Chalkhills Digest Volume 3, Issue 90
Date: Monday, 17 March 1997
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 3, Number 90
Monday, 17 March 1997
Today's Topics:
vinyl plus disc for sale
The New Musician Magazine
News from LE
Skeptical Cats CD: a good one!
Praise, threats and, well, praise
Mick, Mike, same difference!
Peter Swindonhead
Re: Rolling Stone review of "Skylarking"
Big Beach Boys ?
XTC videos
Alright, enough Dave Gregory is God
More Rolling Stone reviews
And here are the eight votes I actually received.....
Startling facts.....
going to Swindon, the McCartneys and David D
"Punk Diary" intervies
"XTC, by Microsoft???"
Paperback Writer
Stuff
Undeliverable Thank yous!!!!!
Rolling Stone Bashing, Girls and XTC
XTC over Spring Break
Sgt Rock
Administrivia:
To UNSUBSCRIBE from the Chalkhills mailing list, send a message to
<chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org> with the following command:
unsubscribe chalkhills
For all other administrative issues, send a message to:
<chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org>
Please remember to send your Chalkhills postings to:
<chalkhills@chalkhills.org>
World Wide Web: <http://chalkhills.org/>
The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors.
Talk and let your mind loose.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tom.Ragatz@state.mn.us Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 12:16:51 -0600 Message-Id: <97031212165178@lafb.ag.state.mn.us> Subject: vinyl plus disc for sale Can't wait for the new xtc album(s?). In the meantime, my record player died, and I've got some records that need a good home. Specifically, 12" singles: Ball and Chain; Love on a Farm Boy's Wages; Go+. The first two both have tracks not available on cd. 7" singles: Sgt. Rock; Ten Feet Tall. Both have picture sleeves. Shipping vinyl is a pain, so I'd like to sell these all to the same person. E-mail me if interested. Best offer above $20 gets 'em. I'll throw in a Black Sea button/badge. I've also got a copy of The Compact XTC (on cd, obviously), that I'll sell to the best offer over $6. I'll throw in a Drums and Wires button/badge. (Also, 2 non-xtc discs: The Very Best of Orange Juice and The Comsat Angels- BBC sessions. Both 70+ min. imports. E-mail if interested.) Tom tom.ragatz@state.mn.us
------------------------------ Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.19970313033723.00675514@pop.mindspring.com> Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 22:37:23 -0500 From: JES <xtc@mindspring.com> Subject: The New Musician Magazine Features a story on favorite songs by certain artists. Andy is quoted as liking "Autnum Almanac" by the Kinks as his favorite song of all time. Quoth the Partridge: "Damn I wish I had written this song. I'll probably spend all of my life trying to. It's such a huge ghost; my entire songwriting career has been trying to exorcise it." -- jes can be found at.... http://www.lexxicon.com/tenbyjes.htm
------------------------------ From: Joe_Jarrett@nybe.north-york.on.ca (Joe Jarrett) Subject: News from LE Date: 13 Mar 1997 04:01:13 GMT Message-Id: <4321278.116548573@nybe.north-york.on.ca> Organization: North York Board of Education Greetings all, Just got off the phone with Peter Dix from the Little Express. He sends his regrets and best wishes to everyone on Chalkhills. He is well but explains that the LE is in sort of hibernation. He feels bad that this is the longest gap between issues of the LE. They have some recent shots of the boys and some articles but with no firm news to pass on they feel they don't have enough up to date material to publish the next issue (#41). Therein lies the rub, they realize that as fast as they hear news other people are also in touch with the boys and they post news immediately to Chalkhills. Therefore they can longer be the news source because they cannot get the issues out fastest enough to compete with Chalkhills. So they have readjusted their outlook to being a source of in depth news source complete with new photos, articles and some interview material from their talks and correspondence with the band. So there will be a new LE soon but Peter was in England a few weeks ago and talked to Colin who suggested that there might be some news in the next few weeks. So the wait for positive news for all of us starved fans goes on! Anyway the news about the search for a new recording contract seems to be that XTC are treading very carefully this time out. They are taking things very slowly and cautiously so as to not get themselves into the same bind as before. They are trying to make sure that they can maintain ownership of their songs this time. Apparently they have something set up with a publishing company for distribution in the UK. Billy Bragg is involved with the same company which involves some sort of profit sharing set up. Now they are working on a deal in the States. Paul Bailey and Dave Gregory are coming over soon to see if they can work something out. Let's hope something happens soon! Great news for UK fans: there will be an XTC Convention in England this spring! The guy organizing it is Mike Foster and the date is May 24th. He has advertised in Q Magazine and Mojo. He asked the Little Express to include the info in their next issue but since there won't be one for a while, Peter asked me to post it here. For further information contact Mike at 41 Coronation Road, Basingstoke, Hants, RG21 4EZ, England. The location is about an hour north of London. Anyone who attends or finds out more information, please post it for all to read. That's it for now, take care and be patient, hopefully the wait will eventually be well rewarded.
