure Club Sessions CD then send e-mail to the following address: <gimarc@onramp.net> Cheers Gary <gbbglgim@ibmmail.com> "Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so" - Ford Prefect
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 11:33:45 GMT Message-Id: <v01510101aea615714f15@[194.128.83.69]> From: fisher@easynet.co.uk (Mark Fisher) Subject: Trash talk A million agreements with William Ham's selection of the Trash Can Sinatras as a band to die for. Go out this minute and buy *I've Seen Everything* and *A Happy Pocket*. You will not regret it. He who hesitates is lost. - Mark http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~fisher/
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Nov 1996 09:12:04 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: Joshua...... Message-id: <01IBIQOU8ESE909BN1@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Well at least where I live the aforementioned crappy Ameican bands get airplay left and right (maybe with the exception of NKOTB and Ice) anyways, I did actually enjoy Counting Crows new song, but MTV and radio are playing it TO DEATH!!!!! Amanda
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b00aea66cd37f66@[146.6.72.28]> Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 12:23:25 -0500 From: h.h.name@mail.utexas.edu (Spiritual Generation, Etc.) Subject: XTC: They're no Smashing Pumpkins Oh dear, I feel a fit coming on... [somebody *stop* me!!] >And >really, can you say with a straight face that Counting Crows are bad >enough to included with all the above? I can. Whenever I hear him whimpering the words "round here" I just have to dry heave (sorry all you Crows fans out there [are there really that many?]) > submit their 5 all time, "if you like XTC, you'll love..." bands. >1. Smashing Pumpkins (sweet pop and sour rock) I personally find it bizarre, but I've noticed this Pumpkins/XTC association trend. Which is weird when you consider that Smashing Pumpkins are the most pompous "rock" group out today. I'm still not sure how they're justifying this incredibly overblown sense of self-importance that they have, but I love XTC (2nd favorite band in the world) and I despise Smashing Pumpkins. "Today" was a good song, but "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness"? C'mon! I'm not saying you're wrong, just putting in my two cents. :) And, in regard to "Love on a Farmboy's Wages": >What I meant was that the final chord of the song does not provide the >proper resolution given the chords just previously. Isn't that why we love XTC? Don't mean to put words in your virtual mouth there, Josh, but I know that if XTC didn't challenge me I probably wouldn't like them nearly as much. But, ah- I got the shivers the first time I heard the chord in question (and still do). Okay, I didn't think I'd have much to say about this, but here goes: Re "Runaways"-- what a perfect way to open the album. The song fades up in a jangle which evokes a landscape, the XTC landscape. It's as if they are saying, "This isn't just a pop album-- we've got some things to show you, are you sitting down? Okay, let's go..." "Runaways" is the first song in the commentary and it sets the serious tone of the album. "Black Sea" had songs like "Rocket From A Bottle" and "Burning With Optimism's Flames" to offset the commentary a bit, but there was to be none of this in "English Settlement". Each song is pointed and direct yet immensely listenable. Okay, so this is more of an "English Settlement" discussion than a "Runaways" analysis. So sue me. :) (that's this world) over and out. Jason
------------------------------ From: ERIC DAY <ERICDAY@diamondmm.com> Subject: harmonies, cadences, and that lovely farmboy E6 Date: Wed, 06 Nov 96 10:30:00 PST Message-ID: <3280DB59@mailgate.diamondmm.com> >>Dissonant? I thought it was quite lovely. That's an E6, for those who >>give a whoop. Ends the song well, IMHO. >What I meant was that the final chord of the song does not provide the >proper resolution given the chords just previously. If it had been >followed with the "proper" chord, I wouldn't have minded, but as it is >it's like leading someone on with an ice cream cone, then at the last >moment smashing it to the ground and going "A ha!" Actually, the chord does function as the "proper" resolving chord - it just has the interesting addition of the 6th tone (c-sharp in this case). However (and I really mean no offense), I what you're looking for is "proper" harmonic cadences and predictible chord changes, I wouldn't think you'd find XTC very appealing. Their music (Andy's in particular) is *loaded* with refreshing harmonic surprises. - Eric
------------------------------
Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.19961106181605.00697760@popmail.dircon.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 06 Nov 1996 18:16:05 +0000
From: Simon <nonsuch@dircon.co.uk>
Subject: David Essex: Angry Young Man?
