Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 126

                  Tuesday, 9 March 1999

Today's Topics:

                 lyric question answered
             Virgin Megastore WeHo Signing...
                      Drinking song
                      Frivolous jam
That Fibber! (or, Why I Want to Give Andy a Wedgie) + other stuff
              Chalkhills Apple Venus T-Shirt
                  Win A Signed CD Update
                   XTC Chat Transcript
                      AV2 Cover Art
                      Hollywood XTC
                   Apple Venus Volume 1
                        The Q-Word
                       Balloonists
                Re: Cover Art Synesthesia
                  A bit of this and that
                        Mentality
                  My moment w/ Andy, etc
  MP3, AV Chart Placing, Our Father Who Art In Rap(ture)
                    The Odyssey(again)
                   End of the Century?
                     More Apple Venus
                        AV2 Title
                        Re: Glass
                 Recent XTC signing in LA

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And, unknowing, church will amplify his call.

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

Message-Id: <v02130500b309c1e137ef@[157.22.229.100]>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 10:08:29 -0800
From: randy@niles.com (Randy Posynick)
Subject: lyric question answered

During the so-so webchat, Andy clarified the lyrics from "I Can't Own Her"
as such:

    I own this river, I own this town
    All of its climbers and its winos sliding down

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

Message-ID: <19990308182908.20526.rocketmail@send205.yahoomail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 10:29:08 -0800 (PST)
From: "Lisa G." <devilgirlchocolate@yahoo.com>
Subject: Virgin Megastore WeHo Signing...

...In a word, COLD!  It was so cold outside.  Several hundred fans
waited semi-patiently for the line to move.  I was hungry, tired from
teaching high school brats, and had a raging sinus headache.  I think,
however, it was well worth the wait.  Andy and Colin were so nice,
easy to talk to.  I was tongue-tied anyway.  I think Andy drew nifty
pictures on everyone's memorabilia.  The fellow in front of me had a
vinyl "Skylarking," and Andy put "demonic wings" on the piper guy,
horns, and a flaming crotch.  Awesome.

I hope everyone who went had a good time, as I did.  Except for the
store playing AV1 over and over, I had fun talking to all the devoted
fans in line, singing along with them!

Bye for now,

Lisa

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

Message-ID: <01BE6996.2D60EBD0@robert>
From: Robert Wood <wobbit@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Drinking song
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 08:40:46 -0000

>> >Is it just me, or is 'Frivolous Tonight' a sly, self-deprecating slam at
>materialism?  (I fervently hope so...)

Yeh, I guess you can see it as that... but I choose to imagine a bunch
of Brits in a pub drinking Guiness, ahavin' a good old time
and all that other nonsuch. HA! <<

<Shiver> Not Guiness - just 'cos Guiness is the only non-lager you've heard
of, don't assume we all drink that muck, it's foul stuff outside of Dublin.
It's far more likely to be a pint of bitter...

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

Message-ID: <36E4278D.CE06EDEC@biocomp.unl.edu>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 13:39:57 -0600
From: Peter Mullin <pmullin@biocomp.unl.edu>
Subject: Frivolous jam

Misty wrote,

>Well, if y'all look on Song Stories, Colin very clearly says that it's not a
derogatory portrayal.

Yeah, I know; also in the "LeisureSuit" interview; maybe he's having us all
on?  It still works better for me as a warm-hearted send-up of yuppiedom
(maybe because I'm in my later 30's and slogging through grad school/rental
housing/public transportation when most of my contemporaries lead more
"settled" existences).  That's the great thing about this recording (and
any XTC); there are interpretations for everyone!

Jon said,

> If you start AV1 at the very same time that Paul Wellers name comes up
> in the opening credits of Robocop,

Didn't Rick Buckler have a cameo as one of the boardroom boys?  And I'm
sure Bruce Foxton was one of the nasty gang members...;)

John informed,

> It was the Clique, on White Whale records, and the REM version adds
> nothing to a perfect single (b/w a tasty Sugar on Sunday cover).  They
> sound not unlike the Lemon Pipers - vaguely psychedelic bubblegum.

Sorry for the faulty memory (I'd originally spelled it "luxury yacht"); and
yes, the original is definitive.

Peter (ankle-deep in slush...)