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 23:53:47 -0600 (CST) From: "Jeffrey with 2 f's Jeffrey" <jenor@csd.uwm.edu> Subject: Skeptical Cats CD: a good one! Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.970312234007.16533A-100000@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu> A while back (quite a while back), Nick Mitchell of this list asked me if I'd like to review his band's CD. i said, yeah, sure, send it along. Finally, I've found time to actually write up a few words about it (betcha thought I'd forgotten ya, Nick...) Skeptical Cats' _Record Record_ (that's the verb first, the noun second: i.e., what we all wish Andy et al would do) is a fine piece of whatever material CDs are made from. The opening track, "Upside Down," has found its way onto several comp tapes I've made for myself & others - kind of They Might Be Giants/XTC songwriting in a kind of "Good Vibrations" song structure (doesn't sound BB-ish, though). While featuring consistently hummable melodies, the album doesn't skimp on the creativity and variety in arrangement: heard at various points are clarinets, flutes, a wide variety of keyboard & guitar sounds, lotsa percussion, etc. "Soup for One" is one of a couple songs that suggest older, piano-based Todd Rundgren might have been an influence (this is a good thing, for the younger members of our listening audience). Other faves: the "Walrus"-esque sampled cellos & orchestra sounds coloring "Don't Call Us," the melancholy "Border" (ummm...I think that's what I wrote! The CD's elsewhere - I *can* tell you it's a good song, whether melancholy or military or Moulding-holy...), and, one of the better lines I've heard in a while (in "Easy Street"): "Where's that mythical feeling that I saw on TV?" Not everything grabs me - the cheesy litefunk sax and poppin', slappin' bass that drive "Sour Grapes" are annoying, even if they are intended parodically in a song slashing at the record industry & overhyped talentless sellouts. But overall, Skeptical Cats not only have a prety good CD here, they suggest that there's more where this one's come from. The disc lists the band's website as being at www.erinet.com/musnick/cat.html - email Nick at musnick@erinet.com Of *course* this review is objective - just because Nick promised me a Lexus full of $1000 bills and a date with Uma Thurman, that doesn't mean I'd say I liked it if I didn't.... --Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n Department of English http://www.uwm.edu/~jenor/ 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?"::::::::::::::::::::::::
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199703132103.NAA20134@sgi.sgi.com> Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 15:57:17 EST From: "Todd Bernhardt" <tbernha@columbiaenergy.e-mail.com> Subject: Praise, threats and, well, praise Hiya, chalkaholix: Well, allow me to be one of what I'm sure will be many saying that Peter Fizpatrick now joins Mitch Friedman in the pantheon of Chalkhills uberhumans. Thankyouthankyouthankyou for the first-hand report. I hope you realize what you've gotten yourself into, though, Peter. I mean, now you're OBLIGATED to keep us updated on all those tantalizing tidbits you dangled in front of our salivating, eager faces. And you better do it -- you don't want to get us all mad. I mean ... Microsoft -- that's a nice company you work for, Peter. You wouldn't want anything to HAPPEN to it, now, would you? ;^) And Simon said: > When I think about what I've achieved in my thirty years, and the potential within me (a dirty great seeping zero on both counts)< Hey, you! Just cut that out right now! First of all, the far side of 30 ain't so bad -- it's what you make it, after all. Just make sure you ain't no puppy doing what you're told. Secondly, you've brought more than one smile to this fan's face -- I'd say you go to 11. Elvis C. might say you're feeling less than zero. But you ain't no zero!! One of the things I like about this list is that we all are perceptive enuf to enjoy one of the finer things in life -- the music and lyrics of XTC. That makes us all special. Group hug, everybody! *sob* `(&-\)= And you and Dave G. cut it out right now! I'm getting in trouble at work for laughing out loud at yer posts! ByeBye!
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 13:44:34 -0800
Message-Id: <l03020900af4e22c68942@[146.6.72.49]>
From: jason garcia <h.h.name@mail.utexas.edu>
Subject: Mick, Mike, same difference!