From: fisher@easynet.co.uk (Mark Fisher)
>Hawkwind had a song called Silver Dream Machine.
Hawkwind's song was just called "Silver Machine". "Silver Dream Machine" was
by, harumph, David Essex. Um, a bloke in the pub told me.
From: Andy Miller <AMILLER@waterstones.co.uk>
>The World Is Full Of Angry Young Men ("most embarrassing" ever XTC song,
>anyone?).
Actually I quite like that song. I know it's got a sort of "Middle Aged And
Pround Of It" but I do share some of the views in it. I too get fed up with
the people "who think life owe's them something" - I remember sitting in a
pub with a group of my contemporaries who had just returned from their first
term at college. The DM's squeaked, the goattees were wishy-washy, the hair
dye hadn't taken proper hold yet - they were full of ideals and notions of
change, they were the going to tip the world over. Parents? Scum of the
earth, they hold you back, they're always getting in the way. Can you do my
laundry mum? Dad, how do I wire this plug? We are the new revolutionaries,
and we're studing maths at college so we can get a good job in accounting
when we leave.
I reckon almost everyone over, say, the age of 25, has looked back at their
former selves at sometime and dropped their head into their hands, "What was
I *thinking?*" I myself belonged to a small group who were ready to pull
down the walls. We identified ourselves by making a diagonal cross out of
matchsticks on a table and then banging our foreheads down on them, to
"brand" a mark on the skin. I'm not making this up. After a week or so of
this - which was meant to show our sterling devotion to the cause of
nihilistic anarchy (or something) - we had been banned from every bar in
town and so we took to carrying a fresh twig in our shirt pockets. This was
soon followed by a period of walking everywhere (to work, shopping, bar) in
bare feet. It makes me sweat just thinking about it now - what the hell were
we thinking? - but at the time it was so logical. It made a *difference*,
people would *understand*. Arse. People just looked on and giggled, much as
I do when I hear the local teenagers trying to lever ghetto street-speak
into their conversation. Until you've heard a Geordie (an inhabitant of the
Newcastle, UK, area for all non Brits) trying to come over all Gangsta, you
have not lived.
I'm not advocating the handing in of all ideals and passions at the age of
25, but things do and must change throughout the ageing process. I still
fight tooth and claw against anything that threatens to shave off my
corners, but by the same token I want my little spot of the world to be a
stable and as comfortable as possible.
From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu>
Subject: The Disappointed=He Liked to Feel It
>Anyone see the video? I hear it's gross.
Yup. I have a good portion of it on video. It features the band in
historical garb - Colin and Dave in dark armour, I think, and Andy in a sort
of minstrel outfit. Flags and pennants are unfurled and waved about. It
looks like it cost a fiver. I think the image has been "stretched" in places
too, to give the band a slimmer, younger-with-cheekbones, look.
So safe and sound, I could drown...? (doesn't sound very safe to me)
Simon
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~nonsuch/bungalow.htm
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
XTC - This Is Pop?
------------------------------ From: McGREGOC <McGREGOC@regents.ac.uk> Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 21:09:50 +00 Subject: female response Message-ID: <843B4375FD@asdf011.regents.ac.uk> Hello! I couldn't help myself but add in my two cents or two pence to the subject of Mr. Partridge's voice. I think he has a terrific voice and it seems to have gotten better with age. I also wanted to comment on the connection of Andy and Danny Elfman. I feel that Danny Elfman has expressed himself more artiscally thought the movie sound tracks than in Oingo Boingo. I've had this thought. What would be the end result if the two got together for a project? Interesting to say the least. I have one more thing to say. If there are any fans in the London area willing to befriend an American girl please feel free to E-mail me. Thanks! Cheryl
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 16:27:28 -0600 (CST)
From: "Jeffrey with 2 f's Jeffrey" <jenor@csd.uwm.edu>
Subject: Love and a Farmboy's Chords
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.961106162159.11740B-100000@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu>
I'm surprised no one has noted that the 6th chord at the end is most
likely an homage to the Beatles, "She Loves You" specifically. Story goes,
the band came to George Martin thrilled at this "new chord" they'd
discovered. Martin heard it, and burst out laughing: while it might've
been new to the Beatles at the time, it was also one of the most cliched
bits of Tin Pan Alley/Broadway harmonic schmaltz then extant. (The guy who
used to play organ at baseball & basketball games in Milwaukee ended
*every whoopin' song* w/a major 6th chord...)
