Chalkhills Digest Volume 3, Issue 76
Date: Wednesday, 29 January 1997
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 3, Number 76
Wednesday, 29 January 1997
Today's Topics:
MISC-OLA
Big Country Only Warning
XTC is the Everything
Sugarplastic List Now Open for Business
Travels In Nihilon And On...
Time machines , Kate Bush and the Great-Mythical-Gig-That-Will-Never-Be .
that God guy
one errant scargillian strand
Re: Children, children
God, Jesus, Lennon and Andy
royalties, videos, requests
Emancipation of Dukes
More Ripoff Details...
Re: Love Them Dukes
chalkies' original music tape and stuff about coming back for mo
The Michigan XTC party: LAST CALL
Lotso responses.....
I'm in 7th Heaven right now!
Recommended
A response or five
Top Albums of '96
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The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors.
They push+pull tactics are driving me loco
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message-Id: <2.2.16.19970128191949.35af8eda@cic-mail.lanl.gov>
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 12:19:49 -0700
From: DeWitt Henderson <dewitth@lanl.gov>
Subject: MISC-OLA
I've held back for several posts (fallen behind, actually), but here's a
few comments:
The 180-degree discussion - I rarely like anything on first listen. It's
often the opposite - if I DO like it right away, I'll probably get tired
of it.
Long CD's - well, I think (*whack!* We've discussed that enough! *whack!*).
OK! OK! (whimpering)
Girl bands - someone mentioned Chrissie Hynde - she's great, definitely
one of my favorite woman singer/songwriters. The last Pretenders studio
CD ROCKS.
White Album - NO EDITING! Right on, Jason!
Magnus Fredholm's discussion of too much analysis on XTC songs, searching
for hidden meanings: I agree. Some people's comments remind me of many
album reviews I read in the 15 years I subscibed to Rolling Stone. Some
reviewers treat an album as if it was the frigging Rosetta Stone. As much
as we love 'pop music', or 'rock n' roll', and even though the occasional
song has great/meaningful lyrics (particularly some of our boys'), I still
come back to what Mick Jagger said once: 'it's f**king throwaway pop music!'
I don't mean it isn't good or enjoyable, but my opinion is to just turn it
up and not dissect it. ("Shields up, Scotty!!!)
The Name That Must Not Be Mentioned (as brought up by Jim Smart) - AMEN!
Finally, everyone must go out and see "Fierce Creatures"!
Thank you and good night.
*----------------------------------
| DeWitt Henderson |
| Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| CIC-13 MS P223 |
| Los Alamos, NM 87544 |
| 505/665-0720 |
*----------------------------------
------------------------------ Message-Id: <32EE51C1.68F9@kgv1.bems.boeing.com> Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 11:21:37 -0800 From: John M Rader <jmr0244@kgv1.bems.boeing.com> Subject: Big Country Only Warning I haven't gone back and checked but on their 4th >album they used Peter Wolf from the J Geils Band and their sound changed >a lot. Different Peter Wolf, definetely not from J.Geils. John
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01550101af140bf477ee@[146.6.72.30]> Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 14:05:44 -0600 From: h.h.name@mail.utexas.edu (jason garcia) Subject: XTC is the Everything >4. All other music is just a distraction until the next XTC album comes out. Oh, too true, too true!! You know, I spent the last few years trying to convince myself that that was not really the case, but I think I'm just going to have to give in here and admit it. Nothing that I've heard recently even begins to compare to XTC! Jason
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 14:16:07 +0000 From: latzko@mail.att.net (Jeffrey E Latzko) Subject: Sugarplastic List Now Open for Business Message-ID: <winATT-3.0-latzko-1403> Although I have fortunately unsubscribed to the Chalkhills list (I primarily lurked.), I promised Ben Eshbach of the Sugarplastic that I would post this information to the XTC list for any Sugarplastic fans. Sign on if interested. Sorry to disturb the flow. Jeff Latzko ____________________ Begin Forwarded Message __________________________ Date: Tue Jan 21 12:50:22 -0500 1997 From: internet!nmahia.si.edu!cruffner (Chris Ruffner) Subject: Hello List Members Message-ID: <32E501DE.1BBE@nmahia.si.edu> To (un)subscribe to the list send an email to majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com with the command in the body of the email being - (un)subscribe spastic-laughter. Chris