Hi-deli-ho,
>You sure? I'm not a Beatles or McCartney fan by any means so I could be
>wrong here, but wasn't Paul's brother Mick McCartney in the Beatles?
>Maybe he copied 'Jet' off him, and sugarplastic copied both of them.
?!??!?!? First off, it's MIKE McCartney, and 2, he wasn't in the
Beatles! Either there's a big typo here somewhere or you've been
unconscious for the last 30 years :)...on that "Jet" reference, it's
the way the guitars sound during the slide bit at the end.
>what have you guys got against the beach boys ?
Nothing, for about seven or eight songs. After that, though, I'm needin'
a good dose of Beatles to set me straight. I've heard "Pet Sounds", and
save for a few songs ("Wouldn't it Be Nice", "God Only Knows", and "Good
Vibrations" - not on the album but of that period) it's really fluffy.
Kinda reminds me of Prefab Sprout (!) [man I'm gonna get it for that one]
To Peter: Thanks for the Andy info! Feel like I'm getting closer to my
idol all the time. Waiting with baited trousers for the scoop on the
mysterious "project".
Spring is in the air,
Jason
------------------------------
Message-Id: <v03007803af4e234341c6@[204.188.80.158]>
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 11:56:48 -1000
From: Jim Smart <jimsmart@hula.net>
Subject: Peter Swindonhead
Peter:
I really enjoyed your account of your Partridge encounter. You are indeed
very lucky. Please post your web page address in Chalkhills when you've
posted those scribbled CD covers....The band Jellyfish did a similiar thing
to my copy of Spilt Milk. I'm glad Andy liked the Skylacking tape...I've
enjoyed my copy quite a bit. Gives me courage to give the tape we made over
on the Kinks List to Ray Davies when I go to his show on April 6.....will
he be so kind? I'm not so sure.
Whoa, Kathy Lee Gifford as the producer of the next XTC album...that's
quite a concept. Made me spit my breakfast all over the screen.
I like the Jewish Beatle thing too. I'd rather read 'em than make 'em up,
though.
TO Kate: Swindon is in the south west, between high tourism spots Bath,
Stonehenge, and the Cotswolds. It's near the big horse on the hill, a la ES.
Jim
Jimsmart@hula.net Honolulu, Hawaii USA
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*Anotherwords*
'And so you see I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true,
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.''
-Paul Simon, 'Kathy's Song'
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 97 17:21:09 EST
From: jh@metheny.brainiac.com (Joe Hartley)
Message-Id: <9703132221.AA26215@metheny>
Subject: Re: Rolling Stone review of "Skylarking"
I read with interest the post of RS's review of Skylarking, and then it
all came back to me like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist.
Rob Tannenbaum, the author of this particular review, and I worked together
for a couple of years ('81-'83, my few remaining brain cells from that era
tell me) at WBRU, the FM radio station affiliated with Brown University
in Providence, RI.
I'm sure that Rob was born to be a critic. It's in his blood.
Unfortunately, it tends to manifest itself in that all-too-common
type of criticism where you must find fault, any fault, with what
the reviewer is reviewing.
Now, some of these points are true; "Earn Enough for Us" *does* recycle
the theme of "Love on a Farmboy's Wages." But I think that Rob's
biggest problem came from the fact that he just loved XTC from _White
Music_ through _English Settlement_, and had a hard time coming to
grips with the shift to hearth, home and the countryside.
As for the apparent turnabout on the part of RS, it must be remembered
that one reviewer's opinion does not define the entire music department's
opinion. The "100 best albums" list was a combined effort on the part of
RS's music department, and others seem to have liked "Skylarking" more
than Rob Tannenbaum did - and maybe the album grew on Rob after 3 years!
Rob Tannenbaum is currently a Contributing Editor at Details magazine -
a rag that manages to pack eight interesting pages a month into 172 pages
of crap and ads for clothing that no one would ever actually wear.
========================================================================
Joe Hartley - jh@brainiac.com - brainiac services, inc
PO Box 5069 : Greene, RI : 02827 - vox 401.539.9050 : fax 401.539.2070
Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199703140041.BAA08487@utrecht.knoware.nl> From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl> Organization: The Little Lighthouse Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 01:46:09 +0000 Subject: Big Beach Boys ? Chalkers, Jon said this about the Beach Boys : > I don't know of you are aware of how popular they were here in the > UK in the mid/late60's, a very influential time in Partridge et > al's musical development. Yes, that's true but according to the Man Himself he did not "discover" or "get into" the B.B. until the time between Skylarking and Psonic Psunspot. bye, Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse http://utopia.knoware.nl/~mmello ===> Mark's Random XTC Quote <=== I said it doesn't really matter where you part your hair
------------------------------
From: GTR80@aol.com
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 23:41:27 -0500 (EST)
Message-ID: <970313234126_605297523@emout03.mail.aol.com>
Subject: XTC videos
First off I must say that this newsletter is actualy pretty
interesting. Thanks! This is my first posting so........