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

Message-ID: <697A4CA51395D111A658AA00040058069DA01C@NT6>
From: "Wiencek, Dan" <wiencek@aaos.org>
Subject: That Fibber! (or, Why I Want to Give Andy a Wedgie) + other stuff
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 13:21:07 -0600

Mitch told us:
>
> And while we're on the subject, to the best of my knowledge these are the
> tracks either already started, somewhat finished, or planned for AV2 (in
> no particular running order of course):
>
[snipped]

> Andy did tell me that they need a few more good ones so maybe he'll write
> some more or choose from the list above but it's more likely he'll write
> more
> than choose.

The man is changing his tune, apparently.  I wasn't going to post about my
experience of meeting/basking in the presence of Andy Partridge, but now I
must.  So, to be brief:

I arrived at the Chicago Q&A/signing early enough to get a good seat.  A
front-row seat, in fact.  When Andy finally came out, he was obviously
nervous and so was everyone else, because no one volunteered to be the first
questioner.  What the hell, thought I, he's just a man, nothing to be
frightened about, and I actually managed to raise my hand and sputter out
the first question:

"Colin said recently there weren't enough songs ready for Apple Venus 2.  Is
this the case?"

Whereupon Andy blithely assures me this is *not* the case.  He mentioned the
forty-something songs the band had stored up, and, of course, compared the
process to a bodily function, saying you can only eat for so long before you
have to take a shit.  His last comment: a conspiratorial stage whisper
aimed, along with a soothing gesture, directly at me: "Don't worry!"  I
beamed.

Now, why would he not just come clean?  Naturally, I'm not *worried* as
such.  I can hardly imagine XTC recording an album and suddenly realizing
they didn't have enough songs:

Colin: "Well, that's it.  Apple Venus 2 in the can."
Andy: "Right.  Eleven great songs and--hey, wait a tick.  You mean we've
only got 11 songs?"
Colin: "Well, yeah.  What'd you think?"
Andy: "Bugger me!  That's not enough!!"
Colin: "Now's a fine time to notice, isn't it?!"
Andy: "Fuck.  Now we've got to write more songs.  Have you got anything
else?"
Colin: (stunned) "Anything else?  I wrote THREE!"

And so on.  Anyway, fibbing gets him demerits.

So, to get back to Chicago: when I finally got my turn with Andy P, after
an agonizing wait, you could plainly see the man was a little numb from all
the people he'd been meeting.  I kept the chat to a bare minimum--all the
compliments I'd been meaning to say having completely flown out of my head
anyway--and got my AV and Black Sea inserts signed.  I then presented Andy
with the gift I had purchased for the occasion: a pocket-sized flipbook
drawn by artist Keith Haring, inscribed to Andy by myself, with the date
and place notated.  I produced it with the proviso that "it has nothing to
do with XTC" and he chuckled.  On flipping its pages he said (paraphrasing
slightly): "Oh, it's a flipping book, isn't it? ... Yes, my son draws
these.  He's quite a good artist too.  Yes, this is something he and I can
enjoy together," or something like that.  Dunno how sincere it was, but it
was still great that he said it.  I then got my picture taken and left
feeling lighter than air.  Tired and half out-of-it as he was, he really
made an effort to be personable and I only wish I'd had the presence of
mind to say some of the things I'd meant to, but it doesn't matter ... I
look at that picture every day.  There's me with Andy Partridge.  Ha!

Also on the new album front, I was very happy to read in the JamMusic
interview that Andy was talking about doing I'm the Man Who Murdered Love
for AV2, which always struck me as a nicely odd, catchy tune.  But I got to
thinking.  I have the first batch of AV demos, which include such minor
masterpieces as Dame Fortune, Bumper Cars and Wonder Annual (*man*, what a
great song), songs that have been cast over the side for the new album.  It
made me a) feel bad for people who didn't get the demos, and have never
heard them, and b) feel bad for myself, since I don't have the later demos
and have never heard Ship Trapped in Ice, I Don't Want to Be Here, etc.  So
...