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199701290008.BAA21290@utrecht.knoware.nl> From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl> Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 01:11:19 +0000 Subject: Travels In Nihilon And On... Dear Chalkies, Last issue James asked: > ( can you imaging a 12 minute version of Deliver us from the Elements, > Chalkhills and Children, or Travels in Nihilon???). Funny you should mention that... The original version of Travels In Nihilon had a very long instrumental/drum intro lasting almost 2 1/2 minutes. According to our Hero A.P. : "it was just like a steamroller!" In the end the long intro had to be cut in order to fit all the tracks on the album... alas! I have never heard this original uncut version and I would gladly give my left arm in exchange for a listen :) bye, Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse http://utopia.knoware.nl/~mmello/ ===> Mark's Random XTC Quote <== She has six swans singing in her sauna
------------------------------ Message-ID: <32EE9CB5.69AD@virgin.net> Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 00:41:25 +0000 From: peter.wright2@virgin.net (peter.wright2@virgin.net) Subject: Time machines , Kate Bush and the Great-Mythical-Gig-That-Will-Never-Be . While musing yesterday, I began to make a list in my mind of the bands that I have loved - really loved - over the years. I took it a stage further and wondered what it would be like to see these bands play live again in '97 and I'm sorry to say my conclusion was that in the vast majority of cases it would undoubtedly be sad, if not downright depressing . The Monkees , The Stones - need I go on ? Now if I could climb in a time machine and catch these artists in their prime , that would be a totally different and mouthwatering proposition . How about 10CC circa '74 ? The Sweet in the same year ? Bliss . Now , heres where I get to the point ! I came up with only 2 longstanding great artists that I would cross hot coals , broken glass etc. etc. to see play live today : The sublime Kate Bush who is, incredibly , even more reclusive than XTC ! And of course , Andy, Colin and Dave - the chaps themselves . ( Bet you thought I'd never get round to mentioning them ! ) Now, this is where the daydream became a little scary . I was trying to put together a set list for XTC and soon realised they would have to be on stage for about 2 days solid to get all my fave songs in . It was actually easier to work out the songs I didn't want them to play than the ones I did !! Afterwards , back here in the real world , I was really quite depressed knowing that this mythical gig will never , ever take place. It is even more hurtful because of the 6 artists I have mentioned in this piece, XTC are the only one I have never seen live on stage . GOD, I'm depressed ! ( A thought just occured to me - Andy Partridge to produce the next Kate Bush album.....? ) Following on .... this tribute band - The Partridge Family - do they really exist and if so, which part of the country / world do they play in and are they hitting the boards anytime soon ? ( I live in London by the way ). Finally , am I the only one here whos never heard a single second of the Dukes of Stratosphere ? I have tried to get a copy of "...Chocolate Fireball " but as the shop ordered it for me, Virgin deleted it and there was not a single copy to be found. A friend in the U.S. has tried to find it and again no luck. I even advertised in Loot but no response. Anybody have any suggestions ? I'd be eternally grateful for any help. Til next time , Pete.
------------------------------
Message-Id: <v01510102af142e9b7555@[204.188.73.147]>
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 15:20:29 -1000
From: jimsmart@hula.net (Jim Smart)
Subject: that God guy
> You can also ask
>yourself why is he telling God that he does not believe in him IF he
>does not believe in him?
That's the whole Glory of the song, right there! The absurdity of singing
Dear God to someone who you believe isn't there to hear your message. Takes
it to a whole other level. BTW, I've been wondering. Are most Chalkhillers
non religious? I guess I sort of assumed that, since I feel this song, one
of the best and biggest hits, is so anti-God/religion (That, and the way
Peter P. showed the Vatican what gold's for)
And YES to Adrian Belew...very XTC-like, actually. IF you've never heard of
him, check him out.....He has a song called Momur that gets me every time.
Also, a plug for non XTC content. i think it's great. We're all here cuz we
love XTC. Period. Side trips into other artists/directions to fun things in
England/whatever should be fair game, IMVVVVHO.
Jim
Jimsmart@hula.net
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DAILY HOWL
`When I use a word ... it means just what I
choose it to mean - neither more nor less.' `The question
is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many
different things.' `The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty,
`which is to be master - that's all.'