First off, does XTC have any videos out? I don't mean videos on MTV,
I mean videocasettes. Can you someone help me? Also, someone wrote about
XTC being for boys. Sure i'm a guy, but the person who introduced me to XTC
is a girl! Anything that has to do about anything could be for girls and
boys. Also, I hear you guys talking alot about demo tapes. What demo tapes?
I don't have any. One other thing, are you guys all adults? You sound like
it. I'm only 16. There is nothing wrong about that because I believe age is
just a number though. Oh, one other thing... OMNIBUS IS GREAT!
Gerardo Tellez
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 08:36:01 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA CARYL OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: Alright, enough Dave Gregory is God Message-id: <01IGHIHFA9HM8XHAXX@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> I'm sick of people asking me "Who's Dave Gregory?" SO know you get my full name. I've also read the Skylarking review in Rolling Stone. People seem to forget how intensely hypocritical this magazine is. Such as the mess with writing a lukewarm Sky reivew then putting in the top 100 albums of the 80's with such a glorious write-up. AND, this magazine that abhorred the antics of Tipper Gore whilst she was head of the PMRC (the group responsible for record stickering in the US) threw their full support behind her husband Al for the VP race, much to the amusement and chagrin of RS readers. A few responses.... Peter-You met Andy Partridge and didn't mention the mad poster of Chalkhills who worships Dave Gregory? I'm hurt! :( Just kidding of course. The closest I've come to meeting a celeb is Downtown Julie Brown, and I was NOT impressed. Stephanie-Actually, I belong to a Crash Test Dummies mailing list and for a short time I was on a Monkees mailing list. SO why do I belong to these three lists????? Well because Dave Gregory is the Father, Brad Roberts is the Son, and David Duchovny is the Holy Spirit! The CTD and XTC lists are my only real outlet to my two favorite bands, and it's fun to see how many other girls out there go crazy for shots of David Duchovny in teeny weeny red Speedos. And if you had a three hour break between your morning class and evening class at college, you'd have a lot of time on your hands to muck around with the net too. Tidbit-I took a book out on Mystic Places from the library, it's book of places that are haunted, or really ancient, and there was a picture of the Uffington (or is it Uffingdon?) Horse...you know, the cover of English Settlement? It's beautiful. It's about the size of a football field. I'd love to go to Swindon one of these days to see it. (Or go to England in general, it's such a haunted country according to these books.) Later, Amanda Je me souviens le soleil
------------------------------
Message-ID: <c=US%a=_%p=AETNA%l=AETNA/AETNA/004613F0@aetna.aetna.com>
From: "Witter, Karl F" <witterkf@aetna.com>
Subject: More Rolling Stone reviews
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 11:34:00 -0500
I was a bit late to the party with the Rolling Stone Skylarking reviews,
both from 3/87 and the "Top 100 Albums of the '80s", but I didn't wade
through 3 tons of my fiancee's old RSs for nothing.
I also noted that "Top 100 of the '80s" credited a list of writers
including Rob Tannenbaum (writer of the original which is not admired in
these parts), David Fricke (who may have written "The Year in Records"
bit
for 1987), and Michael Azerrad (reviewer of O&L). We'll never know how
Skylarking went from "ultimately unsatisfying" to #48 of the decade,
will
we ;-)?
(To Chalkhillmeister Relph: Snip as you see necessary.)
________________________________________________________________
Skylarking - XTC
Psonic Psunspot - The Dukes of Stratosphear
(From "The Year in Records", crediting David Fricke on first page but
individual synopses not credited, Rolling Stone, 12/17/87-12/31/87.)
With these two dazzling son-of-Pepper platters, the English pop wags
XTC beat the Summer of Love nostalgia peddlers at their own
game. Produced by Todd Rundgren, Skylarking evoked the lush, bucolic
allure of English springtime with earthy acoustic guitars, willow
strings and a playful paisley surrealism, like a Beatlesque Barnyard
Mystery Tour spkied with singer-guitarist Andy Partridge's bittersweet
lyric musings. Psonic Psunspot, the work of XTC's acid alter ego, the
Dukes of Stratosphear, was simply a loving mimicry of eccentric
British post-Pepper pop, its campy parodies of bands like Pink Floyd
and the Move authentically executed with all the tricks of the time -
Mellotron, fun-house sound effects and daffy songs titles like
"Collideascope," which just about says it all.