Is there anyone who has all these demos and who might be willing to either
tape them or burn them onto a CD?  I refer specifically to the songs
rejected for either volume of AV.  The Apple Venus off-cuts, the 'sour
apples' if you like.  Maybe it wouldn't add up to many songs, but it's still
something I'd love to have and I'm sure many others here would as well.
That way, anyone who had sworn off the demos could listen without the risk
of spoiling their future enjoyment.  I'd be happy to pay a small donation to
help recompense such a person for his/her time and labor, esp. in the case
of a CD.  Hell, I'd even design an insert for you :).

So what does everyone think?

Thanks,

Dan

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

Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990308131732.013335c0@pophost.micron.net>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 13:17:32 -0700
From: Phil Corless <philco@micron.net>
Subject: Chalkhills Apple Venus T-Shirt

Announcing, for Chalkhills folks only, a very special edition
of the Chalkhills t-shirt.

http://netnow.micron.net/~philco/av.htm

- Phil C.
philco@micron.net

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

Message-Id: <199903082022.VAA02412@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 21:33:06 +0000
Subject: Win A Signed CD Update

Dear Chalkers,

Those of you who missed the first announcement but would nonetheless
love the chance to win a signed copy of AV1 should point their
browsers to http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/av_contest.html

Yes, all you have to do is answer a few simple XTC related questions
and one of five signed cd's could be yours; courtesy of those
wonderful boys and girls at Cooking Vinyl and yours truly.

And while we are on the subject: several of you have already pointed
out to me that the answers to one of the simple questions
(heheheh...) are all incorrect. According to _the_ book on the
subject ( Beatles Recording Sessions ) Mr. Gavin Wright never played
strings on a Beatles recording so I stand  corrected... perhaps this
will teach me to stray from familiar territory :)

Anyway, i've decided that the question in question simply doesn't
count - no points awarded for this one.

BTW: if you haven't entered this exiting XTC compo yet, please do!
It's a lovely prize, all the questions are dead easy and most people
don't stand a chance so you could very well be a winner!
Competition closes March the 16th, so don't wait too long...

yours in xtc,

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

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

From: mollyfa@juno.com
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 15:58:37 -0500
Subject: XTC Chat Transcript
Message-ID: <19990308.155837.3078.0.MollyFa@juno.com>

I just put the XTC AOL transcript on my web site.  To view it go to
http://www.angelfire.com/mo/mollyfa/xtc.html.  That's my new XTC web
site.

Molly

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

From: Eieiodin@aol.com
Message-ID: <886ded10.36e44342@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 16:38:10 EST
Subject: AV2 Cover Art

Someone asked,

"5. Any thoughts on what AV2's cover art should look like, and why?"

I think it would be appropriate if AV2's cover art was subtly phallic (if
that is possible).  Given the speculation about the peacock feather and the
decidedly harder sound of AV2, I think this would present a nice bookend to
the covert art of AV1.

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

Message-ID: <000701be69b6$86b00700$3cc556d1@default>
From: "Mark Cuevas" <denizen@mindspring.com>
Subject: Hollywood XTC
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 14:53:45 -0800

On Friday, March 5th, 1999, I finally got to meet XTC -- after following
them for *twenty years* like an emaciated dog after a soup bone. The
experience was something I'll never forget -- in part because Mary Beth (a
Chalkie from Glendale), clicked a picture of my stupidly happy mug nestled
comfortably between Andy and Colin.

While waiting in line for this momentous event, I also met some other
terrific Chalkies (I suppose that's redundant): Dan and Michelle (who flew
in from Arizona), Lynn (who drove up from San Diego), some fellow who
*drove* from Arizona (9 hours he said), and Brian (formerly the bass player
from The Wondermints and now the song writer/bass player with L.A. based
Chewy Marble). After the signing, a group of us walked down Sunset Blvd. (in
the bitter cold I might add) to a happenin' little bar where we indulged on
Chish and Fips and a few of the vitamin suds. We compared notes and had a
wonderful time.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I left my place in the Marina at 4:00p,
got to Hollywood at 5:00p (blasted L.A. traffic), and finally met XTC at
about 8:00p. When my time finally arrived, Andy seemed a bit tired but was
still very warm and friendly. He was munching on a bowl of fruit while
smiling and chatting with everyone in sight. I think he mentioned that they
were off to Japan after this last signing. After a brief hello, I produced
the inside cover of AV1 and Andy doodled on it, signed his name, etc.  Since
Colin, at this time, was fanless, I waltzed (sashayed, floated -- pick your
term) on over and kept him busy. I mentioned the Chalkhills Originals '98
tape and he looked at me a little baffled. (I knew that Mitch had given Andy
a copy but I wasn't so sure about Colin). I showed it to him, explained the
concept, how it started, some of the contributors, etc., and he gave a big
smile, all the while peering at it with interest. He then asked if he could
have it -- and I about fell over. (I'd have given him the contents of my
wallet at the slightest nod). I then requested a picture with them and they
eagerly complied. I walked around the counter between them and they both
leaned in with relish. (Andy was doing something silly I think).

