Chalkhills Digest Volume 4, Issue 59
Date: Friday, 27 February 1998
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 4, Number 59
Friday, 27 February 1998
Today's Topics:
Re: The Lost Songs
My XTC thoughts
Replies...
LOOK LOOK
Big, black and beautiful.
Some New CDs Worth Checking Out
misc rambling
New Japanese XTC Compilation: The Greatest
OFF TOPIC - Looking for a guitarist
I knew I was on to something
Wondering about Ray Wonder
Primus EP
I Fell Down To Heaven
XTC live in concert?
Thank You
Ma cher, happy Mardi Gras y'all!
Acoustic LIVE Revisited??
XTC Convention '98 ???
Address This@
Oh it feels great to be known.....
RE: Exeter Chalkhills
New York, New York
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 10:48:22 -0800 (PST) From: relph (John Relph) Message-Id: <9802231048.ZM12785@mando.engr.sgi.com> Subject: Re: The Lost Songs Imanol <ix8494@xpress.es> writes: > > Also I would like to ask you if anybody of >you has the songs written below so as to have the chance to record them on >a tape. > >Here are the lost songs: > >Traffic light Rock ; Chain of Command; Limelight; Day In,Day Out; Homo >Safari ; Bushman President; Goodnight Sucker; Egyptian Solution; Cut it >out; Blue Overall; Mantis on Parole; >Terrorism; Let's Make a Den; Find the Fox; The Troubles ;Living in a >Haunted Heart; My Paint Heroes ; Rip Van Ruben ; It's Snowing Angels; >Always Winter but never Christmas; Down a Peg ; "Chain of Command", "Limelight", and "Day In, Day Out" are on the _Drums and Wires_ CD in various countries. You should be able to buy this one easily. The studio version of "Traffic Light Rock" is on the _White Music_ CD (the live version remains rare). "Blue Overall" is on the _The Big Express_ CD. The 12-inchers of _Senses Working Overtime_ and _Love On A Farmboy's Wages_ are fairly common. The others? Good luck! -- John
------------------------------
Message-ID: <19980223224905.24584.rocketmail@send1d.yahoomail.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 14:49:05 -0800 (PST)
From: Bill Gibron <bgibron@yahoo.com>
Subject: My XTC thoughts
This is my first post to Chalkhills, and I know that every new person starts
off their new post this way, but I can also say that I am new to the whole
idea of a large (?!?!) international following for XTC. I find it hard to
believe that the little group I discovered in 1978 would still be talked
about and debated about in 1998, twenty years later.
I remember walking into the record store (remember the concept of a
"record" store?) and seeing a strange album cover. It was black, with
writing all over it. Writing telling me to buy the product. Writing telling
me that the writing was the cover. Writing that told me that the band
behind this album were clever, intelligent, witty and creative. One listen
to the album ("GO2", for the uninitiated) confirmed my belief: XTC
were powerful and melodic. And special.
Then came Drums and Wires. I lived that album. I inhaled that album. Back
and forth from college I would start with side one and by the time "Roads
Girdle the Globe" came blasting from the speakers, I felt the song. I
knew the song. I wanted Anna to steer me in whatever direction Andy and the
gang wanted me to go. I began to scour the import bins. I found EPs and
singles with unreleased B-sides that took me to other wonderfulland places.
I became an afternoon DJ on the college radio station. I bought English
Settlement in an import version (still have it!) and played all four sides
on the station the first day I owned it. I got in big trouble. Calls came in
asking for "Skynryd" and "ACDC", but I ignored them. From
"Runaway" to "Snowman" I was enthralled. I collected more rare
material. "Making Plans for Nigel" 45 with board game. "No Thugs
in Our House" with puppet stage and puppets.
Finally, the chance to see them live!!! (I know I may be factually out of
time sequence, but like Billy Pilgrim, I occasionally become Unstuck
there). I saved money to travel to Atlanta to see them. They were the
Lennon/McCartney of my time (Partridge/Moulding). I was ecstatic. I was
elated. I was insane...
Then they canceled. The whole shebang. Ticketed but forgotten. (They are
framed, on the wall of my classroom). I dug for details. Sketchy talk of
illness and breakup. I sat and waited. They were still XTC. But now they
lived in the studio, not in the realm of the real.