________________________________________________________________
Heading: "XTC's Paternal Power Pop"
(Review by Michael Azerrad, Rolling Stone, 3/23/89)
Oranges and Lemons - XTC (Rated **** out of five)
More than a decade ago, XTC was very much the challenging Britsh New
Wave band, making hyperactive, abrasive music+the group's 1978 debut
LP was called, appropriately enough, White Music. On ingenious
middle-period albums like Black Sea (1980) and English Settlement
(1982), XTC metamorphosed into the quintessential quirky pop group,
all the while fleshing out its sound as the group delved further and
further into the possibilities of the recording studio - XTC's only
forum since the band stopped touring in 1982. XTC's endlessly clever
records and tight, self- contained singles won a following of fnas and
critics whose fanatacism almost made up for the band's lackluster
sales figures. On Skylarking (1986), Andy Partridge, the band's main
lead singer and writer, let a more melodious streak - as well as a
dash of sentimentality - come to the fore, which broadened XTC's
audience. In the process, the band has accomplished the remarkable
feat of pulling the kinks out of its music without sacrificing its
peerless originality. The band members have become the deans of a
group of artists who make what can only be described as unpopular pop
music, placing a high premium on melody and solid if idiosyncratic
songcraft. Throughout their long career, the members of XTC have made
consistently excellent music, and Oranges and Lemons, happily, finds
them at the height of their considerable powers.
Ambitious, and ultimately delightful, Oranges and Lemons is XTC's
ninth album (tenth, if you count Psonic Psunspot, an affectionate
psychedelic sendup the band recorded two years ago as the Dukes of
Stratosphear, who also have an EP to their name). It's difficult to
determine whether the beauty of this album stems from the exquisite
constuction of the songs, the indelible melodies or the relentlessly
benevolent mood of the lyrics. Oranges and Lemons is preoccupied with
the joys and tribulations of fatherhood and the state of the world
today's children are entering - Partridge is the father of two young
children, ages three and one. When someone sings, "I love you," on
this album, it's as likely to be directd at offspring as at a lover:
"Garden of Earlthly Delights," "Mayor of Simpleton," "Hold Me My
Daddy," "Pink Thing," and "Chalkhills and Children" all hinge on
parent-child relationships. But the music is far from treacly as it
wanders through Peter Max rock ("Mayor of Simpleton"), McCartneyesque
pop ("Pink Thing") and leisurely jazz fusion ("Miniature Sun").
Though it has always managed to steer clear of Beatlemania territory,
XTC has become increasingly open about the Fab Four's influence, while
still remaining very much its own band. Never mind the Yellow
Submarine-like album cover, listen to ther "Penny Lane" trumpets in
"Merely a Man" and to "Here Comes President Kill Again," with its
mddle eight straight out of the White Album. In fact, it could be
argued that if Skylarking was XTC's Sgt. Pepper, then Oranges and
Lemons is its White Album.
Producer Paul Fox let the band members indulge themselves a little
more than did Todd Rundgren, who clashed with them over the making of
Skylarking. For one thing, this fifty-eight-minute, fifteen-track
marvel is a double album. And where Skylarking was lush and pastoral,
Oranges and Lemons has a generally harsher, noisier sound that recalls
the band's earlier work. On first listening to the album, XTC's
melodies seem overwhelmed by the densely layered arrangements and
center-stage percussion. But on repeated listenings, the curtains part
and hooks are all you hear, thanks in no small part to Dave Gregory's
tasty guitar fills, marvels of elegance that use a wide-ranging
palette of sounds.
Oranges and Lemons was recorded in L.A., about as foreign an
environment as one could imagine for these inveterate Englishmen, and
the city's hustle and bustle must account for the album's bright, busy
atmosphere. Fittingly, the most gentle song on the album, "Chalkhills
and Children", is an ode to the band's native southern England. The
title of the record itself comes from an old English children's rhyme
(which figured prominently in George Orwell's 1984 as a reminder of
old England).
"Mayor of Simpleton" is Partridge's New Wave update of Sam Cooke's
"Wonderful World." Whereas Cooke didn't "know much about biology,"
Partidge admits he's "never been near a university...but I know
one/Thing and that's I love you." He goes on to say that he doesn't
"know how to write a big hit song," which may well be true. But XTC's
second songwriter and inventive bassist, Colin Moulding, gives it his
best shot on the very next track. Similar in sound and sentiment to
Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." the incandescent
"King for a Day" sounds like the massive hit XTC has waited years for.