-Lewis Carroll
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
------------------------------ Message-Id: <2.2.32.19970129020938.00697a50@mail.sonyinteractive.com> Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 18:09:38 -0800 From: Bob Estus <bestus@intergate.sonyinteractive.com> Subject: one errant scargillian strand XTCPeoples, Agony Andy on how to impress women: One thing young girls do love to see, is a good hair style on a man. Now my advice to you (Steve) is do study men who have classically attractive haircuts. People like Dave Hill of Slade or what man could go wrong with that crystaline rococo splendor of naval fluff the "Arthur Scargille". I think I need to see a picture of this guy now, -Bob p.s. answer to wee puzzle in #3-72 <bandmember anagrams>, but you knew that.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03010d06af14594dc3b0@[204.254.68.26]> Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 18:48:21 -0700 From: Eb <gondola@deltanet.com> Subject: Re: Children, children >From <970127192000_1994083899@emout10.mail.aol.com> > >I've had 3 kids since the last XTC album. Could ANYTHING put the long gap between albums into perspective better than this comment?? :) >From: Ira Lieman <ira@myself.com> > >WHAT'S WRONG HERE? Has the list gotten >too controversial? Too pedestrian? Too immature? You want to know my theory? >We're straying a little too far from the topics at hand. > >This is the *XTC* mailing list. We're here to discuss all things XTC. And the whine cycle continues.... I guess it's back to "What XTC songs do you like to play loud?" <groan> Eb --------------------- "Save it for the stage, Romeo"
------------------------------ Message-ID: <32EEF3A4.1BF0@sprintmail.com> Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 22:52:20 -0800 From: Stormy Monday <stormymonday@sprintmail.com> Subject: God, Jesus, Lennon and Andy Folxtc, The Aptly Named Jim Smart says: >many of you have been posting the name of John lennon's assasin here >recently. As a fairly avid Beatle fan, I feel I should let you know >that that name must not be mentioned. I am really enjoying Chalkhills, >except that i keep coming across the name that must not be mentioned. HEAR HEAR! I'm all for freedom of speech and expression, but Puhleese! I still get a tear in my eye when I hear the "Double Fantasy" songs. XTC HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH "M**K D***D C*****N"! Cheryl tells us: >Really, is the theme of Dear God any worse than John >Lennon declaring that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus? The answer to that question is: It is neither worse nor better. When you are not religious, you often don't realize that your comments may be construed as offensive or blasphemous. John was stating an indisputable fact: The Beatles WERE more popular than Jesus Christ. From his point of view, it was a neutral statement, neither offensive nor inoffensive. He was making a point, almost from the outside, like, "Hey, can you believe this? We're more popular than Jesus!". He could have said "Elvis", or "Sinatra" or "Charles Lindbergh". It wasn't meant as a jab at Jesus or religion or God. He was using "Jesus" as a frame of reference. The problem was, many people inferred more than he meant. Not being a religious man, he couldn't have predicted the reaction. He was dumbfounded at the furor that resulted (at least in the USA) over an innocent comment. >Nope, and if you listen to Dear God closer you'll see that it has to >do more with the anguish and pain that humanity suffers than the fact >that Mr. P. is stating that God does not exsist. You can also ask >yourself why is he telling God that he does not believe in him IF he >does not believe in him? Now, on to "Dear God". I believe that this song is a personal song. It is more of an indictment of mankind than of God, but I also believe that Andy really doesn't believe in Him. The fact that he is addressing God in the song makes it more compelling. It is a literary device used to make a point. Why do some people find this song so offensive anyway? Liking the song doesn't necessarily mean that you agree with the sentiment. If you are comfortable with your religious beliefs, why would Andy Partridge's opinion (or anyone else's for that matter) be of any consequence? On a different subject, I remember certain contributors to this newsletter dismissing "The Disappointed" as a "throw away attempt at a single". Well, maybe that is how Andy looked at it, but when "Nonsuch" was released, I was still (I thought) happily married, so it was another great XTC song, but not a standout. Well, as things go, my wife left me in 1995, and the song took on a whole new meaning. "Once, I had no sympathy " great song "Jesus and Mohammed, and Buddha live in town Zoraster and Valhalla, and Moses hang around And when they get together, they are quite a noisy crew They laugh about their legacies, over cigarettes and brews Yeah we're living here in Joytown The city in the sun Where everyone loves everyone, Love's every single one " from "Joytown", by Kevin Gilbert Stormy Monday
------------------------------
From: nihilon@crisscross.com
Message-Id: <v03007801af14f8b5ec07@[202.217.215.195]>
Subject: royalties, videos, requests
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 13:37:18 +0800
Greetings,
I'm new. My first experience with XTC was . . . blah blah
I think their best is . . . blah blah
I've been lurking . . . blah blah
Today I'm finally on line so . . . blah blah
I'm not gonna bore you with all this - unless this is part of Chalkhills
etiquette, in which case I apologise and will re-send next time.
