Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 125
Date: Tuesday, 9 March 1999

         Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 125

                  Tuesday, 9 March 1999

Today's Topics:

                   1999 "Webby" Awards
                   Re:a brief pause...
     Andy's top 4 rejected lines from "I'd Like That"
                     The XTC SF Clip
                          Gregsy
                     Misheard Lyrics
              Fruit Nut: The Misheard Lyric
             RE: Hope I Get Old Before I Die
                 glass, reich, partridge
          trainspotting XTC in "Over the Hedge"
                        ELO again?
                 AP interview on Triple J
                    Re : hi - new here
Hand it to Harrison! (shout-out with much props, big ups)
                Re: XTC off the UK Charts
                   the on going review
                       The Child...
                         Jam hot.
                  fretless bass question
                         Wombles
             XTC Song Stories' Pages missing
                          Promo
               You say Holzer, I say Hosler
                  XTC In Mall Rotations?
Re: sampling rights, or Who Gets Paid When Puff Daddy Grunts Over

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See them copy what their parents have done.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: STakesh@aol.com
Message-ID: <4ff994aa.36e2a717@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 11:19:35 EST
Subject: 1999 "Webby" Awards

Hello again, all Chalkies (and especially the recently
de-lurkers),

This really has me quite irate.

A label-run site, "Bobdylan.com" boasted on 1/9/99:

"Among the nominees [we are] the only web site
dedicated to a musical artist to be nominated and the
only site associated with a record label."

Some coincidence, huh?  That this is related without
any hint of irony clinches it for me.  I just checked out
Bobdylan.org for the first time today, and it does seem
to be better-than-average for a label-run site, but gimme
a break!  Nothing compares to the passion and personality
of fan-run sites, I don't care who the artist is!  I'll look for
some "real" Dylan sites; I doubt BD has much to do with
that one.

There are actually two "Webby" awards:  one voted
by a panel of IADAS[International Academy of Digital
Arts and Sciences]-member judges, and the other
by the public, whose freedom to vote is restricted to
the list of 110 nominees as put forth by the judges.
A bit of a closed system, that, notwithstanding the
fact that over 100,000 people voted last year.

True to being a commercial enterprise, the Dylan article
resisted being cut and pasted elsewhere.  To vote for
your favorite website among those nominated, go to:

http://www.webbyawards.com/best/#MUSIC

Note:  this will take you straight to the list of nominees,
and not to the musical category only.  It's actually a fairly
decent mix, broken down by category... in addition to the
usual suspects like Amazon or MSNBC, there's Babelfish,
The Onion, Suck (Tom Frank-minded fans, rejoice:  you
have been co-opted!), Unamerican (they of the anarchic
bumper stickers), Salon, MP3, NASA, Expedia Travel...

Voting ends March 10; the big pooh-bah is on 3/18.
As for assisting the future nomination of Chalkhills,
I dunno how receptive IADAS would be to letters
suggesting as much.  The Webby Award site explicitly
discourages such letters at this time, anyway... without
indicating if there is a better time or place for such
submissions from the public.

And I know perfectly well that the chances of Chalkhills
ever winning is about the same as XTC's sweeping
the f*****g Grammys.  It would be a triumph to see it
nominated some time, that's all....

Stephanie ("tilting at windmills") Takeshita

------------------------------

Message-Id: <199903070651.WAA02488@toucan.prod.itd.earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 06 Mar 1999 22:51:48 -0800
Subject: Re:a brief pause...
From: "Russ Reynolds" <rcreation@earthlink.net>

Eric Muller remarked:
>I'd just like to say, having listened for the first time in many months,
>perhaps longer, to Black Sea this morning, that "There Is No Language In
>Our Lungs" is an unspeakably (get it?) staggeringly amazingly incredible
>piece of writing.  Musically powerful; lyrically intense.  How Andy fits
>"the impotency of speech came up and hit me that day" into that particular
>spot in the song never ceases to amaze me.