Anyway, after two days, I've finally come down enough to write a
(semi)coherent post. Of course I love AV1.  It's the best CD I've heard in
seven years. ;)

I look forward to hearing other signing stories.

P.S.  Note my new email address.  And lastly, but most importantly, Peter
Fitz: I'm so happy to hear the news of your new arrival and elated that
things are O.K.  My thoughts are with you.

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

Message-ID: <19990308210038.3586.rocketmail@send201.yahoomail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 13:00:38 -0800 (PST)
From: pancho artecona <partecona@yahoo.com>
Subject: Apple Venus Volume 1

FINALLY GOT IT!

I am happy boy! The cd, after 3 listens sounds great, quite lush and
interesting and if you will, with a greater sense of 'the ecstatic'
than any other XTC so far. I guess they are finally living up to their
name. It's all about rebirth and renewal and starting over.

I empathize with Dave feeling left out because there is very little of
him I can discern on this album, it must have been quite an unpleasant
experience for him. With that said, however, I can also understand
Andy being miffed with DG's negative attitude on such a positive and
joyous cd. Too bad their paths are moving in different directions but
that's life. Its a different but quite enjoyable XTC.

I must admit that I am bit uneducated regarding sequencing so if
somebody could explain it a little more (privately if need be) I'd
appreciate it, and I would love to understand the bit about this cd
being all sequenced better.

Oh, and I am endlessly tickled by reading all of your meetings with
Andy and Colin. Hopefully I will too meet them someday although this
vicarious enjoyment has been quite nice. AP and CM seem to be really
nice guys as I have always imagined them to be.

Be well, all

Pancho PRXTCFAN

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

Message-ID: <19990308225649.27293.rocketmail@send205.yahoomail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 14:56:49 -0800 (PST)
From: Iain Murray <twentiethcenturyfrog@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: The Q-Word

In Chalkhills #5-123, Jeff Smelser (jsmelser@access.tucson.org) wrote :

>> Mix Magazine has an article in the Recording Notes section on page
160 about the recording of AV1. <snip> But, beware, the first word is
the one that starts with Q. <<

What, "quadrumanous"?
==
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: OMBEAN1@aol.com
Message-ID: <d458769b.36e45642@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 17:59:14 EST
Subject: Balloonists

Chalkies,
 Two balloonists from England by the names of Colin & Andy take off to fly
around the world the week of the release.They crash land in the Pacific
Ocean off the coast of Japan at the same time Colin & Andy are in Japan for
the signings.TOO WEIRD!

 The Last Balloon???? Hopefully that doesnt mean anything.

    Everyones stories about how nice the guys are reminds me of when I met
them in 1989.Talking to Colin for five minutes about fishing & watching the
Jimmy Houston Show will always be a highlight.Just two regular
guys. Awesome.

   Chow for now,  Roger

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

Message-ID: <19990308214347.11550.rocketmail@send1e.yahoomail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 13:43:47 -0800 (PST)
From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Cover Art Synesthesia

>When I last spoke with Dave Gregsy-ery, he and I had a short discussion
>about which XTC albums sound the most like their cover art looks. We
>determined that Drums and Wires, English Settlement, 25 O'Clock and
>AV1 top the list. Any thoughts on the matter?