(If anyone is interested in my bio - please e-mail me privately)
But a few things I feel the need to comment on.
The recent discussion on money for demos. I think a major point is being
overlooked here. The band is *unable* to accept money for these. This is
quite similar to the until recent loopholes in Italian law that allowed
companies to manufacture unauthorised CDs (basically bootlegs) as long as
royalties were paid to the performers (even without the performers
permission) Some of these discs actually go so far as to print the bank
account that the royalties were being paid into, with messages to the
performer to contact them to collect the money. As far as I can ascertain,
*no* performer ever claimed the money. Simply by collecting the money, the
performer legitimizes the CD, and recognises that they have a right to
release unathorized material, something that obviously lies outside the
scope of their contracts. If the boys accept money from us for demo tapes,
then the boys are seen as accepting bootlegging.
While I appreciate that many of the fans wish to simply recompense the boys
for the material, it's not really practical / possible. If Andy wants
this, he can always release the tapes through Chalkhills or The Little
Express, much like the previous tapes.
>From: Damian Foulger <Foulger@cardiff.ac.uk>
>I'd had my eye on the 1980 live XTC album for a long while now and when I
>saw it last week >for stlg7 I bought it. I must say that I wished I'd
>bought it sooner. It is amazingly good. >I now understand what all you
>lucky people who have seen them live were going on about.
If you think this show is good, I would strongly recommend a copy of the
show at Philadelphia 17 April 81, also available on "Fab Foursome In
Philly". IMHO, this show was wonderful, and the powerful finale of "Cuba"
and "General and Majors" just begs to be cranked to 11 every time!
On to a couple of other threads that I've been dying to involve myself
with, but haven't had e-mail access (until today!!)
I think it was JHB that got involved in a discussion about the meaning of
Another Satellite about a month or so ago. The consensus at the time was
that it was about relationships. Just to throw my two cents in, I've always
thought this song was about overzealous fans that hound Andy, visit him at
home, etc. Just like those of us who subscribe to Chalkhills. ;)
I was also very interested in reading about the nuances in songs. I'd like
to include here some Nuances / things to look for in the videos.
Senses Working Overtime - The slow motion shot of Terry crashing the high
cymbals, and of course the on again / off again neck chain that he's
wearing (or not)
Dear God - The little half smile Andy gives as he's doing his nails and
peering over his glasses and singing about the devil. Also the way he grins
as he sings "us crazy humans".
Life Begins at the hop - The way Colin indicates that Andy is a W*nker by
pretending to masturbate as Andy walks away with the car. (You've got to be
quick!)
Towers of London - the point where Terry loses a drumstick.
Grass - Dave only appears twice - once extremely briefly, but the longer
part is where he's not on grass, but on concrete. Is this a statement?
Any suggestions why this scene is there?
Mole From The Ministry - The little subtle (and some not so subtle)
references to Magical Mystery Tour, I am The Walrus, and Arnold Layne.
Sorry, this is getting way longer than what I believe a first post should
be - please forgive me!
Steve (MGV)
P.S. - Anyone else out there also into Daniel Amos / The Swirling Eddies
please e-mail me!
P.P.S - Looking to trade videos and tapes. I need more XTC, I have plenty
of others - please e-mail me.
Now Playing - Drums and Wires
*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't ask me how I feel - I might really tell you!
