Chalkhills Digest Volume 3, Issue 66
Date: Friday, 10 January 1997
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 3, Number 66
Friday, 10 January 1997
Today's Topics:
Fossil Fuel Bargain
Re: Re:
Re: The new stuff sucks
Tubes Speak
Canned XTC ?
All This And No XTC
More XTC in Swedish press
Fossillized Love Theorized
Creative vocabulary?
DOUG POWELL is your man!
Chemistry, and "That sucks" (unrelated, please)
Andy Partridge interview
Producers Who Get The Boot
Christmas In Georgia
Back in the high (oops!) life...
XTC-Christmas thread
Another Satellite's metaphor
Sucky new stuff. Au contraire!
John/"The Devil Glitch"
She's a laughing, giggling, whirly bird!
XTC Sighting
The Return
pluck
The Partridge Report: 1-9-97
The Planets & The Vapors
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-Id: <v02130500aef6a3d5a65e@[134.32.48.176]> Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 12:46:05 +0000 From: varga@ferndown.ate.slb.com (Stephen Varga) Subject: Fossil Fuel Bargain In the HMV January Sale, I've seen the regular edition of Fossils priced at 11 pounds and 99 pence (roughly 18 dollars) Not bad for a double CD released only 4 months ago.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b0baef70b4b6785@[199.171.191.25]> Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 13:26:16 -0700 From: gondola@deltanet.com (E.B.) Subject: Re: Re: >From: Combray2@aol.com > >In 1996, Chris Butler (best known as a member of the Waitresses) released a >maddeningly catchy 70-minute pop song with 550 amusing verses called "The >Devil Glitch". FYI, I read that the lead singer of the Waitresses (whose name I forget...Patty...?) just died of cancer. Eb
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01510102aef71b43dcd7@[204.188.73.119]> Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 11:32:47 -1000 From: jimsmart@hula.net (Jim Smart) Subject: Re: The new stuff sucks >Does anyone have any theories why the latest >albums are always the ones we accuse in this way? Is it because we just >assume that artists only have so long they can create original work before >they peter out? Is it that we compare the new work to the older and, finding >it different, also somehow find it lacking? Or is it just that the band >really does start to suck after a certain period of time? Josh: Good question. I think you are right when you say 'Give me any band with at least six albums, who have been around for at least ten years, and I'll find you people who will say "Their new stuff sucks."' This could be because certain artists get a grip on the squirming essential movements of a certain time, feeling, idea, or whim, and wrestle musically with it in such a pleasing way that they acquire some real fans. Then, those fans associate those sounds with other events in their lives, like a great summer, or a sexual encounter, and they develop a place in their brain for what this band is supposed to be like. Then, years later, the band has the audacity to produce something new. Now, the fan is in a new space, with a less charming job or whatever, and this new music sounds different than the old album, and they declare it to be inferior. In fact, they say "It sucks, man. The old stuff was so much better." Then some new fan hears the new stuff, loves it, rushes out to buy it, joins the internet list, and has a flame out with the older fan. This is the circle of life, of which we are all a part, and the sooner we all realize our place in it, the better off we will all be. Either that, or I'm completely full of shit, and the sooner XTC releases a new album the better off we will all be. Except for Josh, since he's already hearing the demos of the new stuff, and knows beyond the shadow of a doubt whether or not it sucks. Jim Jimsmart@hula.net +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ * DAILY HOWL * * "a thousand Cheshire cats grin inside of me" * * --XTC * +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199701062317.QAA13229@access.tucson.org> From: "J. D. SMX" <jsmelser@access.tucson.org> Organization: Access Tucson Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 16:33:31 -0700 Subject: Tubes Speak Hello Swind-a-billys, Lesson # 1. Never press the PRINT icon while reading Chalkhills Digest. (Is that Lurch I hear moaning? uuu-uuu-uuuh) Warning: Tubes Speak ahead. >I read Fee Waybill commenting (on Remote Control) >at the time that the vocals were swamped and the whole >production sucked a bit. (paraphrased in US) I consider myself to be very fortunate to have seen the Tubes 9 times in one carnation or another. Including every tour supporting every album and more. As I sat on a picnic table outside the venue, (Pine Knob Performance Theatre, MI) I