Not to mention the sheer  brilliance of the next line, "I would have made
this instrumental but the words got in the way"  Musically I've always been
impressed that the song, which kicks in with such a loud crunch and
maintains the volume throughout, still manages an adrenelized crescendo
leading up to the last verse.  Those kind of dynamics don't usually come
across on guitar based rock records.

The standout song on their standout album, if you ask me.  Black Sea is one
of maybe a handful of albums in my collection that I have never tired of
despite repeated periods of heavy, HEAVY listening.

>Now back to our All Apple Venus, All The Time format...

okay.

-russ

------------------------------

Message-ID: <000501be689e$13f81720$a2d44e0c@pc1>
From: "David Follweiler" <satur9@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Andy's top 4 rejected lines from "I'd Like That"
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 08:26:10 -0500

ANDY'S TOP FOUR REJECTED LINES FROM "I'D LIKE THAT"

Writing lyrics for songs can be an arduous task.  Lyrics that seem
acceptable at first are often rewritten because the songwriter later
decides they're unsuitable.  Andy Partridge undoubtedly rewrote the
lines in the "I'd Like That" verses that refer to famous couples in
history, as can be seen from these rejected lines:

4. "I'd be James Cameron if you'd be my Hamilton"

3. "I'd do The Donald if you'd be my Ivana, Marla"

2. "I'd be your Bobbitt if you'd be my Lorena, Ow! AAGH!!"

And the top rejected line from "I'd Like That":

1. "Be Amy and you'll get one great Buttafuoco, ho ho"

Questions remain as to why all of these lines were rejected.  The most
likely explanation is that these are not ideal couples, or they are no
longer couples at all.  Another possibility is that Andy did not want to
bewilder or offend his English fan base by using only American couples.
Perhaps there are other rejected lines waiting to be discovered!

--Dave F.

------------------------------

Message-ID: <36E2BB6A.C726372C@which.net>
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 17:46:19 +0000
From: B Blanchard <b.blanchard@which.net>
Subject: The XTC SF Clip

Thanks from here in London Jim for organising getting this on the
link for us.

"Greetings from San Francisco.  While I missed the chance to see Andy at
the San Francisco Virgin Megastore last night, I found something that I
think chalkhills readers will appreciate - a video clip of an interview
with Andy on a local cable channel.  The clip is available at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ramhurl.cgi?file=/baytv/1999/03/03-morn-xtc_bayv.rm

You'll need RealPlayer to view and hear the interview which is about 6.5
minutes in length.  Now if I could only figure out how to save the clip on
my drive! Jim

I could hardly see anything and the sound was appalling and that
was all my problem for being cheap and not downloading a more
sophisticated version of RealPlayer (I stick to my cheap free
one!) but I did hear nearly all and see most of it.  Thanks Jim!
BELINDA

------------------------------

Message-Id: <36E2C06A.EA86C038@tmbg.org>
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 13:07:44 -0500
From: Ben Gott/Loquacious Music <gott@tmbg.org>
Organization: http://listen.to/loquacious
Subject: Gregsy

Chalkhillahs,

I just wanted to add my tuppence about a few matters that have been
recently discussed on this list.

As to Dave Gregory's departure, and the possible "suffering" of XTC's
sound: yes, Dave is one of the most incredibly, inventive, and
technologically breathtaking guitarists in music today.  However, these
*are* Andy's songs, and, although he describes his technique as "clumsy," I
would imagine that he's got something up his sleeve.  I've only heard a few
of the songs slated for "AV2," but I think they're excellent, and believe
that Andy will do them more-than-sufficient justice.  And, remember: he
*can* play beautifully, as the solo on Yazbek's "Mississippi Honeymoon"
(not to mention handfulls of other XTC songs) demonstrates all too well.
So, Gregsy, we'll miss you terribly.  But let's see what ol' Partsy will
come up with on his own.