The Dukes of Stratosphear records, on which XTC looked back in
fondness to the Sixties, seem like etudes for Oranges and
Lemons. Having studied the brush strokes of told master such as the
Beatles, the Hollies and Pink Floyd, XTC has effortlessly incorporated
them into its own artful music. XTC's roots aren't in the Mississippi
Delta, the honky-tonks of Nashville or the blues joints on the South
side of Chicago; they're in the grand tradition of British pop, and
finally, in a grand tradition of their own.
____________________________________________________________
All typos are original work of the transcribbler.
We've seen flying saucers, flying cups, and flying plates,
Karl
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 11:24:31 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA CARYL OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: And here are the eight votes I actually received..... Message-id: <01IGHO8NMGQM8XFIZP@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Thanks to Mark, Becki, Rojer, Karl, Jerry, and whoever else voted. (I forget, sorry!) FAVORITE XTC VIDEO-Funk Pop a Roll (2 votes), Dear God, Human Alchemy, The Mole From the Ministry, All Of a Sudden (It's Too Late), Ball and Chain LEAST FAVORITE XTC VIDEO-King For a Day (2 votes), Ball and Chain (2 votes), The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, This Is Pop? Towers of London GOOFIEST XTC VIDEO-Generals and Majors (2 votes), Grass, Respectable Street, Making Plans For Nigel, Are You Receiving Me?, The Mayor of Simpleton, The Mole From the Ministry (Oh yeah, John! You voted too!) BEST VISUAL-Human Alchemy (3 votes), The Disappointed, The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, Dear God, Ball and Chain, The Mayor of Simpleton WORST VISUAL-Life Begins At the Hop (3 votes), Senses Working Overtime, All Of a Sudden (It's Too Late), King For a Day, Statue of Liberty BEST CONCEPT-Dear God (3 votes), All Of a Sudden (It's Too Late), Grass, The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, Mayor of Simpleton WORST CONCEPT-Generals and Majors (2 votes), Are You Receiving Me?, Senses Working Overtime, Funk Pop a Roll, King For a Day, The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead One person who responded had never seen an XTC video. So there you have it...this is how myself and John and Karl and Rojer and Mark (Strijbos) and Becki and Jerry all feel about XTC videos. BTW-Treck on over to the Chalkhills classifieds and look at the Wants/Trades. I've just posted a list of everything I own that has to do with XTC that is up for trade. (With the exception of videos, since I haven't the facilities to copy videocassette tapes, sorry to say.) I am always willing to tape things and ship them off without asking for anything in return, because I'm a nice gal. So read my list, if you see anything you like, email me and we'll talk. And while you're at it, look at my list of DESPERATE WANTS. If you have anything on it, PLEASE EMAIL ME! Later, Amanda Je me souviens le soleil
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 11:49:13 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA CARYL OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: Startling facts..... Message-id: <01IGHPHRU1L48XIX0R@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> I just read that Andy had some sort of ear infection that rendered him deaf.... does anyone know if the damage in his right ear is permanent or what???? Later, Amanda (Yes, you can count on that always.) Je me souviens le soleil
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 15:09:06 +1300 (NZDT) Message-Id: <v01540b0caf506be258b0@[139.80.25.192]> From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: going to Swindon, the McCartneys and David D Kate asked: >>Anyway, I will be in London in about two weeks, and I just realized that I do not have a clue how to get into Swindon! So, if anyone has any suggestions....(the person I am visisting doesn't know either).<< the easiest way would be by train from Paddington. If you want to go by road, though, get onto the A4 in London (it's Cromwell Road at some part of its length, but I think it actually starts at Piccadilly) - take it until the start of the M4 at Kew Bridge/Chiswick. Go straight down the M4, take the turn off (no. 15) onto the A419 about 70 miles from London. You'll be about 2 miles from Swindon. There you go, directions from the other side of the planet! Paul Haines wrote: >>You sure? I'm not a Beatles or McCartney fan by any means so I could be wrong here, but wasn't Paul's brother Mick McCartney in the Beatles? Maybe he copied 'Jet' off him, and sugarplastic copied both of them.<< sigh. Mike McGear (stage name of MIKE McCartney) was in the Scaffold. Chief claim to fame, writing "Lily the Pink". It's a little shocking to realise that there are people out there who don't know who was in the Beatles. Maybe I'm just getting old. Still, I won't be too hard on you - after all you have to suffer living in Oz :) "Jet", BTW, was on "Band on the Run", by Wings. >>In response to all the postings by Amanda (and you've calmed down a bit lately), I'd like to pnder why you're on a David Duchovny mailing list and an XTC mailing list. You must not have anything else to do but post to mailing lists and then read the resulting muddle. Hmmm.....<< perhaps she posts to any X-list: XTC, X-files, Xmal Deutsch, Xebec, Xenobiology, Xhosa and Xyst, among others James PS - anyone know any good xanthochroid jokes?