I think they all do, except for Oranges & Lemons. I like that cover,
but have always thought that it dosen't fit the music.
Tyler

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

Message-ID: <36E45AD1.C8EDAD77@uni-bremen.de>
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 00:18:41 +0100
From: Erich Sellheim <sellheim@uni-bremen.de>
Subject: A bit of this and that

Hello everyone,

I just picked up a free magazine called "Intro" which features AV 1 in the
reviews section.  Basically it's nine people (mostly musicians in obscure
German bands) reviewing new albums and rating them from 1 to 10 with the
average rating making a kind of hit list of the best new albums. As this
magazine is trying to be very trendy, I had no high hopes for XTC's latest,
but quite surprisingly, it got the second-best rating behind a certain Jimi
Tenor. The single reviews:

Dendemann (Eins, Zwo (this seems to be the band)): "Surely a greatly
produced pop album which is getting on my nerves very much after a short
time." (4 points)

Mario Thaler (German producer): "Old legend reborn. Timeless music." (6)

DJ Koze (Adolf Noise / Fishmob): "Sounds like the Santa Clauses in the
Beatles - or like Peter Gabriel near Notre Dame." (6)

Ray Wilson (Cut / Genesis): "Quite different, worth buying." (7)

Frank Spilker (Die Sterne): "The first track is a bit - well -
old-fashioned. But you know that they write great songs." (7)

Detlef Buck (German film-maker, I think): "Nice diving into the
seventies...A glimpse of Beatles." (5)

Sven Regener (Element Of Crime): "Completely themselves." (11(!)) (Best
rating; however, he gave every other record 10 points!)

Rolf Kempinski, Heinz Klinger (Ifa Wartburg): "We like this!" (8) (Best
rating)

Martin Schumann (writer for "Intro"): "A legend confirms its status. The
waiting was well worth it." (10) (Best rating, along with Jimi Tenor)

The average rating was 7,10.

I vaguely remember an XTC article in another German free magazine which was
announcing AV 1 and reviewing TB. The gist of it was a bit like "XTC are
still around, you know they're crap now, but they used to be good, if they
only played live again", etc., and it mentioned Transistor Blast being a
strange title for a new XTC release, as "Blast" wasn't really the word
you'd associate with XTC's music anymore and you'd have a hard time
nowadays finding a transistor radio that was playing XTC (they have a point
there). The bizarre thing was that they chose a photograph from XTC's
signing with Pony Canyon (I think) which showed XTC with Dave Gregory and
three record company representatives, and they gave no explanation,
suggesting XTC are now a sextet with three bald men and one Japanese!
Somehow that says it all about Germany's attitude towards the band; I guess
the German album charts could be expanded to Top 1000 and still be Apple
Venus-free...  On a more positive note, I've managed to spot a few more
Beatles, etc.  influences on the great new album:

The trill in Fruit Nut (after "I don't give a hoot") comes relatively
straight from Honey Pie, and I think the chord changes at the beginning
sound very much like something (no pun intended) George Harrison might have
written around 65/66.  The piano accompaniment in Harvest Festival
resembles that of Imagine, and the flutes are evoking Fool On The Hill (but
somebody must have pointed that out before).  The piano ending of Frivolous
Tonight (the 6th chord) always makes me think of the ending of She Loves
You, but more likely this is a nod to Noel Coward (I don't know his songs).
Knights In Shining Karma is (as others have written before) reminiscent of
Julia / I Will / Dear Prudence, but has anyone noticed its similarity to
the more acoustic songs by Peter Blegvad? Especially the magnificent Gold
which I think Andy produced comes to mind (as Peter and Andy co-wrote some
songs, Andy might have been influenced by him).

One of the great AV 1 moments that no one mentioned before: Andy's
breathing in at the beginning of Your Dictionary. It may sound ridiculous,
but this could well be my favourite moment of the whole song (which I
love); very effective! Does anyone know other songs which are started this
way? (By the way: don't laugh, but this is the first (and probably last)
song I could imagine being covered by Depeche Mode; must be the minor chord
starting the song).

Finally congratulations to whoever is responsible for releasing Easter
Theatre as a single! Really a bold step; let's face it, XTC won't have a
hit single off AV 1 anyway, so why not just pick the best song? I must say
that I find extreme delight in being able to buy a single of possibly my
favourite song of all time, regardless if there are previously unreleased
songs on it as well or not (but remember that this comes from the guy who
thinks that XTC should go Michael Jackson and release every song as a
single).