spoke with a friend who had seen the Remote Control Tour on an earlier leg and he promised me that I would be VERY impressed. He was right. To this day, that is one of my alltime favorite shows. Funny thing is I have both Remote Control and Love Bomb but never put 2 and 2 together. Thanks Drum. I just saw the Tubes again about a-year-and-a-half ago in a club here in Tucson called the Outback. They were still funny and talented but there was no Bill Sputnik Spooner and no Michael Cotton and no Vince Welnick. They've got a new key/guitar guy and drummer. Now for a warning.....The new LP Genius of America ain't that hot. The production is just too slick which means bland. I could hardly make it through one listen. But I will see them again, live, if they play. The Love Bomb Tour had no Michael Cotton and no Fee Waybill, (gasp). ALL CLEAR Thanks for the info about the Psychedilic Rock Book, Chris. I collect that kind of stuff. I have this really cool book called RockandRoll Babylon. It explains the reasons behind the deaths and tragidies in the Music Biz. With the loss of Kurt Colbain and Johnny Thunders and all the others, I expect a sequel to R&R B in the future. I think I'll check w/the Publisher tomorrow. Until Next Time, SMX P.S. XTC never worked w/Mark Farner. (hohoho) J. D. SMX Video Engineer Access Tucson jsmelser@access.tucson.org
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199701062328.AAA11358@utrecht.knoware.nl> From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl> Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 00:31:08 +0000 Subject: Canned XTC ? Dear Chalkers, First of all: a Happy New Year to you all ! ( and a Jingly Jangly New Ear to the extraordinary A. ) This week I discovered something really weird: a "power drink" with lots of caffeine and guarana called XTC. The cans look very neat: black with XTC in big yellow letters. If anyone wants 1 or 2 cans; email me privately... bye, Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse http://utopia.knoware.nl/~mmello/ ===> Mark's Random XTC Quote <== Is it the aliens at the foot of my bed or is it the ale inside my head?
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 18:38:02 -0600 Message-Id: <v01530501aef6f30a59cc@[204.153.65.129]> From: musicvil@idir.net (John Yuelkenbeck) Subject: All This And No XTC I have a cut-out vinyl copy of "All This And World War II" which I purchased for .79 and don't believe I have ever even played. Being a Beatles completist, however, I just couldn't pass it up for that price. I probably bought it about six months to a year after its initial release in 1976. Yes, it does have a thick lyric book enclosed along with a separate insert advertising T-shirts. 20th Century Fox released a documentary film of World War II footage using these Beatles songs as its soundtrack. Leonard Maltin lists it in his video guide book, but I'm not sure about its availability. The track list is as follows: "Magical Mystery Tour" - Ambrosia "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" - Elton John "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" - Bee Gees "I Am The Walrus" - Leo Sayer "She's Leaving Home" - Billy Bragg (just kidding! it's Bryan Ferry) "Lovely Rita" - Roy Wood "When I'm Sixty-Four" - Keith Moon (hope it's better than his cover of "In My Life" from his solo album) "Get Back" - Rod Stewart "Let It Be" - Leo Sayer "Yesterday" - David Essex "With A Little Help From My Friends/Nowhere Man" - Jeff Lynne "Because" - Lynsey DePaul "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" - Bee Gees "Michelle" - Richard Cocciante "We Can Work It Out" - Four Seasons "The Fool On The Hill" - Helen Reddy (yes, Helen Reddy!) "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" - Frankie Laine "Hey Jude" - Brothers Johnson "Polythene Pam" - Roy Wood "Sun King" - Bee Gees "Getting Better" - Status Quo "The Long And Winding Road" - Leo Sayer "Help" - Henry Gross "Strawberry Fields Forever" - Peter Gabriel "A Day In The Life" - Frankie Valli "Come Together" - Tina Turner "You Never Give Me Your Money" - Wil Malone & Lou Reizner "The End" - The London Symphony Orchestra There you have it. Ouch. I probably STILL wouldn't play it, but for a fellow Chalkhillian I'll make this offer--Daniel Ray Phipps: if you want it, here it is come and get it. Or at least a tape of it.