Someone mentioned that they had asked Andy who would be drumming on "AV2,"
and that he had mysteriously replied (something to the effect of) "wait and
see."  Does this mean that Prairie won't be on the second album?  Oh my,
that's disappointing.  Can anyone "in the know" confirm or deny?  I read
somewhere that Colin's son Lee is a drummer...but maybe that's taking the
"Chalkhills Conspiracy Theory" thing too far, eh?

In my opinion, "Easter Theatre" is XTC's finest hour.

-Ben

------------------------------

Message-Id: <199903071838.TAA19158@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 19:49:28 +0000
Subject: Misheard Lyrics

Dear Chalkers,

My fellow Dutchman Martin van Rappard asked:

> "Did he hear about the "climb aboard Jewchildren" controversy on
> 'Hills?" Could someone fill me in on this - I'm rather new to the
> list, as you might have guessed from question 2.

Well, when this song only existed in demo form some people mistook
the "you women"  for  "Jew women", turning the whole thing into
something out of Schindler's List. The bit about "You won't need any
gems or furs" only added to the confusion of course.

Anyway, somehow Andy did get to hear about this thread ( Mitch? ) and
particular care was taken during the recording of The Last Balloon to
clearly articulate the "offending" syllables.
yours in xtc,

Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse
 http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/
     or http://come.to/xtc

------------------------------

Message-ID: <000601be68cd$c3a1d560$a92a56d1@mabrey>
From: "Andisheh Nouraee" <mabrey@mindspring.com>
Subject: Fruit Nut: The Misheard Lyric
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 14:07:35 -0500

Upon first listen, my girlfriend heard a line in Fruit Nut as:

Spraying my butt
Spraying my butt
Got to keep away diseases

It's now what we sing when the song comes on.  Romantic, eh?

What are some of your better misheard lyrics from AV1?

Andy

------------------------------

Message-ID: <000901be68cf$604360e0$a92a56d1@mabrey>
From: "Andisheh Nouraee" <mabrey@mindspring.com>
Subject: RE: Hope I Get Old Before I Die
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 14:19:07 -0500

Harrison Sherwood said:

Colin deals with the fact of death by reveling in life, in hearth and home.
Both "Fruit Nut" and "Frivolous Tonight" are gently satirical and
self-mocking--and yet there is an affection for everyday experience in both
of these songs that reveals that their author cares passionately for those
things he knows and loves, and a defiance toward those who would ridicule
him for his enthusiasms.

I say:

Beautifully articulated.  A wise person once said that God is in the
details.  Colin's songs on AV1 are wonderful examples of the veracity of
that statement.

And most importantly, you can whistle them while you walk.

Andy

------------------------------

Message-ID: <19990307192622.29539.rocketmail@send103.yahoomail.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 11:26:22 -0800 (PST)
From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com>
Subject: glass, reich, partridge

Re:

I was just wondering: of all the critics who've compared River of
> Orchids to a Phillip Glass composition, how many do you suppose have
> actually listened to Glass' work?
>
> My guess: Not very damned many.  But I'm a cynic, after all.

I actually thought it sounded more like Steve Reich.

And yes, I have listened to both Glass and Reich.

------------

Me, too! ROO seems much more like Reich than Glass. Check out Reich's
'Violin Phase' for a conceptually similar, but more experimental type
of circular composition (its actually phase composition involving tape
loops, but calling it circular isn't out of line).

Not as similar to ROO, but possibly Reich's best work, is "Different
Trains". Get the recording by the Kronos Quartet-it is one of the most
stunning, beautiful and moving pieces of music I have ever heard.

------------------------------

From: STakesh@aol.com
Message-ID: <5bc2288a.36e2e13c@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 15:27:40 EST
Subject: trainspotting XTC in "Over the Hedge"

'ello, Chalkfolk!

A long time ago, in a cyberspace far, far away, one of
the co-creators of the comic strip "Over the Hedge"
posted to Chalkhills on a couple of occasions.  (It was
either Michael Fry or T. Lewis; I think is was the latter.)
At least once he asked us to suggest ways that he could
sneak in innocuous references to XTC in his comic!