(Terry Scott Taylor)
*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------ Date: 29 JAN 97 16:11:55 DST From: PCulnane@dca.gov.au Subject: Emancipation of Dukes Message-ID: <0000kayyyaek.0000issaggcc@dca.gov.au> Hello, Tis the "insane" Culnane of Oz here. Deciding to post 'cos I've got something to say..... 1) Thanx for the mention in 'Hills # 75 Ira! :^) Rest assured, with regard to the Aussie contingent of Chalkies, there's still a fair few of us lurking about and we're on the case. We've got Haines & Van Abbe in Melbourne for a start. These are two splendid chaps and then of course there's me. I only post now when I have something to contribute and here it is (my first post for '97 - THE YEAR OF XtC EMANCIPATION!!!) .....with apologies &/or acknowledgement to O+> 2) I enjoyed John Mietus' first post in issue #75, about the Dukes. I agree with most of your suggestions as to sources of inspiration for the songs on Psonic Psunspot, but would like to posit the following theories: "My Love Explodes" reminds me of The Yardbirds (eg Over Under Sideways Down) - that Eastern-flavoured guitar figure gives it away for me. "in The Year 2525" was by Zager & Evans. Did you really need to know that? "Vanishing Girl" - The Hollies all over, right down to that bands three trademarks - piercing harmony vocals, jangly trebly Rickenbacker guitar, walloping sloppy (but exciting) drum fills "Jackie" - very Syd Barrett (again) to my ears "Little Lighthouse" - also reminiscent of Country Joe & the Fish and that generic 'Frisco/Fillmore sound of the "summer of love" Other than that, I think you got it pretty spot on, John. Happy listening and welcome to the list! I'll get back to you by private e-mail, Ira :-) Oh, and howdy Dom! ....till some other time p@ul-of-oz
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 00:31:37 -0600 (CST) Message-Id: <199701290631.AAA11382@ins1.netins.net> From: JH3 <jh3@netins.net> Subject: More Ripoff Details... Michael D. Myers <mmyers@notes.cc.bellcore.com> sez: >I side with the crowd that says "give us 10 new tunes ASAP, and follow it >up with another one with 10 more." Hey, I just want some great new tunes, >and if they rip us off a little bit to get a few extra sheckles, I don't >mind. They are really the classic starving artists, so it's a fair deal >IMHO. I agree completely! Except for that one part -- they're not ripping us off, they're simply refusing to give their product away for free. At some point in your life you simply decide that you're not going to "play for the exposure" anymore. And what I always say is, if you want to support your fave bands financially, buy their t-shirts. They get to keep almost 100% of the profits on those. Now if they would only print some up... >However, I find it unbelievable that "they just realized that they were only >getting paid for 10 mechanical song licenses per release", as reported >recently in a post to this digest. Actually I said "per disc." And indeed they might have known about it earlier than 1992, but that's the story (rumor? maybe) I heard, and I never read a single *printed* mention of the 10-song limit until Little Express #40, dated Winter 1995. (If anyone knows more, please speak up!) But do read on... >It would seem logical that they were subject to approximately the same >terms and conditions that every other artist lives with for their ENTIRE >career (regarding the 10 mechanical licenses), not just their last 2-3 >albums. You're assuming that they were treated like other artists, when in fact they were treated *even more shabbily!* Did you read the part about how the (industry-imposed) rules changed when everything switched over to CD's? Maybe XTC were just trying to get out of their contract sooner by doing double vinyl LP's, maybe they just had a lot of songs they wanted us to hear. Regardless, once CD's had taken over by 1990 the limits on mechanicals started to kick in where they wouldn't have previously, simply because you can put more songs on a single CD. Other artists who had foolishly signed long-term unbreakable contracts around that time (such as George Michael and Prince) found themselves in similar boats, and if anything their reactions were a lot nastier. At least Andy didn't tattoo the word "SLAVE" on his head. (He'd probably use the word "chattel" anyway.) >How could they not have known that? Are they really that naive? You're overestimating the honesty, accuracy, and legitimacy of record-company accounting practices, generally acknowledged throughout the civilized world as being just short of organized crime in sheer deception and chicanery. And XTC probably are more naive than most -- a lot of bands learn how to avoid getting ripped off by the industry by talking to people in other, more experienced bands while on tour, and since XTC doesn't tour... >Do they have really poor management and legal representation? Until recently, yes. They were ripped off badly by their original manager, Ian Reid; ripped off by Virgin Records who got them to sign a terrible contract in exchange for 400,000 pounds to pay for their ensuing lawsuit with Reid; ripped off by the solicitors who instigated the lawsuit and then negotiated the Virgin deal (supposedly in XTC's interests) mainly in order to grab a huge chunk of the advance money for themselves; and ripped off by the courts, which allowed the legal battle to churn on for so long that it became economically impossible for them to pursue it to the point where they might have actually come out ahead. What's especially galling is that the money Reid spent defending himself from the charges of stealing from XTC was probably the exact same money he stole from them. >Or is the story just misreported such that the real truth is that this >payment issue only became unbearable lately in conjunction with all the >other record company crap? A little of both, I suspect. When they finally started getting decent-sized mechanical royalty checks in the late '80's they were probably so freaked out by the sheer novelty of actually getting money for their work that they didn't ask many questions at the time. It's sort of like when us Americans get a refund from the Internal Revenue Service, we're so shocked that it actually came that we don't always bother to check if it's the right amount. (And the IRS is a paragon of fiscal virtue compared to the music industry...) --John Hedges