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <32D248C3.56EA@fhsk.skurup.se> Date: Tue, 07 Jan 1997 12:59:47 +0000 From: Jonas Lind <tilia@fhsk.skurup.se> Organization: Skurups Folkhogskola Subject: More XTC in Swedish press Hello fellow XTC-addicts. I thought I might bring you yet another poorly translated XTC piece from the Swedish press. This time it's from an article written by Hakan Engstrom and published in the Swedish morning paper Sydsvenska Dagbladet (October 3rd). The article is quite a long one, so I have only translated some especially interesting bits. (I can't even begin to imagine all the errors that might have occurred in the translation process from English into Swedish and then back into English again.) Andy Partridge on "Fossil Fuel": "- This compilation promotes an amazingly biased image of what XTC really is. A person who has never heard us before won't understand anything when he gets this album. To take this route to XTC is like going into a candy store to buy dinner. It's all dessert. Sweet and easily chewed. I prefer more meaty things, food that is harder to chew. If Andy Partridge had the chance to put his own retrospective compilation together, the image of his band would be rather different. - With a singles compilation, you're fixed. The decisions were made a long time ago, with each single release at hand. Many of the songs are good, but for a compilation of these songs to be interesting and having something to add, you need some sort of a new interpretation. We could record everything all over again, with a marching band or something. Yes, I'm serious - lately I've wondered what some of these songs would have sounded like if we had recorded them with brass instruments and made them all into jug band music. Some of Partridges more devoted fans would probably consider such a venture to be blasphemous. Partridge himself says he's not that overwhelmingly fond of the singles tracks in particular. - My personal favourites are usually quite different songs. The choices for the singles were all made by the record company. One exception was "Wrapped In Grey" from our last album, but that single was murdered as a baby. 2 000 copies were made, only to be retracted again almost immediately." Andy Partridge on XTC's decision to stop touring: "- That decision was necessary for XTC to keep developing. We lacked that gang mentality which is typical for a rock'n'roll band. Getting all the babes and upsetting all the parents wasn't intriguing enough. But it still seems to be the driving force of many rock bands. And the lyrics reflect it, they're based on a reality that is strange to any sane human being. Wanting to live a life like that requires a pathological need to be flattered and adored." And finally, Andy Partridge tells us about an embarrasing situation recently, when he was attacked in public by XTC's first album. "- I went into a restaurant, and somebody on the staff must have recognized me. After only a few minutes the music was turned off, and White Music was put on, much too loud. It was awful. I had to ask the waitress to turn the rubbish off." Hard-to-chew food for thought there. Regards, Jonas Lind (Lund, Sweden)
------------------------------ From: McGREGOC <McGREGOC@regents.ac.uk> Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 14:26:47 +00 Subject: Fossillized Love Theorized Message-ID: <16BA4816785@asdf011.regents.ac.uk> Happy New Year to all chalkhillers! I think it was digest 3-64 where Parrish asked : >>Does anyone have one that hasn't broke? Refering to Fossil Fuel. I amazingly have one that is not broken......Yet! It sticks when I try to open it so, I LOVINGLY, gently pry the case open hoping it won't break. There you go. Joshua Hall-Bachner caught my interest in the last digest. >>Does anyone have any theories why the latest albums are always the ones we accuse in this way? Meaning new material sucks compared to earlier material. Also: >> Is it we just assume that artist only have so long they can create original work before they peter out? That is an interesting thought of a limited amount of creative talent that evenually ends. Does it fade with age? My thoughts on this whole thing is maybe it depends on the artist themself. If they begin to think (I'm theorizing here) that they are getting to old for this sort of thing,( ex.pop music, acting, whatever) maybe the creative force that was within disappears. Looking specifically at music, I think it has alot to do with the changing opinions of the public. Pop music is quite a different thing now than 30 years ago. It changes and evolves. I get a lot of looks and comments about what I used to listen to and how "that band sucks, have you heard their new album?" They are just not popular now. What about chemistry between artists? After the Beatles broke up sure each has obtained fame in their own right but I don't think that any of them have gained the amount of respect(?)for their sole efforts and have lost popularity, which people assume that their work is not as good. I was thinking about Van Halen the other