In Sunday's strip (March 7), there's some oblique
references to Andy Partridge [oh, joy!], although some
are admittedly rather general, and are easily rooted in
the raccoon character's personality (as well as Andy's).

To begin with, the raccoon character, "R.J.", is lounging
in a hammock, whiling away the day in excess leisure,
with voiceover-style boxes ironically explaining what
he's doing in a "time management analysis".

First, he sleeps [16 hrs.].  Then, he eats [5 hrs.].
But he's only eating "Coco Puffs"!  He's surrounded
by five boxes of them!  [Note:  in the book "Song
Stories," the subject of Andy's weakness for Coco
Puffs came up twice.]

Third panel:  "Watching TV:  7 hrs."  What's R.J.
watching?  "Where 'N Heck's Carmen Sandiego?"!
(But it's not clear whether the trees holding up the
hammock are cherry trees or not.)

[Those were the most specific references; the rest
are more general and may not have been inspired
by Andy at all, although they could be read that way.]

Fourth panel:  "Critiquing Constructively:  2 hrs.".
This consists of R.J.'s insulting his turtle friend:
"When I squint, you look like a large sugar beet."

Fifth panel:  "Hallucinating:  90 mins".  [Andy's
been known to have this occasional problem in the
past, esp. when he was touring and addicted to
Valium.]  However, since "Over the Hedge" is fairly
surreal normally, this is actually par for the course.

The remaining panels are dedicated to "Educating:
29 mins, 59 secs" and to "Self-doubting... 1 second".
In the "Educ." one, the turtle says, "Hold it!... R.J....
D'ya ever wonder about your priorities?"   In the last
panel, R.J. is scolding a toddler:  "No...More passion
Clara!  More...truth!"

Well,...  it could certainly fit, I suppose.  Do you
suppose the turtle best represents Colin, Dave,
a producer, or someone else?

Has anyone noticed XTC references in this strip in the
past?  I haven't always remembered to check it, and
this is the first time I've trainspotted anything XTC in it.

I tried copying this to Fry & Lewis' web address,
[www.hedgeweb.com], in hopes of a response, but
AOL doesn't recognize their site.  ["This is not a
known member."]  Phooey.  Can anyone step in
and send this email to them?

Stephanie [the Wood Tick!] Takeshita

------------------------------

Message-ID: <36DF71BC.E0B265B6@fastlink.com.au>
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 16:55:07 +1100
From: Joseph Ierano <chierano@fastlink.com.au>
Subject: ELO again?

Thank you John Relph,

for agreeing with me on the ELO thing. I also grew up with this band
- having hits in and out of the charts, and my elder brothers playing the
LPs.
Later on, as an adult, I listened to some of Jeff Lyn's production
and marvelled at some of them, including the ones you mentioned.
Interested people should check out the recent Beatles rehash of Lennon's
"Free as a Bird". I love listening to it, and I can hear Jeff Lyn all over
it.
joe

-- Joseph J. Ierano B.Sc, D.C.

------------------------------

Message-Id: <199903072104.HAA04236@hydra.au.oracle.com>
Date: 08 Mar 99 14:01:43 +1100
From: "Adam Davies" <AJDAVIES@au.oracle.com>
Subject: AP interview on Triple J

Attention Australian readers...

Andy Partridge has been interviewed by Triple J's Richard Kingsmill.  The
interview is scheduled to run in episodes starting this coming Sunday the
14th
March, during his '1999' programme [5pm to 9pm].  Kingsmill announced it
last
night following a run of 'Easter Theatre'.