Ironically, since the Beatles pretty much nailed shut the coffin of TPA/B
schmaltz, that chord has come to signify "Beatles" more than anything
else (along w/the augmented chords used approaching the chorus of the
same song).
Record sales: hasn't the US switched to the Soundscan system, in which
(supposedly) actual sales are tracked via the UPC code? (Scandal is that
rec.co.s can pump up sales of their favored albums by having store
managers surreptitiously scan copies after hours, off-register...)
There was something else, but I forgot it.
--Jeff
Jeffrey J. Norman <jenor@csd.uwm.edu> <http://www.uwm.edu/~jenor/>
Dept. of English & Comp. Lit. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
::Some see things as they are, and say "Why?" ::
::Some see things as they could be, and say "Why not?" ::
::Some see things that aren't there, and say "Huh?"::::::::::::::::::::::::
np: XTC _Mummer_
Greenberry Woods _Big Money Item_
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 06 Nov 1996 09:49 +0930
From: "VanAbbe, Dominic" <dominic.vanabbe@faulding.com.au>
Subject: A question, an answer and no bollocks
Message-id: <01IBK5D2MPS2008QK5@faulding.com.au>
Salutations all fellow 'Hillians,
Apologies if this question has been broached before. And I don't have
net access, so likewise if the answer is to be found in FAQ.
On "Psonic Psunspot" who is singing "Collideascope"? I know it is an
AP song, but even allowing for the copious vocal FX on said LP, I can't
escape from the feeling that it sounds suspiciously like CM singing it. Is
this the case? If so, it must surely be the only case of one singing the
other's tune!?!? Can anyone shed any light?
To the person who asked about "The Disappointed" CD single in a
previous issue (I'm sorry for not remembering exactly whom). I bought the
single before "Nonsuch" came out. While the demo of "...Monkeys" is briefly
diverting it ain't really essential. The major benefit of the single is
that the fade-out of "The Disappointed" is complete and unabridged (no HUOP
segue) and hence it's useful for making up compilation tapes. I don't have
FF yet, so can only presume that this complete single version is on it,
thereby rendering the CD single superfluous. Still, it is kinda nice to
have the artwork I guess, rather than a tiny little box on the back of
"Nonsvch".
Someone else mentioned that Floyd's "Money" is in 7/4 time. I think
you'll find that while the greater majority of it is, in fact, this time
signature, it changes throughout the song, espec. the middle solo which is
definitely in 4/4 time.
I guess I ought to slip in summat here about how crap one of XtC's
songs is here, but I ain't going to get into that bollox! So there!!!
Ciao, Dom
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 19:16:56 -0500 (EST) From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <ccoolidg@zoo.uvm.edu> Subject: I Went Out With a Woman Message-ID: <Pine.A32.3.91.961106190513.34402D-100000@elk.uvm.edu> I went out with a woman very briefly(Yes, Caye, I'm referring to Nina)who effectively turned me on to XTC. Before I met her they were just another of those clever post-punk bands that I couldn't distinguish from Joe Jackson. Nina bludgeoned me with Black Sea until I begged for mercy(no really, I loved every minute of it). We didn't stay involved for too long but we remained friends; one year I was depressed because nobody remembered my birthday; I went over to her place and she played me all this obscure XTC stuff I'd never heard of(3D EP, 5 Senses EP, "Limelight/"Chain Of Command," etc.). Best birthday present I'd had until that point. Nina at the time was the most serious XTC fan I'd ever met, and she's not even on the list. Apparently she stopped paying attention after Skylarking, though, and she hasn't even heard Nonsuch yet. Then again, she's too busy chasing after her growing family to follow the latest rock and roll developments more than occasionally. Growing up has its hazards.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 20:22:51 -0500 (EST)
Message-Id: <199611070122.UAA16338@cyber1.servtech.com>
From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com>
Subject: Like pale Atlantis rising out of the west...