Ridiculously tonight,

Erich

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

Message-ID: <19990308233049.15748.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com>
Subject: Mentality
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 15:30:48 PST

Re: Misty's giving me a right bollocking-out on #5-122:

>>I resort to an old standby -  "Are you mental?"
>
>This, along with the remainder of the message, is the most idiotic
>way to deal with criticism of an album.

Sorry if my meaning was unclear. It was pointed out to me over the
weekend that I often fail to use those little diacritic marks like :) or
:p when they are probably called for, so that people can tell when I am
joking.

I WAS joking. Sort of. Perhaps I over-reacted; being a dyed-in-the-wool
XTC fan of 20+ years, it seems pretty odd to me that someone can just
dismiss such a substantial work in such an off-handed way. I merely
responded in what I thought was a joking way. Sorry if it was confusing.
That being said I still think that not liking this record is mental. I
mean, what's not to like?

On a tangent, I refer to the recent post which featured Andy's comments
re: this list, and the fact that he occasionally sees some of it.
Following fromthe comments above, I think people should be aware that
the artists we are talking about are NOT some remote, inaccessible
ideal. Andy knows of this list, and sometimes reads parts of it; by his
own admission he is very upset by some of the criticism he has read
here.

This presents us with a tricky situation. I'm certainly not suggesting
that people should censor themslves - if you *really* dislike a certain
song, or the record as a whole, fair enough. But I do think a *little*
more sensitivity and thoughtful consideration could be valuable in
preparing such posts. No-one here seems to have a problem expressing
themselves, so why not give us a full exposition of your position,
instead of just casually slagging the record off? I have no problem with
constructive, reasoned criticism - in fact I'd love to see more of it.
It's just that we don't seem to get that much.

It's very easy to be glib and smart-arse, playing the cynic and
dismissing seven years of blood, sweat and tears in a single paragraph.
Maybe just give it a teensy bit more time / thought before you go
shooting your keyboard off, and telling everyone how much you hate this
or that song, or what a disappointment the album is, please?

I'm sure this will generate some heat, but hey - that's what I'm here
for ...

Didactically
Dunks

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

Date: 08 Mar 1999 16:00:49 -0800
From: "Melby, Mary Beth" <Mary.Beth.Melby@disney.com>
Subject: My moment w/ Andy, etc

Chalkfriends:

Well, Friday night has come and gone and I got my moment or two with Andy
and Colin.  Musch to my satisfaction!  I won't bore you all with details
except to say that they were both very gracious and personable.  Andy
seemed touched and embarassed when I told him that my first listen to Apple
Venus made me happy to be alive and that feeling keeps coming back with
every listen.  I also told him that Greenman had taken it's place as my
favorite song (along with Me & the Wind, Yacht Dance and Then She
Appeared).  Colin didn't seem too happy to know that Frivolous and Fruit
Nut still hadn't replaced My Bird Performs as my favorite CM tune, but he
bucked up and signed my stuff anyway!

It was fabulous to meet all the local 'hillians (Hi Mark, Sean, Lynne and
Kate) and also to meet Jeremy who came all the way from Utah and Daniel &
Michelle who flew in from Tucson - what fun!

I had a captive audience yesterday as my friend Elizabeth and I were going
to Chinatown for dim sum and I was driving.  I made her listen and not talk
during ROO and Greenman.  She loved both.  ROO was "gorgeous" and when
Greenman was over she said "Well, that was incredibly sexy!"  When called
upon for clarification she said "how could all of those undulating drums
NOT be sexy!"  I completely agree with her, but it was interesting to hear
it from virgin ears.

As for you, Mr. Sherwood, your post today on the revolving Apple/Venus
themes in the album was fantastic.  I truly enjoy your well-researched,
well-composed perspective.  I do have to say, though, that I'd be really
frightened if Andy and Colin had such an elaborate master plan.  My feeling
is that the lyric subjects and musical themes come as a natural expression
of what Andy and Colin have been through in the last few years, with heavy
emphasis on where they are at currently.  It's fun and exciting to impose
your own analysis to it (as you did with That Wave which was also
invigorating to read) but I have trouble believing that Andy & Colin had it
that well thought out.