If you're not in Australia, you can still hear the broadcast via audio
streaming.  Do the necessary time conversion and pop along to
www.abc.net.au/triplej

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------------------------------

Message-ID: <19990307222358.625.rocketmail@web308.yahoomail.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 14:23:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Iain Murray <twentiethcenturyfrog@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: Re : hi - new here

> I've just subscribed to Chalkhills <snip>
> Basic'ly just wanted to say 'hi' and see what the main "no-no's" are <

> Don't make gay jokes
> Don't say you like "War Dance"
> Don't get on davidoh's case about his way of posting

How about these ones :
- Don't mention Phil Collins (unless you also mention the word
"wanker" in the same sentence)
- Don't ask what Todd meant by his reference to "an imaginary brass
instrument"

==
Iain

============================================================
"Information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, wisdom is not
truth, truth is not beauty, beauty is not love, love is not music. Music is
the best." - Frank Zappa

------------------------------

From: "Will Kreth" <wkreth@twmaine.com>
Subject: Hand it to Harrison! (shout-out with much props, big ups)
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 19:38:14 -0500
Message-ID: <002901be68fb$f357a540$7b5cd2cc@dhcj1.maine.rr.com>

Re: Hope I Get Old Before I Die

Excellent exegesis on XTC's latest, Mr. Sherwood!

My wife, a serious woman of letters -- who picked up the
copy of "Song Stories" I left in the crapper and read enough
to confirm in her mind that A.P. is a big egotistical prick
(pretty fair assessment, I must concur) will soon be getting a
copy of your deconstruction. It may well go far to showing
her the other side of the Pear Tree, which is hard to explain
to those who have not grown-up with XTC, like we have.
The pagan/orthodox, sacred/profane threads you've ferreted-out
of Apple Venus Uno are just the kind of things she grooves on
(as do I!)

Grazie mille-

Will

------------------------------

From: Davejh5@aol.com
Message-ID: <9c068861.36e32bcc@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 20:45:48 EST
Subject: Re: XTC off the UK Charts

After debuting at #42 last week, Apple Venus is off the top 75 in the UK
goto http://www.dotmusic.com/charts/top75albums.asp.

Lets face it, the 1400 or so who are on Chalkhills is what supports XTC.  I
live in Boston and Apple Venus is hardly being played. All the alternative
stations (FNX,BCN,BRU) are not playing it except on their new music hour of
the week.

All of us bought the album the first week. If that just got us to #106 on
the Billboard chart, we can expect Apple Venus to drop off the chart in the
next week or two.  This is our band we support them 100%. Don't expect XTC
to be anything more than a underground cult band. Let's hope they continue
to put out records and make enough money to get by.

There are many other alternative bands from the 80's that still put records
out but nobody notices. XTC is one of those bands

By the way #38 in the UK is DR. Hook  Great Love Songs.

I think I want to kill myself .

------------------------------

From: "Andy" <Plysadh@nottingham.ac.uk>
Organization: The University of Nottingham
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 02:08:06 GMT0BST
Subject: the on going review
Message-Id: <E10JpTQ-0005R2-00@nottingham.ac.uk>

I suppose i have to add my comments to the on going AP1 review. I
have to say that Easter is one of the best xtc songs ever written,
the entire thing is given a boost by Moulding's songs, as they
provide a light hearted break, and perhaps that's why they're placed
on the album as they are. Just to be contraversial i'd say it's not
"longing l-o-o-k", but "longing little look". just an idea. River of
Orchids is still growing on me, then again i haven't heard Glass nor
any of the other folks being discussed as influences.

I don't really get some of the replies to Rynn hi-new; why must we
hate War Dance and My Weapon? I agree with the untouchable-ness of
English Settlement, apart from the fact i've never liked the one
after "it's nearly africa". I know i'll get no respect for forgetting
it's name, but nevermind.

andy

------------------------------

Message-ID: <19990308062604.12925.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Child...
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 22:26:03 PST

Hoi hoi Chalkchompers

RE: the question from "Lynn S." <nemaliand@halcyon.com>:

>I have a question for you all. Can anyone explain the meaning of the
>phrase "Now the son has died the father can be born" and its origins?
>I've heard it before, but have forgotten its exact meaning.  Seems
>like it was meant to describe how a father can be a better dad when
>the son inside himself has been healed. Is that right?