I bought "Mummer" and its singles. "The Big Express" and its
singles. Thought Todd implied himself a little too much into
"Skylarking" and the Right Wing too much so in "Dear God"
(remember when it was the B-side to a single?) "Oranges and Lemons",
"Nonsuch", they were all too wonderful. Occasionally caught Andy on
`empty-v' waxing poetic and humor. I got married, bought rare "Live
at BBC" and "Drums and Wireless". Cataloged the 45s and EPs. Years
have passed.
I give you this info because I sense that I have been around and in XTC a
Hell of a lot longer than most of you have. And I have questions and issues
to take up with and for most of you.
Firstly, would you rather they never release another iota of music until it
sounds just like "D&W" or "Black Sea". Sure, I'm as confused
as the next as to how Colin went from "Life Begins at the Hop" to
"My Bird Performs" (both great songs) but wouldn't "Another Life
at Another Hop, Part 4" be a little boring? Or "Still a
Helicopter"? How about "Sgt. Rock is Gonna Retire"? And
strings?!?!? People don't like strings?!?! Is Andy ( I hate using their
first names since I have more respect for them as artists and musicians to
think I am buddy-buddy and first-namey with them, but I go with the Internet
flow) supposed to say "Wait, me fans may not like this lyric (instrument,
chord change, etc.) Best change it. HELL NO! Let a painter paint, be it
with words or notes. Don't want to listen? Then, are you a fan, or a
demand?
Second, give them money? Are you all high? Not to say that if I was a
Gates-u-nairre I would not support them to high chart success and back, but
what would I expect in return? If we all gave money, does Andy have to show
up at my house at least once a month and play off his debt to me? If I am
giving freely, without obligation, wouldn't't I be better served in a
manner to promote the group, and not demote self-esteem? Chalkhills is
great, but check out www.gbv.com and see what really rapid fans have done
with the Silicon Chip for Guided by Voices. Here is a group more obscure
than XTC, and yet they have a huge webpage filled with info, etc. (Again,
Chalkhills is very cool, but what could be done if we all tried). AND JUST
WHERE IS THE US FAN CLUB. I'd join in a Beating of Hearts.
Demos??? Sure, I want them. Wouldn't any true fan? Wouldn't we kill
for bootlegs of Andy discussing the changes in the former Soviet Union? Sure
we would. And should the person make money off our passion and
entertainment greed? Damn right. The band expects it when they release the
next album. So why shouldn't the booter. After all, there is not a one of
us in this little clubhouse who would not run out and spend every piece of
paper and iron they had for a box set of unreleased demos and the like
provided to us by some no name Vestal organization only in it for the buck
and to screw the band.
Like the idea that XTC would write the music for "James and the Giant
Peach" (if this is is indeed the truth. I feel so out of the loop). But,
again, think of the downside. Would you want to hear the brilliance that is
Andrew Partridge being spewed from the dribbly, drooly mouth of ever infant
in the world. Disney giveth and Disney taketh away. Sure, the band would be
rich, but the could also sell their organs to medical science and feel a
whole lot less scummy.
(E-mail me at bgibron@yahoo.com for details on what is out there, demo and
CD, collectible wise, the cost and the means of satisfaction)
Finally, remember one thing. XTC are an entity created by several talented
musicians who determined that what Pop needed was to be questioned and
rearranged. If, as they have matured, the twisting of Pop is no longer in
the agenda, who are we to complain. Do me this favor. Play "Nonsuch"
all the way through, even if it makes your skin crawl and your pointed head
itch. Then turn on `empty-v', or `pu-h 1' and listen to it for
the same period of time as "Nonsuch" runs. Still complaining? How
about radio? Do the same thing. Still harping? How about any other album by
any other lesser band? Still whining? XTC are creative. They are meant to
create. They do not follow a formula.
100 years from now a being will unearth a chest and inside will be a small
jewel box filled with a silver disc. He will take it home and insert it into
a high functioning unit that will scan, read, recall and replay. However,
the silver disc is horribly low tech for the machine and it takes a while
for the module to dump all its plug ins and add ons. Suddenly, as the
machine winds down, a thin, tinny noise resonates from the Aural
Visualizer...
"And I can't unravel riddles, problems and puns, And the home computer
has me on the run..."
The being smiles...