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 23:23:54 -0600
Message-Id: <v02110101af4f8cd42225@[144.92.183.118]>
From: jhackney@facstaff.wisc.edu (John M. Hackney)
Subject: "Punk Diary" intervies
Chalkhillians,
This evening radio station WORT here in Madison played an interview
(or at least part of one) with Andy Partridge. From what I heard, he was
discussing the origin of the "Science Friction" EP. He mentioned that the
source of the title song was his intense fear, during childhood, of
celestial bodies in the night sky.
The interview was on a CD that was included with a book entitled
"Punk Diaries". I've seen this book in 2nd-hand bookstores, knew that it
included at least some mention of XTC, but had never heard the CD. I don't
know the author(s) of this book.
Maybe this is a case where I've just not paid attention to previous
postings (this happens frequently), but does anyone know anything about the
extent of the interview on this CD? Is it possible for someone to
transcribe it for sharing with others? I checked out the discography and,
unless I'm missing something, there seems to be no mention of this CD in
the "interviews" category.
John
------------------------------ From: BRJohnson1@aol.com Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 01:22:09 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <970315012208_-1438793649@emout11.mail.aol.com> Subject: "XTC, by Microsoft???" Anyone else notice that Peter Fitzpatrick, the lucky dude who got to meet Andy and hang out in the shed, appears to work for Microsoft? If i know my domain names, you only have "@Microsoft.Com" if you're actually in the employ of Billy Gates. And since it sounds like his employer has money to throw around, that fits as well. My personal guess is that Andy will become one of those little Help guys that gives you assistance in Office 97. Or maybe he'll record the start-up sound to Windows 97 (didn't Eno record the one for Win 95??? I know Gates is a big Eno fan.) On a completly unrelated side note, does the guy who drives the green Saturn in Fairfax County, VA, with the XTC_BLKC license plates read Chalkhills? I am the guy in the white VW Golf who almost drove off Braddock Road Friday night when I saw your plates. Pretty cool. There was something else but I forgot. Oh well. Brad
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 06:42:57 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199703151142.GAA22144@cyber1.servtech.com> From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com> Subject: Paperback Writer >I tend to agree with Paul Haines' view. To me, the song is frighteningly >reminiscent of Paperback, particularly the harmony vocal parts. Where's the resemblance? PW has some defining characteristics -- that excellent bassline and drums in one channel w/ the guitar in the other, and the "single note" vocals, among others, none of which are really present in "Another Myself." Even the "layout" of the song is different. >Schindler's List (I've watched this movie in its entirety for three days in >a row. I can't get enough of it.) Well.....Naaaaaah. I'll let someone else have this one. /-------------Joshua Hall-Bachner-------------Chaos Harlequin-------------\ | particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ | |"We all have our idiosyncracies -- maybe thinning hair, or gum disease." | \---- Kowanko, "Will You Come To?" ------ Thank You, And Goodnight. ------/
------------------------------ Message-ID: <17gOrDAsyyKzEwAP@emdac.demon.co.uk> Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 23:11:40 +0000 From: Phil Hetherington <phil@emdac.demon.co.uk> Subject: Stuff Not much XTC content here, sorry. Going back a few issues, Ira said: >Well, thanks to Brian Carter (wow...a real Swindonian on the XTC list! >Maybe it's really AndyDaveColin in disguise...) for clearing up that thing >about terraced houses. I might assume that in the US they would be called >"semiattached" houses -- they are connected by a common wall to the next >house. If it's in a row, then you could drop the semi- from that statement. It sounds like what you'd call "semiattached" are what we'd call "semi-detached" or just "semis". Moving upmarket, you get "detached" houses. >Too bad the only relatively famous person that I know of that (I think) >lives in Hoboken is Freedy Johnston. And I've never bumped into him. I believe Yo La Tengo are from Hoboken. Shame on you if you don't have anything by your local band! I'd recommend 'Painful' and 'Electr-O- Pura' for starters. I'd recommend another one too, but I've forgetten the name of it. Whilst I'm posting, a few odds & ends: - Am I the only person who