day( don't ask why, I don't know myself). They have continued to be successful after David Lee Roth left, got booted, whatever and he went by the way side. Did it have to do with the fact that perhaps it was the talent of the musicians and not the addition of the lyrics that made they successful? Are they still successful today now that Sammy Hagar has left too? I probably have wandered far away from your original intent Mr. Josh but it got me thinking. Would XTC be considered trash say if Mr. P left? Would it still be XTC? Would it still be good? Would the chemistry be lost? In my opinion, I think XTC would lose alot of appeal for me if Mr. P were replaced by someone else or the same with Colin M. or Dave. It just would not be the same magic for me. And I would probably hold the opinion that the music was bad. Because it did not appeal to me. Ofcourse this is all just pondering. Hard to say what reality would bring. Josh, do you think this losing of creativity is mainly of the pop music or do you think it can happen in any art field or say classical music. Did Bethoven lose his creativity in the end there? I know I've thrown out more questions but its worth pondering, in my opinion. Thanks for letting me indulge here. Oh! For the longest time I have been wondering, What the hell is Andy muttering in the middle of Mehcanic Dancing ( I know I spelled that wrong but I don't have the CD in the lab here with me so I have to rely on my feeble memory, please forgive me!). He sings" I'm standing in front of this girl and then ,and then, and then....What?! I have given myself a headache trying to figure it out. Anyone willing to help the clueless? Bye, Cheryl
------------------------------ Message-ID: <c=US%a=_%p=KPS_Group._Inc.%l=KPSINF-NT040-970107143634Z-14@kpsinf-nt040.KPSGROUP.COM> From: "Purnell, Vernon" <VePurne@kpsgroup.com> Subject: Creative vocabulary? Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 08:36:34 -0600 Regarding Philip Adamek's recent posts: "Metaphoricity"? Excuse me? What's that, an outtake from THE LURE OF SALVAGE? It's sure not in my dictionary. Critical Guy
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199701071738.MAA13406@mime4.prodigy.com> From: Moonsilver@prodigy.com (MR NOBLE K THOMAS) Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 12:38:18, -0500 Subject: DOUG POWELL is your man! A recent chalkhillian post mentioned a CD seen at a store recently that had a sticker reading -- if you like Matthew Sweet, Gin Blossoms, XTC or Todd... -- the artist in question is DOUG POWELL, the title Ballad Of The Tin Man. Doug is actually a protoge of Jules Shear more or less but definitely is reverent towards Todd and XTC. The record itself is very poppish yet not as demanding as your typical XTC offering. Another recent post inquired into the availability of FOSSIL FUEL... I have a few copies left if still in need. Contact me at Moonsilver@prodigy.com
------------------------------ Message-ID: <c=US%a=_%p=AETNA%l=AETNA/AETNA/00294462@aetna.aetna.com> From: "Witter, Karl F" <witterkf@aetna.com> Subject: Chemistry, and "That sucks" (unrelated, please) Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 16:11:00 -0500 >(Trent Turner)I see art as a catalyst (my chem metaphor will be >shattered here I'm sure!), it causes the reaction... Here you go: I had thought a catalyst speeds up a reaction, but doesn't *cause* one that wouldn't have occurred otherwise. Maybe the speeding up is even a better metaphor: Doesn't art bring to your conscious self feelings you already have deep down somewhere? If I'm wrong, I'll fall back to "I don't know art, but I know what I like". >(Josh) Does anyone have any theories why [an act's] latest albums >are always the ones we accuse [of sucking]? Is it because we just >assume that artists only have so long they can create original work >before they peter out? Let's take three hypothetical cases: 1) Act A. They're decent at the outset & don't immediately disband. They have enough casual fans for a couple albums, or a smaller group of regular fans, or an even smaller, rabid cult, or critical raves. One of these is needed to keep a label interested in you, right? Familiarity breeds acceptance: Toss in a big breakout hit early on, the one that everyone remembers them for. More people will like it than loathe it, even if it's overplayed. But who wants to do the same thing for five years, let along ten? In good circumstances they grow, so their later music is different. This may thrill critics--how many reviews of 2nd and 3rd albums point up the maturing of the creators?