BG 2/98
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.3.32.19980223203042.006ab37c@mail.clemson.edu> Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 20:30:42 -0500 From: Adam Tyner <ctyner@CLEMSON.EDU> Subject: Replies... <<the Drums & Wireless album is possibly going to be released on Idea>> Excellent. I hope a follow-up will be released at some point, possibly including some of the acoustic radio gigs they performed to promote O&L. What is the situation with videos? I seem to remember reading somewhere that They Might Be Giants wanted to release a tape of their Elektra-era videos, but weren't able to. I hope this isn't the case with XTC...the only video I've seen is "Dear God", and not even the entire thing, at that. Re: Aetatis Svae - I'm not sure what it eans, but I saw a reference to it on this page: http://www.starnet.demon.co.uk/hawkins/pah/chap3.htm The description of "River Of Orchids" for the new album sounds phenomenal. I can't wait to hear the final version! -Adam
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199802240423.PAA09586@warchivegw.riv.csu.edu.au.> From: "Simon Knight" <sknight@warchivegw.riv.csu.edu.au> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 15:18:58 +0000 Subject: LOOK LOOK Well, i'm back. Did i miss a new album by any chance? ;-) Molly - there is a video for Grass. It's mainly warm summery close-ups of the lads laying on the grass, but also includes lots of grass rolling (rolling on, as opposed to skinning up) and some shots of Andy doing the backstroke. You also get to see some of his comic book collection and i can't be the only sad one who's freeze-framed the video to try and read what vinyl singles are being tossed around. (Has anyone else made them out?) It's cheap and cheerful, and probably my favourite video of theirs. Imagine a daytime version of Matthew Sweet's Time Capsule minus the bugs and about 50 kilos. I'd copy Look Look for you but i guess a Pal version won't do you much good - can't somone with NSTC show her how nice we can be as a list and help her out?
------------------------------ Message-ID: <31790FAD9CB8D011BD6A0000F877207D38C522@tu-server2.micromass.co.uk> From: Wood Robert MMUk <robert.wood@micromass.co.uk> Subject: Big, black and beautiful. Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 08:56:42 -0000 Many thanks to Mitch for his "An Englishman in New York" posting. It's great to hear news of what's going on, esp. when it's directly from the band members. I'm rather concerned by the wording of some of the posting... >> He told me that there will be only one CD which may now only have 16 songs on it (due to running out of money to finish everything they've started and running out of time since they will all probably have to fit on one CD) << CD, CD, CD. No mention of vinyl. I know this question has been asked before and recently, but do you know whether there will be a vinyl release? Is there a definitive answer? I reckon I'd pay for the pressing of vinyl myself, I'd be so disappointed with a CD only release!
------------------------------ Subject: Some New CDs Worth Checking Out From: wwilson@mail07.mitre.org (Wesley H. Wilson) Message-Id: <980224084301.2@mail07.mitre.org.0> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 98 08:43:03 -0500 Darn. Everyone's raving about "Tock," and I just spent $50 on 4 CDs. But, I have some recommendations that might very well appeal to fans of Wiltshire's favorite pop combo. First of all, Nick Heyward's "Apple Bed" grows on me day after day. A rather odd photo on the cover shows Nick watching what appears to be an old Beatles show (looks like Lennon's face in the foreground). Standout tracks include "The Goodbye Man," "The Chelsea Sky," and "She's a Little Closer." Nick seems influenced not only by the Fab Four but by Blur and XTC (but without the cynicism of Blur). Next, "Yellow Pills" CD (VA). I played this one every day for a week! Solid collection of power pop tunes including tracks by The Loud Family (I've seen them mentioned in this digest) and Jason Falkner. Finally, two Mod CDs from years gone by: "Get Ready to Go!" compilation by Squire (on the Tangerine label...sound familiar to Martin Newell fans?), and The Lambrettas "Beat Boys in the Jet Age." Get on your scooter and get these, because it's a mod mod world. If I could recommend just one, it would be Squire. These guys write criminally catchy tunes that'll stay in your head until your boat goes down. (anyone else remember the Mod revival in the late 1970s? e-mail me privately, if you like) Wes
------------------------------ From: mmyers@notes.cc.bellcore.com Message-ID: <852565B5.0050370E.00@notes950.cc.bellcore.com> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 09:46:08 -0500 Subject: misc rambling Chalkies and Chalkettes; Long time, no post. Just a few thoughts: - I was in NYC twice last week (including all day Saturday), and to think that Andy was there too, and I didn't get a chance to see him or say "Hi!". Oh well,...... - CC98 is terrific, and kudos to all those who spent long hours in the studio making your contributions. Just received Ed Miller's compendium of studio notes, and even that was a fun read. - Now that the band seems to be indicating that the new album won't come out until October, we're going to have a major gap in product, SO..... - Fritz, could you please get the "Chalhill Originals" tape underway and out to the list??? It's been like forever, dude! But seriously, if you could get this back on track and release it in a month or two, just think of how many list members you would make happy. I know that quite a few folks contributed original songs to you, and it really seems a shame to have them just sitting on the shelf instead of releasing them to this list. PLEASE let us know what's up. See you all, Mike