Well kinda. *That* description sounds a bit too Californian for me, but
you're not altogether incorrect. The (partial) explanations I would
offer are as follows:

1. The reference I guess is to mythological concepts of the cycle of
birth, death and regrowth - all those ideas going back to the
nature-worship cults of ancient times. Joseph Campbell discusses the
ideas at some length in his work; they became prominent in many later
'solar' religions such as the Egyptian cult of Osiris, which were
developments of these earlier vegetative religions. Essentially, they're
about how the life-force, charcterised as a divinty, renews itself from
one cycle to the next, and the paradoxical nature of life coming from
apparent death. I have only a vague recollection of the details - it's
years since I read the stuff - so I'll have to consult Campbell and get
back to you privately on this.

2. The musical reference is of course to the Beach Boys, and I think it
fits really neatly with what Andy's up to on the new album, and what
he's done previously.

(BTW whoever mentioned Van Dyke Parks - groovy! I can't imagine his
style meshing that well with XTC - he's SO American, in the nicest
possible way - but great link anyway).

The obvious signpost is to "The Child is the Father To The Man", the
name (and lyric) for one of many small musical units that Brian Wilson
was working on during the famous "Smile" period (1966-67). It was
eventually used as the closing section of Brian's masterpiece, "Surf's
Up", when that was finally put together by Carl for the "Surf's Up"
album in 1970.

There were many such fragments, such as "Child...", "Whistlin' In"
(closing track of the 'Smiley Smile' LP, and 'Well You're Welcome',
which was the b-side of the 'Heroes & Villains' single. They were ofetn
in the form of rounds (like "Row, row, row Your Boat") - little cyclical
pieces, with, or without lyrics, which were either done for their own
sake, or to be used in a larger musical scheme. (Brian also likened them
to mantras).

(Lyrically there are a lot of interesting links between the Smile songs
and Andy's AV songs - the cycle of life, the elements, love and loss,
disillusionment with The Business, etc). Discuss ...

To explain/digress, for those who may not know the story - with "Pet
Sounds", Brian had basically made a straight-through recording of
pre-composed songs. On "Smile" it was far more experimental - he was, as
Van Dyke Parks puts it, exploring the "modular aspects of music" . He
first tried this with the recording of "Good Vibrations", which was put
together of several sections, comprising different variations of
sections of the song, from different sessions made over many months.

Some of the songs intended for 'Smile' (like "Surf's Up") were already
composed, but in those he experimented with many, many variations on the
backing tracks, a la 'Good Vibrations'. There were other pieces,
however, that were clearly much more open in structure - and it's
impossible to guess now what fragments, in what order, he would have
ended up using. (I assume it was going to be a partly spontaneous
decision, at the mixing stage).

Throught 1966-67 Brian was working on dozens small musical fragments -
"feels", he called them -  which he presumably planned to sort through
and collate into some form later on, according to whatever grand plan,
or plans, he had in his head. Many of these emerged on the "Good
Vibrations" boxed set a few years ago, and they show how accurate Brian
was when he described Smile as being "a teenage symphony to God".

It seems (to me) that he intended to use 'Heroes & Villains' as the
'theme' of the symphony, and thus recorded many variations on the basic
musical elements/sections of the song - some instrumental, some vocal,
some both. Also, there are references/transpositions/variations of
parts/ideas from H&V in several other 'Smile' songs. Some of these
fragments may have ended up as sections of complete songs; other may
have been intended as links between songs, or sections of songs.

Unfortunately, Brian's growing mental instablility, the arrival of 'Sgt
Peppers', lack of support from Capitol, and pressure to not "fuck with
the formula" from within the group (i.e. Mike Love) forced him to drop
the whole project in late 1967. This came as a major letdown - the album
was hotly anticipated and was thought to be very nearly complete, since
Capitol had been given a track listing, and covers and booklets had
already been printed.

Since then 'Smile' has assumed legendary proportions, and although it
seems quite possible that Brian could in fact go back and finish some
kind of version of it, he has repeatedly said he has no interest in
doing so. Nevertheless, there is tremendous interest from fans in
hearing more, and a boxed set of "Smile" outtakes is still rumoured to
be in the works. Speculation was heightened by the release of the 'Pet
Sounds Sessions' box a couple of years ago, but some 'in the know' say
it will never happen as long as Mike Love is around, because he opposed
it vociferously at the time and still hates the whole thing.