thinks the new Ben Folds Five album is pretty disappointing? On the first album we had some sublime moments (like 'Boxing') and some brilliant lyrics (like 'The Last Polka'); now we get "give me my money back you bitch" etc. over some rather dated sounding wannabe grunge. I hope I'll change my mind. (I do like 'Kate' though). - Everyone must buy 'Beautiful Freak' by Eels immediately. Why did I wait the few weeks for a UK release? If I'd bought it on import last year, it would have been my favourite of '96; as it is JJ Cale's prize is awarded and now the damn thing doesn't qualify for '97. Who makes these stupid rules anyway? :-) Anyway, Eels are strange and interesting, and most of all brilliant. I refuse to describe anyone as being 'like XTC', but I see similarities in approach, if not results. If anyone disagrees I'll sulk. There. - Someone mentioned White Town (who's real name I can't spell, but it's something like Jyoti Mishra) as being from England. Well, although he's based in Derby (East Midlands; about 15 miles from where I'm sitting in fact), he's originally from India. I think he may be the first Indian artist to get a UK #1 single, but don't quote me on that. Don't have the album, just 'Your Woman' which is great, but I suspect a one off. - Currently blasting into my ears: 'Blissed Out' by The Beloved. Except it just stopped. Well, my dad wants his computer back, which is fortunate because I'm blathering. :-) Later, -- Phil Hetherington
------------------------------ From: HENTOE@aol.com Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 00:34:15 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <970316003415_1550765209@emout10.mail.aol.com> Subject: Undeliverable Thank yous!!!!! First, thanks to all who had great advice as to how to get to Swindon!!!!! Second, I need the addresses of Rob & Katie and Jon Monnick to personally thank them for the demos!!!! if I can't get these, then I thank you now! THANK YOU!!!!! and it is off to Swindon for me! -kate
------------------------------ From: BraincsDtr@aol.com Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 23:41:46 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <970315234145_-936039935@emout13.mail.aol.com> Subject: Rolling Stone Bashing, Girls and XTC Rolling Stone is a fashion magazine with occasional articles about music. The tone of RS is always kind of a 'hipper-than-thou' arrogance. I use to subscribe to it, but got tired of all the cologne ads giving me headaches. I think the Skylarking 'debacle' and eventual backtrack cover-up good reviews (best of the 80s and O&L) were done because they screwed up big time, not initially recognizing a classic album when they heard one. I haven't gone so far as ban RS to the birdcage (so My Bird can Perform) but I haven't bought an issue in years (why? no XTC). From time to time I'll scan through an issue on the newsstand, read the 'News' section and record reviews, put it back and be on my merry way. By the way, XTC isn't a guy thing...I love this band!! And I became a fan on my own...no insistant requests or influence from a boyfriend, fiance, husband, whatever. I hope you're proud of me! Laurie Collins
------------------------------
Message-ID: <332C8F38.2DD1@ou.edu>
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 18:24:24 -0600
From: Heather Tinkler <bluecanary@ou.edu>
Organization: The University of Oklahoma
Subject: XTC over Spring Break
Greeting all!
I just got back from a week of Spring Break and so I actually have
stuff to say!
#1 On our way to Dallas Richard (my boyfriend) and I listened to
Squirrel Nut Zippers (his) and Drums & Wires (my latest addition) It
turns out that he doesn't really like XTC.. but he does like
Skylarking!.. but he thinks that much of XTC's early punk like stuff
sounds like Rolling Stones. Geez.
On a related note I love the Helicopter song!!!
#2 At Six Flags some of the concesion stands sold something called a
"Pink Thing". I tried to explain to Richard what was so funny, but he
just doesn't understand.
um, thats all for now. thanks.
Heather
------------------------------ From: G.BAKER@lse.ac.uk Date: Mon, 17 Mar 97 15:21:45 GMT Message-Id: <9702178586.AA858641598@smtplink.lse.ac.uk> Subject: Sgt Rock Hi, I am new to the list but have a question regarding 'Seargent Rock', sorry if its been asked before... I was wondering if Sgt Rock is based on a charater, of the same name, from a 1950's Samual Fuller film entitled 'Fixed Bayonets'. Or is there another Sgt Rock I have not encountered. Does anyone know? Gavin
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #3-90 ******************************
Go back to Volume 3.
17 March 1997 / Feedback