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199802241615.LAA53514@pimout1-int.prodigy.net> From: "Noble K Thomas" <MOONSILVER@prodigy.net> Subject: New Japanese XTC Compilation: The Greatest Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 10:14:06 -0600 I recently re-subscribed to Chalkhills so please excuse if this has already been mentioned. There is an upcoming re-issue program from Japan entitled THE GREATEST. My sources indicate that XTC will be one of the artists included. Here is the blurb I received: Original Japanese release on Virgin, a must for collector's as it features assorted rare and live tracks by the seminal new wave band..... also JELLYFISH, LENNON, McCARTNEY and a few others (although not all will have rare material). toby / silvermoonmusic
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199802240742.SAA09840@warchivegw.riv.csu.edu.au.> From: "Simon Knight" <sknight@warchivegw.riv.csu.edu.au> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 18:38:26 +0000 Subject: OFF TOPIC - Looking for a guitarist OFF TOPIC WARNING This is just a blatant want ad - Skip to the next post for more xTc stuff. I just figured this was as good a place as any to ask since if you understand xTc the battle's half-won. THE POINT If the Archies were a new wave band playing pop symphonies produced by John Barry and fronted by a bigger cynic than Costello they probably still wouldn't sound like my music but i'd like to think they did. I've got some stonking big fat shameless pop songs i'd like to record on 4-track in August / September. They encompass everything from melodic punk to folk to a marching band led by Lou Reed to Shirley Bassey singing in a fairground to bizarre shameless pop (picture the Spice Girls and Liz Phair in a blender). Unfortunately, due to the fickle hand of fate i can no longer play guitar. I'm after the three J's: Jagged, jangly and jerky. Short concise tight necessary - no Books are burning allowed. French trombones will be equally considered. A rickenbacker 12 string will be worshipped as the god it is. Anyone interested in rising to the challenge? I can't really pay anything, but we can keep you in beer and skittles, and help defer the travel costs. The tapes aren't going to leave my room, so you're not going to get famous, but hey, it beats watching Blue Heelers or (shudder) Friends. Executive producer on the project is the infamous Paul Culnane (P@ul-of-Oz), recording in the Grand Hall of his Fairweather Circuit Studio in Canberra, and anyone who's met him can tell you the hospitality will at least be pretty good. (And if there's some obscure song from the last 20 years that it's been bugging you that you can't identify he's the man with the cure! Airport! Stop the cavalry! Dance with me, George! Down among the dead men! Will it never stop???) So, anyone in the Canberra / Riverina / Sydney region interested? Put it in a letter, what could be better? Just a warning: some of these songs are fairly complex time and key change-wise - more "Good morning, Good morning" than "All together now". You don't have to be a guitar god, just know how to work around any limitations (hell, don't be scared - i like C'est Planne Poir Moi). And remember: think Bolan and Bowie, not Europe and Bon Jovi. Back to your irregularly scheduled digest...
------------------------------ Message-ID: <34F309BF.1C0C@snet.net> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 12:56:18 -0500 From: Andrew Lippitt <andylipp@snet.net> Subject: I knew I was on to something The Mighty Mitch passed along this about Mr. Partridge: > Finally, he is fond of "A Nanny in > Manhattan" by The Lilys. I don't remember Lilys being mentioned here before, but let me heartily concur with that opinion. XTC/ Dukes fans should really enjoy their '96 release 'Better Can't Make Your Life Better.' It's a 60's retro- pop thing that at times is reminiscent of Kinks, Byrds, Beatles, Floyd, Monkees... oh I could go on (and often do). I understand they enjoyed some success in England, but are largely unknown here in the US. Saw them play an in-store here in CT last year, which was stunning. Now that Andy has acknowledged their brilliance, I feel validated, warm and fuzzy. Also recommend the new one from The Apples in Stereo. Pure Pop. Off to buy the new High Llamas CD, Another guy called Andy
------------------------------
Message-Id: <3.0.32.19980224133803.00945df0@smtpgw.ametsoc.org>
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 13:38:04 -0500
From: David Gershman <dgershmn@ametsoc.org>
Subject: Wondering about Ray Wonder
Greetings, one and all,
This review appeared in the Boston Phoenix a couple of weeks ago...sounds
interesting. Can anyone else out there offer some more information and/or
opinions on this band? I checked out some Real Audio samples on a Web site,
but the quality was pretty low so it was hard to judge from them.