OK - long digression, but seeing as we know of Andy's interest in the
Beach Boys, I thought that might be of some help in understanding what
he's referring to.

And thanks Harrison for your fantastic essay - brilliant stuff! I'm
taking it home to read again.

Yours anorak-ly
Dunks

------------------------------

Message-ID: <01BE693E.93318EE0@robert>
From: Robert Wood <wobbit@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Jam hot.
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 08:34:35 -0000

Thw mole said in 5-122

>> If you start AV1 at the very same time that Paul Weller's name comes up
in the opening credits of Robocop <<

I can just imagine him staggering around Detroit twatting every criminal in
site with hiw Rickenbacker singing "Down in a Tube Station at Midnight" as
he clears up the Underground.

Good to see that he managed to find another job once people realised The
Style Council was a sack of shite.

------------------------------

From: sclarke@maritz.co.uk
Message-ID: <8025672E.003CB962.00@lisa.maritz.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 11:05:05 +0000
Subject: fretless bass question

> Mike Myers wrote
> Could someone in L.A. ask Colin if he's playing a stand-up bass or a
> fretless electric bass in "The Last Balloon", please?  Thanks.

I asked Andy this question when I was lucky enough to get a preview in
October (see chalkhills passim) The bass in question is a fretted epiphone
newport (the one andy describes as going "poun")

Nice AV1 review, but why no mention of Colin's songs?

-Steve

------------------------------

From: sclarke@maritz.co.uk
Message-ID: <8025672E.00400FAB.00@lisa.maritz.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 11:41:15 +0000
Subject: Wombles

Paul Culane wrote:

> Great to see Mitch Friedman and Richard Pedretti-Allen getting a gong in
> the Apple Venus liner notes - deserved congratulations boys!  But (it's
> been said before, but worth saying again), let's hear three cheers for Mark
> Strijbos, John Relph, Simon Sleightholm and Peter Fitzpatrick, who have
> each selflessly and energetically devoted their time and web-space to
> spread the word.

I wholeheartedly agree - the work of these guys in keeping us all in touch
with what's happening has kept us sane during the darkest times of the last
seven years.

> And finally, what has Apple Venus Volume 1 in common with The Wombles?

That would be Mike Batt who did the stunning string arrangement for "I
can't own her"

I once nearly played bass for a Wombles TOTP appearance but it transpired
that I was too tall - the diminutive Mike apparently won't have anyone
taller than himself in the line-up :( Bass is a difficult instrument to
play with furry gloves on anyway.

-Steve

------------------------------

From: Chauncy14@aol.com
Message-ID: <27a8d20d.36e3daed@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 09:13:01 EST
Subject: XTC Song Stories' Pages missing

Hello.

Just a note to all you who may be reading the book, but I bought a copy
from Amazon.com last week, and I got to Chapter 7 or 8, at page 179, the
book skips from that page to 211...I am missing an entire chapter and a
half.

So just thought I would advise those who have not read it to check that
out.

And, to the guy who thought that Nonsuch was named after a lyric in Oranges
and Lemons: The answer is that this title comes from Henry the IIIV's
castle called Nonsuch Palace.  Nice try though.

Peace-

-John

------------------------------

Message-Id: <36E3EFF1.F7B1FC13@tmbg.org>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 10:42:46 -0500
From: Ben Gott/Loquacious Music <gott@tmbg.org>
Organization: http://listen.to/loquacious
Subject: Promo

Who else could I turn to to gloat?

Yesterday, I traipsed (in the snow) to Bull Moose Music, in search of
another copy of "English Settlement."  I walked into the store, and headed
towards the XTC section, when all of a sudden I spotted...an Apple Venus
display!

Well, it wasn't a display, exactly.  It was a large-ish rectangular promo
flat (picture of Andy and Colin) with a cylindrical photo of the feather
hanging beneath it.  The whole thing was suspended from the ceiling above
the counter.