--but may not capture the fans. So the "regulars", if typical, expect something sort of the same from a group. Also, if it's human nature to want something "Just like--but different--but not very", and they get it, the repetition can be disappointing. And the "casuals" who only have that very popular album from early on don't have an opinion. The critical mass is with the regulars, and their opinion is "their later stuff sucks". 2) Act B. Like Josh's theory, they only have 20 songs to write in their whole lives, and do each of them twice, over 3 albums. Then they still have some records to deliver, and "their later stuff sucks". 3) Act C starts off slowly, perhaps taking several years to hit stride & make the breakthrough album, then becoming big or at least steady *stars* whose records return a certain consistency of fans to the store. (Years and years ago, people like Billy Joel started this way; nowadays in the mainstream world, would they only feel the door hit their butt?) Again, like Josh's ideas of factions, when an artist gets to this stage, you'll have those who don't want to give up the idea of having "known them when" (implied: "When they were *special*") and that commercial success = sellout. But you can't be a sellout without millions to sellout to, so there are your 2 sides. This seems more the alternative /modern/acts who still are in the time zone of hip. Sound like REM fans, anyone? (The antithesis would be bad corp rock--can you fake having integrity in order to sellout for success?) XTC, as usual, fits into no category. Their US successes weren't their English successes, so that gives them rabid fans attached to many vintages. However, the records are so dissimilar that new fans (like me) picked up a couple and were prepared, that way, to expect the unexpected. So maybe we can take each album on its quality and own merits, not its similarity to the others. That might make us less hardheaded, giving us the reputation for being polite. And sometimes we are. (But other times we sound like "Certs is a candy mint"/"Certs is a breath mint".) Looking for my future in British still, Karl PS The only new thing acquired in '96 is Semisonic's "Great Divide". "Brand New Baby" is my fave; snappy, fuzzy, and lyrically reminiscent of John Lennon's penchant for emotional dementia from the early days.
------------------------------ From: Stephen Hughes <stephen@hugher.demon.co.uk> Subject: Andy Partridge interview Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 21:02:40 -0700 Message-ID: <852671220.611877.0@hugher.demon.co.uk> In case anyone is interested, there is an interview with Andy Partridge in the January edition of the Record Collector magazine (this ios a UK mag).
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 16:42:44 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <1.5.4.16.19970107164536.22c7a82c@mindspring.com> From: jes <xtc@mindspring.com> Subject: Producers Who Get The Boot All this talk about Todd working with bands more than once has led me to think about other producers, especially those who worked with XTC, who have only done one or two albums with an artist or band. And, that leads to my Trivia Question Of The Day.... Steve Lillywhite was a much-sought-after producer during those happy, grassy days of the PneuWave. However, to my memory, he has only worked with one band on three albums. (Although, there is always a chance that the next Dave Matthews Band album could screw this question up, but that's Trivia Of The Future, which doesn't count unless you can tell me next weekend's lottery numbers.) Which band worked with Lillywhite three times? And that begs an even more philosophical question. Lillywhite's productions have always been sterling and unique. I daresay that those who love XTC grew that love from his work on D&W and Black Sea. He shaped Great Albums by bands that sucked (like Penetration, The Brains, early Siouxie & Those Banshees, Ultravox!). He created masterpieces by bands that didn't suck (Joan Armatrading, Peter Gabriel). So.... why do bands sack him after two LP's? Of course, it could be working the other way around.... perhaps Lillywhite grows bored of these bands and wants to move on. After all, while he may have been a sought-after producer, he may have been tired of starving. Anyone remember how many copies of Ultravox! were sold? Maybe that's why he decided to work with those has-been hacks, the Rolling Stones. jes http://www.lexxicon.com/tenbyjes.htm
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 16:42:47 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <1.5.4.16.19970107164539.22c7f2b4@mindspring.com> From: jes <xtc@mindspring.com> Subject: Christmas In Georgia Oooh, to that Aussie who wanted to nyeh nyeh about a HOT Christmas, let me just nyeh nyeh that ours, in Georgia, in God's Country, was a comfortable, pleasant, non-burning 75 degrees. A little foggy in the morning, but such a trip to open the windows on Christmas Morning and not freeze the rest of my balls off. jes still at http://www.lexxicon.com/tenbyjes.htm