>>Ray Wonder
"GOOD MUSIC" (NONS Records)
>From the Swedish pop label North of No South Records comes this
delightfully peculiar little record from a delightfully peculiar little
quartet from Umea in the north of Sweden. Over the course of 11 topsy-turvy
tracks crammed into 37 minutes, Ray Wonder -- a band, not a guy -- pay
unwitting tribute to the masters of this sort of gleefully warped pop,
managing to sound almost exactly like XTC (with a bit of Jeff Buckley
thrown in for dramatic measure).
But part of what it means to evoke the ghost of Andy Partridge is to be
endlessly inventive, and Ray Wonder manage to keep the bounce in their,
well, bounce and its quirkiness, well, quirky. Unlike an overweening XTC
wanna-be band like, say, Sugarplastic, who can't seem to distinguish
between clever and cloying, singer Henrik Andersson and his mates strike a
fine balance of musical novelty and pop scholarship. From the giddy
stop-start shifts in rhythm and melody to the orchestral swell of strings
and the cocktail-tinged horns, there's a lot here to keep one amused -- and
attentive.
-- Jonathan Perry>>
Comments, anyone? I've taken a cursory look in Newbury Comics but didn't
see anything by them there, though I haven't done a search of the Internet
CD stores yet. I'll be sure to report back with a review if I should come
across it.
Dave Gershman
------------------------------
Message-ID: <01BD4119.219F0760.monkman@coastnet.com>
From: Martin & Jamie Monkman <monkman@coastnet.com>
Subject: Primus EP
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 11:38:01 -0800
>From Wall of Sound (http://www.WallofSound.com/news/stories/2662index.html):
Primus EP of Covers Coming Soon
Look for a new release from Primus this spring-not a
new album, but an EP of covers and live tracks that's
intended as a follow-up of sorts to the trio's 1992
collection Miscellaneous Debris. Among the songs
Primus will cover on the disc are Peter Gabriel's "The
Family and the Fishing Net," XTC's "Scissorman," Jerry
Reed's "Amos Moses," Metallica's "The Thing That
Should Not Be," and the Police's "Behind My Camel."
The band will also include a couple of songs recorded
during a recent New Year's Eve show.
"It's just sort of a Primus sampler, to an extent,"
frontman Les Claypool explains to Wall of Sound. "We
wanted to get back in the studio as soon as possible,
but we didn't feel we were ready to make a full-blown
Primus album as far as writing a bunch of new material.
But we wanted to get back in the studio and
experiment with different sounds and things. This was
an opportunity for us to do that."
Claypool says Primus plans to tour during the summer,
after the EP's release. He expects the band to return to
the studio for a new album by the end of the year. -
Gary Graff
Martin
Our homepage: http://www.coastnet.com/~monkman
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199802242049.VAA08110@mail.knoware.nl> From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl> Organization: The Little Lighthouse Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 21:59:26 +0000 Subject: I Fell Down To Heaven Dear Chalkers, First of all a big thank you to Kelly for the big dose of ecstasy Thanks to him i now cherish fifteen (15!) different issues of the English Settlement album on vinyl. But I'm afraid this has only made me longing for more so if anybody has anything to offer, please please email me privately. Those of you who like to surf the Net looking for XTC have probably already noticed it but there's a new XTC webring called X Wires. Some of the major sites already show the X Wires banner and my guess is most others will join soon. Anyway, just click on the banner to surf to another XTC site. Isn't technology just wonderful? yours in xtc, Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse the XTC website @ http://come.to/xtc and http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199802242045.NAA13848@access.tucson.org> From: "J. D. SMX" <jsmelser@access.tucson.org> Organization: Access Tucson Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 