I ran up to the counter, and asked, "Can I have that?"  Since Bull Moose
has a habit of giving away promo items (and reserving them with one's
name/number attached via Post-It), the clerk was more than happy to oblige.
I grabbed a pen, wrote "Ben Gott 721-5513" on the note...and she stuck it
right on Andy's face.

Soon, I'll have "Apple Venus" hanging from my ceiling!  I can't wait!

I also took my Very Sick Carcass (mono and strep throat, at the moment)
down to Newbury Comics, where I bought the new Blur single, "Tender."
Yuck.  However, the second song on the 3-track maxi (a Stephen
Street-produced moment of utter bliss entitled "All We Want") was awesome.
The new Blur album will be produced by William Orbit.  Eh.

-Ben

------------------------------

From: "Will Kreth" <wkreth@twmaine.com>
Subject: You say Holzer, I say Hosler
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 12:59:23 -0500
Message-ID: <008d01be698d$65f801d0$7b5cd2cc@dhcj1.maine.rr.com>

Tyler Hewitt (no relation to Jennifer Jason-Leigh-Love-Hewitt, I presume)
wrote:

>>I had the pleasure of meeting Mark Holzer of Negativland
>>last year, he came to my graduate school as a visiting artist.

Ahem, methinks you mean Mark _Hosler_ of Negativland. Back in the
late '80s, Mark was going out with one of my housemates in San Fran.,
and we used to discuss pop culture over breakfast in our kitchen.

Of course, you were probably thinking of Jenny _Holzer_
another great recontextualizer of our time.

Now, if we could just squeeze Barbara Kruger, Jeff Koons and
Bill Viola in here somewhere...ah, yes - there we go.

Will

------------------------------

Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990308125417.008c9410@hiway1.exit109.com>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 12:54:17 -0500
From: Sean Carolan <hubcity@exit109.com>
Subject: XTC In Mall Rotations?

Folks,

Neal H. Buck wrote:
>An XTC moment: Back around "release day" (already bought my copies), in
>our Mall to see if Goody "got it", hear "Life Begins at the Hop"
>blasting from Abercombie & Fitch across the hall.

Hmm, that's interesting - I heard exactly that song blasting out of Kay-Bee
Toys while I was shopping this past weekend.  Methinks it's been added to
Muzak's compilation tape this month.  Note that Muzak does, in fact,
distribute tapes of original-artist versions as well as their signature
syrupy mellow versions.  All of which has nothing to do with the pianist at
Nordstrom playing Elvis Costello's "Allison"...

-Sean Carolan

------------------------------

Message-Id: <199903081808.NAA04457@hammurabi.nh.ultra.net>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 13:07:25 -0500
Subject: Re: sampling rights, or Who Gets Paid When Puff Daddy Grunts Over
From: "Duncan Watt" <kanuba@nh.ultranet.com>

Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Subject: Spirituality, sampling, and other hot topics
>
>Lots of people seem to be pissed off about the Dear God sample issue.
>While not a fan of rap myself (and I suspect that's where a lot of the
>objection comes from) I fully agree with the recent post about free
>use.
>
>Matt Keeley wrote:
>...Anyway, how I see it is that sampling should be legal if the sample
>is used to create something inherently different and new.
>
>Absolutely! In my career as a visual artist I have often found myself
>in the position of appropriating images to incorporate into my own
>collage-based work.  The key here is recontextualization.

Tyler, who exactly gets to decide whether a sample has been adequately
recontextualized? And if it's not, who should get paid? and how much?
Example: should Jimmy Page have been paid for the sample of Led Zeppelin's
"Kashmir" that Puff Daddy used to fashion the Godzilla movie theme? Was it
unfair that Zep had to pay Willie Dixon for their version of his song, or
was it just a collage?

This is a very, very important topic. Please reply.

------------------------------

End of Chalkhills Digest #5-125
*******************************

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9 March 1999 / Feedback