Don't ever let me stop you from your various interpretations and analysis,
though.  They are almost as fun as listening to the album for the first
time.  You always send me back to the album or songs with fresh ears and
that's a really valuable thing...  I still can't listen to Season Cycle the
same way since your incredible post last spring.  I saved it to the hard
drive so that I can go back to it every once in a while and get a fresh
shot of pure joy!

MB

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

Message-ID: <19990309013731.22094.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Bob Crain" <bobcrain@hotmail.com>
Subject: MP3, AV Chart Placing, Our Father Who Art In Rap(ture)
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 17:37:31 PST

Hey All,

Musings on recent topics:

MP3 AV1:

Yeah, it _is_ a crime that near-CD quality repros of Andy & Colin's
property is making the rounds (although I haven't found them yet on the
newsgroups, got to get a newsreader I guess).  But (and this is a big
but...)

If someone gets these files on the internet, listens to them, and loves
them, it is very likely that they _will_ buy the CD.  That is pretty
much how the MP3 thing works, folks download them and listen to them on
their computers.  You can convert the MP3s back to CD audio format and
burn them on a CD-R, but remember the quality is not optimum.  Not that
much different than taping them off the FM radio, in my opinion, just a
hell of a lot easier to obtain.

XTC Chart Placing, 1st Week:

It will be interesting to see what happens this week with the chart. If
promotion is good for anything, the album will continue to climb for a
little while, as the fans who fondly remember Nonsuch and such are
alerted to it's presence in fine record sections everywhere.  The good
thing about promoting AV1 is that there is a built-in story, which seems
to be getting them quite a few stories.  I for one am buying 3 more.

Dear God, It's The Rap Version:

This is not the end of the world, it's the world as we know it. XTC is
in the culture when things like this occur.  If it sells, this could be
the most lucrative thing that's happened to Andy in his life!  I
remember reading that Ice-T is also an XTC fan, maybe he can do the
"nigel" loop, J. Irvine.

And nicole, I agree with your assessment of "Frivolous Tonight"; it's a
warm one, perhaps we can look forward to a cover on "Garage, Inc.,
Volume 2"?

-Bob Crain

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

Message-ID: <36E4776B.5C5F@monmouth.com>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 20:20:43 -0500
From: Ross Dickinson <rdickinson@monmouth.com>
Organization: Respectable Street
Subject: The Odyssey(again)

I don't know if my post about this got through lasttime, I don't
remember seeing it.

Anyway, I had to do an audio soundtrack on a scene(or two) from The
Odyssey for English, so I did The Lotus Eaters and The Sirens. Anyway, I
used a load of XTC songs in the thing, so I thought people here might be
interested in hearing it.

You can download it(and read the explanation of it) at
http://members.xoom.com/DeemLorraine/odyssey.htm
The sonud file's in MP3, but it's onlay 64kbps, so people with slower
systems should be able to play it just fine.

	-Ross

--
* -------------------------------------->Parody Central
http://www.monmouth.com/~rdickinson/
With 200+ Songs and Growing!
------>Albums I Bought Lately That You Should Buy Too
XTC - Apple Venus

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

Message-ID: <19990309034631.5670.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com>
Subject: End of the Century?
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 19:46:31 PST

We've lost Stanley Kubrick *and* Dusty Springfield within a week. Damn!
It's just not fair...

Dunks

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

From: CCooli9575@aol.com
Message-ID: <71b97d2f.36e49f7d@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 23:11:41 EST
Subject: More Apple Venus

  Well, my copy of Apple Venus was waiting in the mail last night, so I
tore off the shrinkwrap as I muscled my way in the door keeping one eye on
Spike the kitten to make sure he doesn't escape(he dearly wants to be an
outdoor cat and Daddy doesn't want him to be smooshed by a car), and put it
in the CD drive of my computer and listened on headphones so my wife could
watch Touched By An Angel and so I wouldn't miss anything. The album is
truly a sumptuous feast for the ears, full of strange and exotic fruits
that turn out to be indescribably delicious. This is truly a headphones
album, folks. Listening in the background while you're doing something else
does not do it justice.  Though several songs are familiar from the demos
Karl sent me a while back("River Of Orchids," "Your Dictionary" and "The
Last Balloon" in particular)that in no way detracts from the finished
product. My only gripes; though basically a good song, "Your Dictionary"'s
bitter divorced-guy lyrics grate on me a bit, they kind of break the
otherwise beatific mood of the album. I think it would have been better off
with a more electric arrangement and saved for AV2. Based on the demos I
would have preferred "You And The Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful" which I
feel fits the mood of the album more and would have made a great
centerpiece and maybe even single. And "Harvest Festival" I found a little
boring, it didn't hold my interest as much as anything else. Everything
else had something to pull me in, a gorgeous melody, a little catch in
Andy's voice, a musical hook of some sort, something.  Otherwise no
complaints, except that I think Colin's two songs are so good I wish there
were more of them. For once Colin's contribitions are just as sumptuous as
Andy's lyrically; usually Colin's songs are simpler, more understated and
more poppy. Only the latter is true in this case; "Frivilous Tonight"
especially reminds me of a British accented Brian Wilson, only with much
better lyrics than Brian even at his best.