------------------------------ Date: 7 Jan 1997 23:41:24 -0000 Message-ID: <19970107234124.3817.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Ben Gott" <xtcfan@hotmail.com> Subject: Back in the high (oops!) life... Chalkies, It's good to be Bach! Just a short note to set you on your way into dreams of XTCland: I took my Nonsuch promo poster to Frames on Wheels (Great Barrington, MA) to get it in a proper frame. After the salesman printed out my bill of sale, he looked more closely at the poster. "XTC?" he asked. "Is that the band that did that 'Pumpkinhead' song?" The Boys' influence reaches farther than we may think... Ben * ------------------------------------------- Ben Gott http://www.wp.com/58596 The Hotchkiss School "It frightens me when you come to mind..." XTC
------------------------------ Message-ID: <32D273A8.E0E@frognet.net> Date: Tue, 07 Jan 1997 08:02:48 -0800 From: Keith Hanlon <khanlon@frognet.net> Subject: XTC-Christmas thread It's nice to see so many Ohio-based XTC fans posting! Three in one digest . Yow! XTC-Christmas thread: Now that Ian let the cat out of the bag, my band is on the Skylacking tape (Norton's Orchestraville - and you were wondering why I wanted everyone to post their reviews/opinions!). So when my girlfriend said, "I forgot to put XTC on my Christmas CD list," I knew what to do. I got Skylarking for her, and she loves it (although she thinks "Dear God" can be a little cheesy). I think she was touched because I told her it was my favorite XTC album of all time, and because my band covered "1000 Umbrellas." Nothing like relation-bonus-points on Christmas! Later, Keith Hanlon http:www/frognet/net/~khanlon/Nortons_home
------------------------------ Date: 07 Jan 97 20:47:21 EST From: "K. Forster" <103124.351@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Another Satellite's metaphor Message-ID: <970108014721_103124.351_JHG101-2@CompuServe.COM> > "Another Satellite" combines lyrics and music >to create an otherworldly whole that encapsulates the relationship and >perfectly accentuates the narrator's desire not to get "caught up" Boy, did that sock me with a brick. I have to admit I'd never even considered "Another Satellite" on that particular level...it somehow insinuated itself into my consciousness as some sort of anti-space trash song. Obviously I haven't listened to it nearly as closely as I should have. To me, that kind of sudden "AHA!" from a long familiar song/book/painting/movie/whatever is true proof that there's somethin' good goin' on here... Kat
------------------------------ Date: 07 Jan 97 20:54:22 EST From: "K. Forster" <103124.351@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Sucky new stuff. Au contraire! Message-ID: <970108015422_103124.351_JHG101-3@CompuServe.COM> >Or is it just that the band >really does start to suck after a certain period of time? Frankly, I have a *lot* more difficulty with XTC's older material...it took me *ages* to start to like English Settlement after having been soooo in love with "Oranges and Lemons" and "Skylarking" et al. The (pre-studio only?) work seems so much rawer on the ear...of course, my fiance loves it, and I'm having to cajole him into really listening to "Nonesuch" more. Go figure. Such a big lovely world of people and tastes; I have to say it delights me every time I think about it. Kat
------------------------------ From: BEEZWAX2@aol.com Date: Wed, 8 Jan 1997 07:16:19 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <970108071618_1723548561@emout20.mail.aol.com> Subject: John/"The Devil Glitch" yo John -you wrote: <In 1996, Chris Butler (best known as a member of the Waitresses) released a maddeningly catchy 70-minute pop song with 550 amusing verses called "The Devil Glitch". About 60 minutes into the song the following verse appears: "Sometimes you can fix something by just being the best, XTC's the greatest pop band. Sometimes you can fix something by being the best, XTC's still stuck in Swindon." John> .......... actually, the couplet goes: "Sometimes you can fix something by just being the best, XTC's the greatest pop band. Sometimes you CAN'T fix something by being the best, XTC's still stuck in Swindon." although i have nothing against Swindon, i was trying to make the point that i love this this band, and wished them a better hand than they've been dealt. cheers, regards, etc. chris butler