13:50:27 -0700 Subject: XTC live in concert? *Hello Chalk-Buds, *In the last issue, Mr. Steve Sterns wrote: Imagine XTC then deciding to tour again, putting on the "Totally Stupendously Gigantic Inane Tour of the World At Large, Complete with Berlin-Wall Sized TV Screen and Ticket Prices to Match" *Actually, I think that might be a good look for them. And I'm sure they'd deserve it....both the price of admission and the hype and hoopla. But, I'm keeping my finger crossed about the setlist. It was the only strike against the Poopmart tour IMHO. They played a very "safe," group of songs; none of which showed off what talent I know they used to have. I'm hoping that XTC pull off a very rare thing in my concert-going book. And that is, the singles come off as the best songs of the night, especially, the post Black Sea ones. The only others I saw do this were Queen and Hall and Oates. *Imagine; Senses Working Overtime, Love On A Farmboy's Wages, Dear God, Great Fire, Mayor Of Simpleton, King For a Day and The Balled Of Peter Pumpkinhead being the best songs of the night.! Usually, for me anyway, the best song or songs are the off cuts like Burning With Optimsm's Flames and Instant Tunes were the last times around. Thank God for small favors, I'd rather see the guys on the back of a pickup truck any day than pay for the Vegas-style insanity I saw on the PopMart tour. *This would be cool for us fans (like it was for the Stones fans on the 1975 tour) but what a bummer for the group. Talk about stagefright! "-elp, Colin...I'm fallin' off the bleedin' lorrie." "Quiet, Andy, I'm singin' right now... King for a daaaaaaay!" thump! your favourite swervedriver, SMX
------------------------------ From: MFa2707621@aol.com Message-ID: <4d69b8eb.34f3591a@aol.com> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 18:34:44 EST Subject: Thank You Chalkers, I just wanted to thank Mandy and Amanda for saying those nice words to cheer me up. Now I understand why people are so negative. So I've decided not to cancel my subscription to Chalkhills. Whenever (or if ever) XTC does release Firework, we should beg MTV to play their videos (if they have any). Hopefully they won't show it on their show, "12 Angry Viewers," because they would probably pan the videos. I know Matt Pinfield of "120 Minutes" would probably play the videos if they came out. I think he's a fan of XTC. A few months back, he did a spotlight at the end of "120 Minutes," and he showed the video for "Senses Working Overtime." Bye for now. Molly
------------------------------ From: LadyCPlum@aol.com Message-ID: <1d22911e.34f36a8a@aol.com> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 19:47:51 EST Subject: Ma cher, happy Mardi Gras y'all! Before I prepare to head down to the French Quarter, watch the annual gay parade and get blitzed out of my mind while flashing my chest to catch beads, (see, I'm not quite as Polly Pure as some of you may think!), I thought I'd reply to today's digest.....) Greg-Now now, medear. Paula has some incredible stuff on her new cd. Her singles, IMNSHO aren't as good as the gems tucked away on her album. Ever heard her song "Mississippi"? You wanna talk vocal power? Try that one out. As far as CTD goes....well...let's just say that one woman/man's fried chicken is another woman/man's filet mignon. In other words either you like' em or you don't. Charlie-I'm not sure about the Latin on Nonsvch, but I do know that the numbers are the band members' ages. Chris Van Halen & Mitch, and anyone else at the concert.-AARRGGGHHH!!!! This is so not fair. What is this poor Louisiana girl to do? We never get anything down here!!!!! Yazbek and Andy AND BRAD FRIGGING ROBERTS, THE GOD OF ALL GODS, all in the same place at once. (If you were to put him next to Dave Gregory.....I'd probably forsake Dave, sad as it is.) Well, tis all for now. Must get going!!!!! Amanda XTC song of the day-Omnibus non XTC song-Can We Still Be Friends?-Todd Rundgren Python quote of the day-"We continue with a man with a stoat through his head."