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199701291147.DAA05156@dfw-ix8.ix.netcom.com> From: "huduguru" <huduguru@ix.netcom.com> Subject: Re: Love Them Dukes Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 06:46:07 -0500 In Issue 3-75, John Mietus wrote: >"My Love Explodes" - I've never been able to identify who they're doing >here. Anybody? To me, it sounds a lot like The Yardbirds' "Over, Under, Sideways, Down." Check out the guitar intro and the general "rave-up" feel of the whole song. Steve
------------------------------ From: T8903545@donau-uni.ac.at (T8903545) Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 12:49:37 +0000 Subject: chalkies' original music tape and stuff about coming back for mo Message-ID: <19970129114932087.AAA349@pcl_11.donau-uni.ac.at> Hello! I'm finally back after some 4 or 5 months without any e-mail access. Does anyone remeber me, the only XTC-fan in Austria / Europe. My new adress stems from a new university (luckily in my small home-town Krems), the so-called Danube-University, where I was lucky enough to receive a stipendium (I hope this word exists) to study "telematics-management", a post-graduate course held for the very first time in Austria. But enough about me! I hope I'll be back in the old Chalkhills groove soon, as I was a quite frequent participator. I hope the new album(s) will be out soon. Concerning the last few months, I got to say two things: 1. I definitely do like "Papersnow", although I feel it might have been a more interesting composition if AP would have written it alone. Anyway, it's fun to hear Andy sing to a quite un-XTCish arrangement. BTW: What about Jerry Harrison as producer for XTC? 2. In Europe Take That are and were mega-stars. Forget about "Child", but DG did excellent guitar-work on Mark Owen's album, as did producer John Leckie. We should be glad, that DG comes to more households than ever before (although I do not know exact sales figures of Peter Gabriel 3). And maybe with the money he makes/made from it, he needs no more driving vans (as I read in Chris Twomey's book) to earn a living. BTW, Mark Owen is to hit the road soon; does anyone know, if Dave is to play in his live outfit? Ah, I see, it works again. "Gee, it's good to be back home" Best wishes from the heart of Europe Klaus
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 10:45:32 -0500 (EST) From: Natalie Jane Jacobs <gnat@umich.edu> Subject: The Michigan XTC party: LAST CALL Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.970129103536.17977B-100000@stargate.rs.itd.umich.edu> I'm finally starting to pull the Michigan XTC party together and am about to book a room for us to meet in, so if you want to come, PLEASE write to me AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, if you haven't already. I plan on booking the room probably for Feb. 15. I will not be posting about this again so this is your last chance. Write today! A couple of other things... In response to someone who asked, rhetorically, how many of us actually listen to Explode Together regularly - I do. In fact, I listen to it more often than I listen to the Dukes of Stratosphear. "It's the rotary!" Andy wrote the liner notes to a Raymond Scott tribute album? More proof that all cool things in the world are connected. farewell from the snowy north, Natalie Jacobs Visit the Land of Do-As-You-Please! http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gnat
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 09:49:43 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: Lotso responses..... Message-id: <01IES3XBLNQC8ZQEFO@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Tim: That was a damn funny joke! Erich: Actually, I don't like CTD's version of The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead. Ellen Reid is not my favorite singer. Phil: On your top albums list....I totally agree with Jars of Clay, Cracker, Dave Matthews band, the Chieftains, and of course, the Dummies. Marty: Well I certainly love Barenaked Ladies. Ira: Well, I'm posting this to the list anyways! How many times have four or five of us gone over this? If we were to post exclusively XTC stuff, I don't know if we'd get the volume of Chalkhills we've been getting of late, mainly because it's been five goddamn years since we've had any new XTC product, and I for one am wishing on a star that they'd get their arses in gear and give us something! David McG.: Ho ho, very funny. Ha ha, it is to laugh. While I do think that XTC's All You Pretty Girls is better, the Dummies version is not grating or noisy or whatever. Hell, I know of people who'd never heard of XTC who started listening to them because of the Dummies cover versions of their songs, my best friend included. Hell, ANdy seems to like them quite a bit. They give him a helluva lot of free publicity. (Case in point, just go visit the Dummies website and read Dan Roberts marvel abou thow much he loves Colin's bass playing on Nonsuch and O&L. Or read just about any Brad Roberts interview.) Have I done a total 180? I despised Train Running Low on Soul Coal and Leisure when I first heard them. TRLOSC is now one of my favorite songs, and I don't mind Leisure so much anymore. Top 5 Colin songs: My Bird Performs Wonderland I Remember the Sun Cynical Days Wake Up Later, Amanda AMANDA'SXTC song of the day: Deliver Us From the Elements. non XTC song of the day: Finest Worksong (That was when REM was still worth listening to.) What's in my cd player: HOW THE GODS KILL-Danzig, SONGS IN THE KEY OF X, THE BIG EXPRESS (I told you all it never leaves my cd player.), KAMIKAZE RIDE-CTD, THROUGH THE HILL, CHIPS FROM THE CHOCOLATE FIREBALL (People have been pointing out that I have quite an eclectic music taste. I guess I have to agree on that. Where else can you find a 19-year old...well, in a week, actually....who listens to British pop (XTC) 60's music (Monkees) death metal (Danzig), new age (Hearts of Space), and rap (The occasional 2 Live Crew, believe it or not.)???)