------------------------------ From: McGREGOC <McGREGOC@regents.ac.uk> Date: Wed, 8 Jan 1997 13:08:51 +00 Subject: She's a laughing, giggling, whirly bird! Message-ID: <1825A115710@asdf011.regents.ac.uk> Hey there! I was listening to one of my "Just Can't Get Enough of the 80's" thingys and the song "88 Lines About 44 Women" came on, right after the line "Brenda's obsession was for certain vegetables and fruit" the singer says" Are You Receiving Me?". Just wondered if there could be a possible link. Women=Sex=XTC. Hmmmmmm. Then, "I Want a New Toy" came on and I started thinking Lena Lovitch, Thomas Dolby(I had heard he worked with her as her keyboardist).....XTC. Crazy thought went through my head of what if Andy Partridge and Lena Lovitch did a duet?! Theres an interesting pair. Could you just hear it?! All those twists and stretches of the vocal cords between the two. Probably be like an acid trip gone bad. I shouldn't think so much at 2am. I'm not done yet! I'm going to join Adam on the thread of misheard lyrics! In "That is the Way" that first line I hear " Go and speak......to your Knees" I think its supposed to be Niece but...... And listening to" Outside World" I always hear " she has 11 lions laping at her legs, siiiiigh". No, I don't have a secret desire to have my legs licked. Well,...perhaps I should consult my knees on this matter! Merely a Man- the whole daffy duck line baffled me. Before I bought the CD, I had Oranges and Lemons taped and so I had no cover to consult on the matter. I've always heard, "Got daffy duck propelled from Jimmy Swagarts tummy gut!" It Confused and Astounded me all at once. Is it just me or is the Oranges and Lemons CD louder than the other CDs of theirs? I always have my head split open at the start of the CD if I forget to check the volume after listening to one of the others. And thus ends another confusing post from yours truly, Cheryl
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v02130501aef96dadddb8@[134.32.48.171]> Date: Wed, 8 Jan 1997 15:34:46 +0000 From: varga@ferndown.ate.slb.com (Stephen Varga) Subject: XTC Sighting Well, sort of. TV Viewers in the Meridian Area (South & South East England) who are regulars of Meridian Tonight showed a Christmas Special (funny moments during the year, bloopers etc) on Christmas Eve. Before and after the commercial break, the intro to Thanks for Christmas could be clearly heard. Nice to know there is an XTC fan among the production crew! Did anyone else see this?
------------------------------ Message-Id: <2.2.16.19970108164022.309f0aa6@cic-mail.lanl.gov> Date: Wed, 08 Jan 1997 09:40:22 -0700 From: DeWitt Henderson <dewitth@lanl.gov> Subject: The Return Just a quick notice - if anyone wants to hear the CD by "The Return", the band of our list-mate Randall Watson, let me know, and I'll mail it to you absolutely free. Re: JHB (and others') comments about bands longevity, and how long-time fans often like the earlier and mid-period output of an artist/band more than the latest... that's often true, but not always. I don't think Van Morrison or John Hiatt, just to name a couple, would be judged by their fans as having done all their best work early or in the middle of their careers. And XTC is a shining example of a band that only gets better, or at least maintains their standard. * ---------------------------------- | DeWitt Henderson | | Los Alamos National Laboratory | | CIC-13 MS P223 | | Los Alamos, NM 87544 | | 505/665-0720 | * ----------------------------------
------------------------------
From: Saints3Den@aol.com
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 1997 08:53:19 -0500 (EST)
Message-ID: <970109085318_911634645@emout05.mail.aol.com>
Subject: pluck
happy new year!
1) I saw an ad in the new york post for a store called "The Cockpit "...
advertising DOWN jackets... (I think their specialty is bomber jackets)
2) My newspaper carries the puzzle called JUMBLE where you unscramble
words , then use circled letters, and rearrange them into a riddles answer.
Question; What it took for the shy guitarist to perform in person.
Answer; Lots of pluck.
Thanks for Christmas---
1) My wife doesn't like XTC. For Christmas , we bought our first cd system
, and our first cd's. We bought a few christmas ones , including new wave
christmas , which she also doesn't like (though she did listen to it) But,
she loves the first song (thanks for christmas) after many playings , I told
her who does it,( her first xtc song she ever said she liked!) Its a start.
2) Isn't the real meaning of Thanks for Christmas... more or less---- good
thing we have something called christmas ... otherwise there are an awful
lot of folks who would never have an excuse to be in a good mood---- its
such a shame its only 1 day of the year - etc. ytou've been saving all your
love up - etc.