------------------------------ Message-ID: <34F46856.D191B86B@po.twin.ne.jp> Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 18:52:11 +0000 From: michaelw <michaelw@po.twin.ne.jp> Subject: Acoustic LIVE Revisited?? Hiya Chalksters! Haven't posted for a few months now; busy with new baby stuff and all, but a certain piece of good news has lured me out of hibernation: One of our many Good Purveyors of Exciting XTC News and Things to Come, a Mr. Peter Fitzpatrick, wrote in Digest #4-58: > Album News : > Andy is in New York for a couple of weeks - Colin and Dave are working on > the album in his absence. > The album is more likely for an October release now - June is highly > unlikely Kinda figured this....good news is, if they ever did want to make "Easter Theatre" a single, they could save it for, say, Feb or March of '99! What a great way to (perhaps) finish off the promotion of the album. Also, a big Arigato goes to Mitch and Co. in NYC for the TOCK/YAZBEK Live performance...a delight to hear about River of Orchids, and the rest of the Firework/Middle Age History progress. > yes - they would like to play live (he joked that maybe Andy will enjoy his > appearance with Yazbek and will want to do it again !) please be clear : > they aren't planning a tour and it's just the eternal wishful thinking of > everyone (bar Andy of course) that they'll play live again > yes - worldwide TV appearances are planned, nothing specific known yet. > yes - promotional TV is being planned, he mentioned at least one show that I > can't tell you about (he asked me not to) but it would entail an ENTIRE show > with the band live (we're talking 45 minutes/ one hour). The only hint I can > give is that a certain Mr. Costello did something similar.... As for the live stuff, is this still the "playing on the back of a flatbed truck in back of radio stations" idea? AND, as for the promotional TV show...this is very exciting!!! For those of you who are not familiar with the (I would guess he's referring to) Elvis Costello Live show/video--which was, I believe, shown on US TV-VH1?--this was essentially Mr. MacManus playing acoustic (?) guitar with Attractions keyboard player, Steve Nieve (met both of them in Osaka year before last...Mr. Nieve signs his autograph "Naive"!). Elvis sang some of his early songs as well as his solo and later material. In-between the songs, however, he gave some funny and informative stories about how the songs developed lyrically and musically, as well as debunking some myths (or creating some new ones, depending upon how you look at it) about the songs or albums of the particular time. Quite a joy to watch, as they were in what seemed to be a more intimate setting, with a very receptive audience. If any of you out there have any further information (as I loaned out my only copy of the video about a year ago, and kinda forgot other info on it) feel free to add to what I've wrote here. As it relates to XTC, could the fact that the book written by Neville Farmer, and coming out in the summer/fall (?), might just be a nice companion to a Live show (or vice-versa)? And how can we Chalkies attend this show, if it ever does come to pass? > A merchandise deal has been sorted out and mailorder T-Shirts & other > goodies will soon be available. Cool! I might just take ten! What kind of "other goodies" I wonder? > Previously unreleased Dukes material is possible - another Dukes album is > possible (please note the words "possible" - nothing 100% certain here) Ah, hah! "Lost" Dukes material (perhaps Nicely Nicely Jane, Susan Revolving, and other assorted bubblegum goodies? :-) > All in all - good news. Heck, All in All...its shaping up to be a fantastic latter half of the year for Messirs. Partridge, Moulding, and Gregory...and all of us here, too! BTW, speaking of The Red Curtain, any news about the elusive and mysteriously "quiet" XTC member? I've been subscribing to this list for about two years now, and while there has always been a plethora of wonderful information concerning Andy (thanks a million, Sirs Mitch and Peter, and (a big hello and thanks to Lady C. Plum on this one!) Dave, barely a mention has been made about Colin and his music. Hope to hear more about Colin and his contributions on the new album. Though some of us Chalkers are familiar with the demos, it will be a definate delight to hear Colin's contributions to the new album, as his demos, like the man himself, have been up until now, spared the limelight (pun? damn right intended :) All for now, cheers--Mike W in Osaka (konnichi wa Yoshihara, Miwa, Matt, and Naoyuki-san!)
------------------------------ Message-ID: <34F49475.1147@earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 17:00:21 -0500 From: Tim <tim63@earthlink.net> Subject: XTC Convention '98 ??? Does anyone know if Mike Foster is planning another XTC convention this year? If so, when???? If so, where??? (In Basingstoke again???) For those of us in the USA who would consider going, we would need a little more advance notice than last time in order to make arrangements, get a cheap flight booked, etc. Is anyone in contact with Mike?? THANKS! Tim K.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <34F4F08D.AE7CCC78@usa.net> Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 23:33:21 -0500 From: Ben Gott <loquacious@usa.net> Organization: Loquacious Music - http://www.wp.com/58596 Subject: Address This@ Hillers, Just dropping a line to say that I have a new e-mail address...Consolidated all my old ones, and all that...Isn't that great? Anyway, it's loquacious@usa.net. PUFF DADDY? Why the hell did he win a Grammy? Someone tell me, please! They should split that Grammy up: give 2/3 of it to Sting, and 1/3 to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. All that man does is cop other people's music. Don't get me started... James Taylor! Bob Dylan! Shawn Colvin! All good choices. (Colvin's 1988 album, "Steady On," is stellar.) But Puffy? No. Next year: XTC? Who knows? -Ben * ------------------------------------ * B e n G o t t :: Bowdoin College (207) 721-5142 :: Brunswick, ME 04011 ...What makes me unique? My dark life... * ------------------------------------ *
------------------------------ From: LadyCPlum@aol.com Message-ID: <295b3f48.34f59e3c@aol.com> Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 11:54:18 EST Subject: Oh it feels great to be known..... Just received an email from the Illustrious Mitch and after reading it I laughed so hard I spilled my bong water! (That's a little MST joke there, do not take seriously......) Seems he was dinnerizing (made up Plum word) with Our Mr. Partridge when the subject of yours truly was brought up. M told A about Dave sending me the cd, to which A replied that Dave could really use a girlfriend. When M told A that I was only 20, A replied "That's perfect!" "I'm never too old............" Ciao, Amanda Python quote of the day-"Shut your festering gob, you tit!"