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 11:26:44 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: I'm in 7th Heaven right now! Message-id: <01IES7NM7R9Q8ZQEFO@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> I recently acquired ten years worth of old Rolling Stones, dating from late 1986 to last year. I was flipping through a 1989 issue, not really paying too much attention, trying to watch tv at the same time. I had begun to flip the page when I caught a glimpse of long brown hair. I flipped back, and lo and behold, it's the Lads in all their guitar-holding glory! (And Dave looked so damn gorgeous I could've passed out.) Later, Amanda AMANDA'S FAVORITE BUMPERSTICKERS If we aren't supposed to eat animals, how come they're made out of meat? Save the planet. Eat a vegetarian. I love cats. They taste just like chicken. Forget about world peace. Visualise using your turn signal! I didn't get to the top of the food chain to become a vegetarian. You'll have to escuse the harsh tone. I just got finished visiting the PETA (People for Eating Tasty Animals) website and reading the hatemail directed towards the owner of the page, and my blood is boiling at the hypocrisy. All I need to know to keep me from seeing anything positive about animal rights activists, ESPECIALLY anti-vivisectionists, is that Dave Gregory and all the other diabetics out there would not be alive today if it hadn't been for animal experimentation. And if Dave wasn't alive, where would XTC be right now? Thank you, and goodnight. (And don't think I'm trying to start something here.)
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 18:35:27 +0100 (CET) From: James Isaacs <jisaacs1@aixterm1.urz.uni-heidelberg.de> Subject: Recommended Message-Id: <Pine.A32.3.91.970129183024.71767B-100000@aixterm1.urz.uni-heidelberg.de> Well, I have now listened to the Cd by the Suarplastic a few times, and, except for one annoying song about teeth, it is really good. I am not one for recommending CDs, as I have yet to convince many people to listen to XTC, but a new disk out that deserves a warm ear is "Live Art" by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. It is just excellent jazz, and there are a lot of guests such as Branford Marsalis and Chick Corea. Five penguins. (Go 2 is the rare six penguin jobby) James "I have only one thing to say to you...MacBeth!"