> Finally, one song that gets no mention, but i list as one of my faves
> is "deliver us from the elements". can't say i've really paid too
> much attention to the lyrics - but the whole musical soundscape is
> incredible, stiring up a musical version of a storm. very good stuff.
It's strength is in its feel -- you can really feel the narrator's
desperation, fear...you can feel the winds blowing, the sky darkening...it
works very well. Like I said before, that's where Colin's extra syllables
come in...it adds to the desperation inherent in the song.
>Am I the only one who thinks "War Dance" bases it's instrumentation
>pretty heavily on the big Church hit "Under the Milky Way Tonight"?
>Yeah, it probably is just me. Oh well.
There's definitely a melodical similarity between the two during the verses.
The chorus and accompanying instrumentation in War Dance shatters it, though...
>>Terry of Terry & the Lovemen has a vocal range that's pretty close to
>>Andy Partridge with The Good Things.
>
> *snicker* Can't imagine why
The worst thing is, it's *Colin* singing on that song! :)
>Come on you guys & gals! Where's the XTC content?
Queued up behind the release of *The Bootleg Album.*
> When Mariah Carey and Michael Bolton win Grammys you can see how
>pointless the whole awards system really is.
I still can't decide if Pearl Jam's "This award means nothing to me" stunt
last year is a really cool denunciation of the hypocrisy of music awards or
just a stupid publicity stunt.
>Anyway, I got to thinking. It's always seemed to me that Colin is at his
>best (certainly lyrically, possibly melodically) when writing about
>miniature, personal subjects (the aforementioned songs, maybe Runaways)
>and,um, not so good shall we say, when tackling Big Important Issues
I'd agree. However, I think Colin *can* write BII songs...there are
basically two ways that Colin can do it well. The first is just to make the
lyrics humorous (Generals and Majors, for example). The other is to make
them ambiguous -- to make it so you *think* you know what he's saying, but
you can never be quite sure whether he's being sarcastic or not. (Angry
Young Men and Loving Memory are the best examples of this.)
>The World
>Is Full Of Angry Young Men ("most embarrassing" ever XTC song, anyone?)
No way! I love the bluesy vibe of that one and, as I remark above, the
semi-sarcastic lyrics work well. IMHO, "most embarrasing" is TSM...(but I
better not mention it! Last time, I started a month-long thread about what
songs contain Monkeys...)
>XTC SONG OF THE DAY: "The Meeting Place"
Does anyone have any ideas what "Machines that make you kiss in time" are?
>I fear I've JHBed ;-)
Eh, you need to write more than *that*... :)
Josh, catherine wheeled and senses frazzled
/---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\
| particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ |
| "I won't die until I'm dead." -- They Might Be Giants, "On The Drag" |
\-------------------------- Eschew Obfuscation ---------------------------/
------------------------------ From: JStoffs@aol.com Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 21:25:25 -0500 Message-ID: <961106212524_1349601371@emout14.mail.aol.com> Subject: Time signatures / Joe Jackson For you who are interested in this, the Joe Jackson song "Lullaby" from the album "Night Music" contains 117 tempo changes!! I learned this from reading a recent interview with JJ. The song is only 6:14, so if you think you're pretty good at this sort of thing, it should provide a challenge. I am not at all able to count them, and anyone who can deserves a prize of some sort. Most importantly though, it's a beautiful record. -Jeff
------------------------------ Message-ID: <MAILQUEUE-101.961106211919.640@library.uta.edu> From: "L. Gutierrez-Ross" <gutierrezross@library.uta.edu> Organization: UTA Libraries Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 21:19:19 CST Subject: Stop the Insanity! To the honorable PJMuck, Hey, lay off the XTC and babes thing. When it comes to XTC, I wear the pants in the family. In fact the first gift I ever received from my then future husband was TBE on CD. Boy did he know how to get to my heart. Maybe you're looking fer luv in all the wrong places? ;> Please no more gross generalizations I'd hate to have to tell you to "Woopie Off" (thanks JHB) ! Laura "I can use power tools too" Gutierrez-Ross
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #3-21 ******************************
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