  I'd recommend this to anyone who likes good music, not just XTC
fans. This could win them some new fans if radio could make room for this
album next to Shawn Mullins and Alanis Morissette. Great job, guys; sorry
you're not coming to Vermont. the skiing's great right now, we got at least
a foot of snow the other day.

Chris

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

Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990308202040.007a85e0@mail-1.ns.net>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 20:20:40 -0800
From: Craig Vreeken <CVreekn@ns.net>
Subject: AV2 Title

Chris W. wrote:
>The best title that would follow the "previous -album- lyric" formula,
>and yet still make sense would be, "Apple Venus Vol. 2: The Swirling Sky",
>IMHO.

I think the best title that would follow the "previous album lyric" formula
and make absolutely no sense would be,

"Apple Venus Vol. 2: I Mix The Poisons And The Wife Don't Complain."
Craig Vreeken
http://www.ns.net/~CVreekn/index.html
http://www.ns.net/~CVreekn/vreeken.fam.html

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

From: CCooli9575@aol.com
Message-ID: <87178963.36e49f84@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 23:11:48 EST
Subject: Re: Glass

>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.
>
>Dan

  I used to have North Star on vinyl; I found it a bit dull. My friend
Nina(who also turned me onto XTC)told me I'd find Einstein On The Beach
a lot more interesting, so I checked it out of the college library.(My
college library was very hip; it was especially long on great jazz; it
had practically every Miles Davis album ever released, for example. I
believe having a former Thelonious Monk sideman in the music department
had something to do with it)I listened to it about three times before
returning it, it was one of the most otherworldly musical experiences
I've ever heard. On the other hand I also sat through Koyanisquatsi and
found it a crashing bore. Maybe it's because I'd given up doing drugs at
that point. Anyway, based on my experience with Philip Glass, "River Of
Orchids" is definitely more melodic than Philip Glass; Glass's
compositions are more about harmony and dischord and dispense with
melody altogether. But hey, maybe I'm just as full of crap as someone
who sees a resemblance. It's been years since I've listened to him, and
there may be something he's done recently that bears more
resemblance. Anyway, for those unfamiliar with Philip Glass, Einstein On
The Beach is definitely worth your acquaintance; the rest you can leave
alone just as well, unless I'm presented with new information(which I'm
always open to; to my great surprise I actually enjoyed some of Air
Supply's last album, for example, when my wife proudly brought it home;
they've kind of gone ambient themselves in a way)

Chris

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

Message-ID: <36E52645.AD956FC@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 1999 08:46:45 -0500
From: Emerson Shiff <emerson7@earthlink.net>
Subject: Recent XTC signing in LA

This is my first post. I attended the signing and wrote about waiting on
line in the zine I do. A link is below. On the main page there's also a
link to a special page called "I Think Virgin Records Megastores Suck".
It's and on-line protest/ticking time-bomb in response to some pretty
shabby planning and execution on the part of store personnel for the
event. On the main page you'll find a link to Page 15, part II, where I
do a full review of XTC's career with both the good and the bad
detailed. I love the new album by the way.

Take care.

Emerson of Long Beach

THE OLD PUNKS WEB ZINE is the world's largest Punk and New Wave Web Zine
and there's lots of reviews of punk movies, books,  & records -- plus
lots of other crap. It's at

http://home.earthlink.net/~emerson7/punk2.htm

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

End of Chalkhills Digest #5-126
*******************************

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