------------------------------ Message-Id: <TFSNSAXS@ubk.net>> From: Jonathan Monnickendam <monnickj@ubk.net> Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 17:21:34 +0000 Subject: RE: Exeter Chalkhills From: "Deane, Simon" <simon.deane@dgj.com.hk> Subject: First contrib; Contribs;Burning; DG=Neil Morrissey? Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 16:34:15 +0800 2. I saw XTC play once at Exeter University in about 1978/9. My abiding memories of the concert are........ Simon, are you sure ? I was at Exeter between 76-9 and I'd be mightly miffed if i missed them. I can remember seeing the Clash, the Jam, Costello, Dr Feelgood, John Miles (eek!) and a stack of others but not XTC. I was ODing at that time on Go2 and 'Are you receiving me'. And Datapanic in the year zero. really mystified jon * --------------------------------------------------------------- The views expressed are of the individual, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The United Bank of Kuwait PLC. * ---------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------ Message-ID: <EB3FE924F73DD11187E400805FEA8E8103BACD@BCBCMAIL.bcbc.bc.ca> From: "Macdonald, Robert" <RMacdonald@bcbc.bc.ca> Subject: New York, New York Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 11:33:14 -0800 Hey Chalk-kids Well it's official. I went home the other day after reading about EVERYONE meeting Andy and told my wife that we were packing up and moving to New York. I told her if we hurried we might make the Ben Folds Show. She liked the idea, but wondered about our house, our friends and our jobs and the fact that we were Canadians and didn't know a soul in the Big Apple. I told her about Chris, Ira and Mitch etc. but for some reason she didn't seem to think that she knew them quite as well as I did. Which when I think about it sombrely is not really very much to be honest.......but, but....there _is_ a bond there of some sort. Probably not one strong enough yet to lend us a patch on the floor and to put up with our cat who is completely evil and we are basically waiting for it to die. In fact everyone who's ever met it is waiting for it to die. Of course it's only six and we've been told that cats can live until they're twenty. So I decided that no-one in their right mind would put us up so it was time for to go on the internet and look for places to live. Right away I found a few places that sounded nice. Overlooking the park, door man, elevator man, concierge, WBFP (wood burning fire place), EIK (eat in kitchen....yea it takes a while to read these listings), 5 bdrm, 7 bth etc. etc... all for only $2,800,000 US dollars. Why that's over $4,000,000 Canadian! So to make a long story short, it just doesn't look like we will be able to replace our current living conditions for the same kind of money down there. Yea it's official, we just can't move to New York. So now I'm surfing the net for hotels for a vacation next fall instead. I know, I know .....shut up already and talk about the band. The other day I was listening to a Bert Kaempfert record called "Traces of Love" that I scammed from my parents easy listening collection. The title track, Traces written by Buddy Buie, James Cobb and Emory Gordy Jr. is playing and I find my self humming along and then singing along....but then I realize that I'm singing the chorus to "All I Dream of is a Friend". On further listening, it's not exactly the same but the melody is close. Someone back awhile ago mentioned the band The Nines and their album Wonderworld of Colourful. Anyone who doesn't mind bands that sound maybe a bit too much like XTC sometimes should _really_ like this album. They're definitely mining the same vein as the boys...the Beatles and Pet Sounds era Beach Boys. It's got a slightly harder edge than more recent XTC but some of the songs are real gems. Buy it today....and they're Canadian too! Distributed by Page Music if I recall. More exciting news from Mitch. Some good, some not so... It doesn't surprise me at all about it turning into a single disc because of $, and the idea of going from River of Orchids orchestral to a rockier album sounds good as well. Sixteen songs....we'll have to try not to be disappointed when a track we love misses the cut. I wonder if they are stilling thinking of using Dave's instrumental interludes? Now, back online to the Rough Guide New York City. All I dream of is a Vacation. Cheers Rob Macdonald Victoria, B.C. Canada
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #4-59 ******************************
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