thats how I always heard it
Xternally- eddie st. martin
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jan 1997 11:56:21 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <v01510100aefa7e39304a@[206.15.83.94]> From: mf@well.com (Mitch Friedman) Subject: The Partridge Report: 1-9-97 And now the news . . . I just spoke with Andy and he provided me with some juicy tidbits of info. Not quite as juicey as you'd like and also maybe not the kind of juice you're looking forward to drinking but news nonetheless. The rumor about XTC looking for a permanent drummer and keyboard player is not true. Andy likes to see Dave's fingers twittling away on the ivories and/or plastics and it makes no sense to hire a drummer who will sit around in between albums and get paid to drink tea and watch television while on the payrole. So you may think that this implies XTC playing live is yet another remote pos- sibility but in fact you would be wrong. Yup, you heard me right, Andy says that when the new album or albums come out, he really wants to try out the idea of having the band play live on the back of a truck outside of radio stations or in their parking lots, probably in the USA and doing their new noisy electric songs. He doesn't want to do the acoustic thing anymore because everyone else is doing it now. Geffen's 'Upsy Daisy' is going to be a greatest hits type CD which will be a combination of some singles (from Nigel on) and some album tracks like 'Earn Enough For Us' and 'Chalkhills and Children' (as Andy insisted they include it). It won't have any new material on it. The box set was Virgin's idea but it probably won't happen as everyone is still on unpleasant terms. Andy still wants to do the Bootleg Album but Colin still doesn't and Dave isn't sure. Either way, he says it won't happen until after the next new albums. He did say that if he had to start on it himself then he would. There are a bunch of newer songs ready to be added to the ever-growing list. Andy's compositions include 'Playground', 'The Wheel & The Maypole', 'Harvest Festival', 'The Ship Trapped in the Ice', 'We're All Light', 'Wounded Horse', 'I Don't Want to Be Here' (written 2 years ago for Cathy Dennis but she didn't use it), and 'Stupidly Happy'. Colin has demoed 'Frivolous Tonight' (which apparently is inspired by his reading too many Noel Coward books), 'Standing in For Joe' (a bubblegum album outtake that Dave thinks sounds way too much like Steely Dan's 'Barrytown'), and 'In Another Life'. Channel Four's gameshow called 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks' phoned up Nick Lowe and asked him to write a little theme instrumental but he couldn't do it so they called Colin and asked him. He immediately phoned Andy and they decided to grab Dave and take the chord changes from 'It Didn't Hurt a Bit' and whip up a 30 second long variation on it with a country flavor which they recorded and then sent in. It was rejected. Around the time of the recording of 'Spy in Space' and 'Jump the Gap' (both dubs of Cuba and Nihilon respectively) another number called 'Walking to Work' was done. This is not a dub of anything but is in fact an original instrumental. Andy and Marianne were toying with the idea of writing a soap opera about supermarkets at the time called 'Prices' and 'Walking to Work' was originally recorded as the theme song to 'Prices'. While the Setanta rumor was false, recently Andy met with someone from a small label called Cooking Vinyl and he was very excited about what he offered. The band would most probably sign to a major label in the US for distribution and promotion purposes, and an indie for Europe and the rest of the world. Paul Bailey is going to New York in ten days to meet with several new possible suitors. Andy is going to produce Stephen Duffy's new single but he doesn't really like the song and although Babybird wanted him to produce an album of his home demos, he ended up doing it himself. Things were pretty black last week in the mental state because he is just going crazy from waiting to make a new album. He sounded better today and is hopeful of some activity soon. The plan is to make 2 albums, each one with about 10 songs; one electric, one orchestral. And now the weather . . . Mitch
------------------------------ Message-ID: <32D56CED.43D6@fhsk.skurup.se> Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 22:10:53 +0000 From: Jonas Lind <tilia@buzzsaw.mti.sgi.com> Organization: Skurups Folkhogskola Subject: The Planets & The Vapors Fellow chalksters, I wonder if any of you ever heard of a British band called The Planets? They had a hit in 1980 called "Don't look down", which so far is the only song I have heard by The Planets. "Don't look down" is a very catchy little pop song with a recurrent honky-reggae groove, which reminds me of early XTC, The Police and Elvis Costello. My kind of music! I'd be more than happy if somebody could tell me something about this band. I'd really like to get hold of their album, and I don't even know which label they were on. Another band from that "golden era of early XTC" were The Vapors, supposedly discovered by Bruce Foxton of The Jam. I'm sure most of you have heard "Turning Japanese"? Again, this song reminds me of XTC in the days when they, in my opinion, were at their very best (somewhere around "Drums & Wires" and "Black Sea"), although the bass guitar sounds a lot like The Jam (for obvious reasons?). I'm really curious about this band also; I want to find as many XTC-soundalikes as possible from that period in time. So, if any of you know anything about The Vapors, or The Planets, please let me know. Thanx, Jonas Lind
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #3-66 ******************************
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