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199701291749.JAA22183@sgi.sgi.com> Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 12:42:28 EST From: "Todd Bernhardt" <tbernha@columbiaenergy.e-mail.com> Subject: A response or five Chalk, Chalk, It's ooonly Chalk... >From AMANDA: > Jason: I do believe Mike is back with the band for the tour....but Mike never was my favorite member. Even back in the 60's he seemed to have a bit of an attitude problem. But he's cool, they're all cool.< Maybe his "attitude problem" stemmed from the fact that he was the only one who knew anything about music and could actually play his instrument (though Davey *did* learn to play a mean tambourine :^p ) From: "Michael D. Myers" <mmyers@notes.cc.bellcore.com>: > However, I find it unbelievable that "they just realized that they were only getting paid for 10 mechanical song licenses per release", as reported recently in a post to this digest. It would seem logical that they were subject to approximately the same terms and conditions that every other artist lives with for their ENTIRE career (regarding the 10 mechanical licenses), not just their last 2-3 albums. How could they not have known that? Are they really that naive?< I wondered about that, too, Mike, but then I remembered it's a matter of CDS vs. LPS. Due to their albums' infrequency, CDS really have been the format of choice only for their last 2-3 albums, and there's the rub. From: Stormy Monday <stormymonday@sprintmail.com>: > Many people pay for one cable hookup and then "splice in" other TV's in their home without losing a lick of sleep over it.< Yeah, well, it *is* the cable company, after all... :^) and > Many others have "bootleg" copies of software on their PC's, and really aren't too worried about the software vendor's loss of revenue. And how many of us have paid for every piece of "shareware" that we've ever used?< Well, I, uh, thought that ... um ... a friend did it, so ... say, what's that over there? (exit, stage left) Unfortunately, I think you're right. The only thing working in the artists' favor will be that people will still need a portable medium for listening to music, and the CD does a pretty good job of that. Now, if we all end up with recordable CDS, then they're in trouble... From: Ian C Stewart <stewart@netwalk.com>: > I've had a "special thing" for Cathy since about 1990... many people are mystified by my "relationship" with someone I've never actually MET, considering she's from Norwich in England and I haven't been out of Ohio in a long time. All I can tell you is it's a good thing my wife Bjork isn't the jealous type.< Just as my wife Chrissie Hynde is very understanding about my afPhair with Liz... :^) From: yazbek@panix.com (David Yazbek): >I'm in the middle of my new album, "Tock", and hopefully will start playing out again in the next couple of months. Yes, Partridge is involved- we're attempting to co-write two songs.< Cool! Just make sure you include more than 10 songs... ;^) and >Thanks to everyone who actually bought "The Laughing Man", especially those who liked it.< You're especially welcome. From: kraig olmstead <kraigo@netcommcorp.com>: >[Manu Katche] left Gabriel (Billy Cobham took over - don't get me started on how brilliant he is) but I haven't heard anything about him for a couple of years.< Actually, according to Tony Levin (and he oughta know), MK is on PG's new album, currently in production. From: Ira Lieman <ira@myself.com>: >So far in the past 2 months, three vocal contributors of this list have left. First Paul "Insane" Culnane of Oz, then Dan Prendiville (who contributed TWICE to the Skylacking set), and now Simon Knight. And they haven't left on the most "friendly" terms. They're upset with SOMETHING. This begs the unfortunate question: WHAT'S WRONG HERE? <snip> > You want to know my theory? We're straying a little too far from the topics at hand.< Oh, you angry young man, you :^) I'm going to disregard your "instructions" and reply here, since I think this does involve everyone. I don't see much of a problem with "off-topic" discussions. I was rather amused that these people so petulantly announced their departures; it was like, "I'll show them. I'll *leave*!" Reminds me of the suicide victim's logic, but who ends up worse off? I enjoy the collateral information I glean from this list. If a topic doesn't interest me, I use the page-down key. That's what it's for. At the same time, I've learned about a lot of great music (see Yazbek, above) from various posts, and it's been interesting to read about other people's points of view of a variety of subject, even if I don't agree with those POVs and even if they're not always presented in the most articulate manner. Yeah, it's easy to get frustrated with off-topic postings, but hey, XTC hasn't put out an album in quite a while, and it would be boring if we discussed nothing *but* the band, IMO. But hey, I hope your post doesn't mean *you're* thinking of leaving, Ira; there's a place on this list for an angry young man... ;^) And finally, from: david.mcguinness@bbc.co.uk (David McGuinness): > When you hear [Todd's] tracks in the context of other XTC stuff, they really just sound tinny and horrible. Has anyone bought the 24-carat gold CD of this? Does it sound any better???< Only a little, but it makes the mix more bearable, so I got one. I wouldn't call Todd an "amateurish" engineer, but he shore does like his midrange! That's all from this Todd. Sorry for the length. ByeBye!
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 12:57:14 -0700 From: Craig Larson <Craig_L@TSJC.CCCOES.EDU> Subject: Top Albums of '96 Message-id: <01BC0DE3.F6F1A4A0@LarsonC.tsjc.cccoes.edu> Even though albums aren't technically made anymore, it's hard to refer to these as my "top CDs of '96." Anyway, here they are (in no particular order): 1. Semisonic, Great Divide 2. Failure, Fantastic Planet 3. Meat Beat Manifesto, Subliminal Sandwich 4. Ocean Colour Scene, Moseley Shoals 5. Future Sound of London, Dead Cities 6. Weezer, Pinkerton 7. 808 State, Don Solaris 8. Dead Can Dance, Spiritchaser 9. Trainspotting soundtrack 10. Garbage, Garbage (actually from '95, but one of my favorites in '96) Craig Larson
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #3-76 ******************************
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