Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 142
Date: Friday, 19 March 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 142
Friday, 19 March 1999
Today's Topics:
stopmeifyou'veheardthisonebefore
The Lovely Linda...
Aharghh... you have a drummers legs...
it fair brightened up my day
YAZBEK TOUR DATES!
YAZBEK SUCKS
First Post-XTC in the Street
tidbits
To Dom and David
a request
Englishness
XTCNLA
yet more on beauty...
Obheard
misheard lyric - yum yum
Re: Andy's Dictionary
Winston Churchill in "Frivolous Tonight"
I just feel like taking up bandwidth
D-U-M-B, is that how you spell Dunks?
Thanks and bye-bye!
Re: The Dukes of Stratosphear
Los Angeles radio interview with Andy and Colin
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <E3B777F7C741D211A2C100A0C9DCF97B0179C9C3@mse9th1.barnesandnoble.com> From: Greg Marrs <gmarrs@book.com> Subject: stopmeifyou'veheardthisonebefore Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 10:14:55 -0500 Took great delight in discovering that AV1 is THE featured title on cdnow.com today, 3/18. Here's their promo blurb: There have been a lot of changes in the musical climate since 1992, which is when XTC released its last all-new studio effort. However, their brand of cerebral, melodic pop never goes out of style. Even after a seven-year hiatus, XTC sounds as fresh and relevant today as it did when it broke through two decades ago. No matter when it comes out, a song like "Your Dictionary" is gonna be cool. Greg Marrs Features Editor "Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders." --William Faulkner
------------------------------ From: BRJohnson1@aol.com Message-ID: <ef6fac3d.36f11890@aol.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 10:15:28 EST Subject: The Lovely Linda... Anyone interested in checking out Linda, the violinist Dave did the session with, can check out www.lindabrava.com to find out more about her - in fact, you can find out a *lot* about her, courtesy of her Playboy shots. Of course, posting this is probably unnecessary, because like me, upon hearing the words "Swedish model" every other male Chalkhillian between the ages of 9 and dead immediately Yahoo'd themselves crazy, looking for pictures! I think #5-140 will be simply postings of the same URL. (That and another Molly-Amanda catfight... which is only slightly less pleasurable to think about than Linda!) Refraining from the obvious "Omnibus"-inspired jokes, Brad
------------------------------ Message-Id: <s6f12958.008@plextek.co.uk> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 16:26:46 +0000 From: Philip Lawes <PJL@plextek.co.uk> Subject: Aharghh... you have a drummers legs... On the AV2 drummer debate I now read from various sources that AP favours Dave Mattocks and/or hasn't decided yet on the new drummer but says that it isn't going to be Prairie Prince. In Todd Bernhardt's excellent 'Modern Drummer' interview (see Chalkhills) Andy seems to suggest that at least a few of the drum tracks for the songs on AV2 are already in the can with Prairie behind the kit: >TB: "Church of Women" - are you keeping that on the album? >AP: Yeah, but I don't know if that's going to make the first record or the >second at the moment. We haven't even edited his drum takes on that yet, >so I can't really tell you any more about that. I believe that the Article predates the Difford affair, so am I right in thinking that the tapes seized by Mr. Difford contain some of the Prairie Prince drum tracks for AV2? Thinking about it it's unlikely as PPs drumming certainly made it onto AV1, but it would be interesting to know whether there's anything irreplaceable on the tapes - there must be a lot of Dave Gregory if nothing else. BTW the same article says that it's the Prince's legs that are being slapped on 'I'd Like That' rather than the amateur legs of Andy (perhaps to preserve the feel of the demos Prairie could have slapped Andy's legs?) Mitch Friedman wrote: >I recently wrote Andy a letter urging him to speak with Dave very soon and >hash this stuff out between the two of them, no matter how maddening it >will be for both men. Thanks Mitch, you're the voice of reason as always. Despite being guilty of this in a past post (and, bugger, I'm bringing it up again now aren't I) it's now got to be the time to put the Andy vs. Dave debate to bed. The only solution to the matter will be the one that they arrive at between themselves and nothing we say here matters a jot. To paraphrase (I think) Borges the debate on this list is beginning to remind me of two bald men fighting over a comb. Having given the album a few listens it strikes me that it's an obvious candidate for the Mercury Music Prize. Not only is it a collection of songs that are easily accessible but with considerable depth to them but is also a true orchestral recording (the orchestral arrangements are at the heart of the songs rather than painted over the top later). From memory the Mercury shortlist usually includes one or two classical albums, although none has so far won. Apple Venus would surely be in a position to garner votes from the classical and pop ends of the judging panel, or may at least (to be cynical) emerge as a compromise choice and win! Is there anybody at Cooking Vinyl with an opinion as to how likely a nomination is? I know that the prize is awarded in September but I've no idea of who decides what's nominated. Highlights of AV1 on my last listen before I turn it off for a week or so (to let it settle more deeply into my subconscious); I now hear ROO like a musical traffic jam; the first couple of looped brass phrases sound just like four London Taxis at a red light, while the muted trumpets (beep, Beeep, BEEEEP, BEEPBEEPBEEP) are three reps in Ford Mondeo's arriving at a mini-roundabout at the same time. Also the stereo panning and arrangement remind me of assorted urban traffic sounds. The guitar-turmoil in parts of 'Fruit Nut'. That and the starey-eyed vocal! The slightly dissonant woodwind (oboe?) at the end of 'I Can't Own Her'. Anybody with an opinion on whether that's Mike Batt or AP? (I haven't heard the demos). Phil
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 09:20:34 -0800 (PST)
From: Christie Byun <byunc01@student.ucr.edu>
Subject: it fair brightened up my day
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.990318091329.15080C-100000@cocoon.ucr.edu>
Hi All,
Hey, let's have some more LA signing posts, eh? Or any signing posts in
general, I just love reading them.
I've been listening to AV over and over again and all I can say is that
it's too short! I keep having to hit the repeat after what, only 50
minutes! I need more!
I'm happy to have met Andy and Colin at the LA signing. I suppose it's
silly of me to say so, since it's difficult for them to remember anyone
out of the many people they see every day, but it was great to finally see
in person the people responsible for all the music I love so much. I
guess it's a frippy thing where my attitudes and expectations have more to
do with me than anything to do with them. But what the hey, I liked it!
Think happy thoughts.
Christie
"Well, maybe we didn't learn anything. But we had a good time!"
--The Tick
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199903181806.KAA02795@sgi.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 11:05:10 -0700 Subject: YAZBEK TOUR DATES! From: "Jillian Jenkins" <jillian@war.com> FYI Yazbek is doing a residency at Baby Jupiter's in New York City for the next few months. Show your support and go check out Yazbek. Jillian Jenkins What Are Records? jillian@war.com 3/25 Thurs. New York, NY Baby Jupiter's 9:00PM $5.00 21+ 4/29 Thurs. New York, NY Baby Jupiter's 9:00PM $5.00 21+ 5/27 Thurs. New York, NY Baby Jupiter's 9:00PM $5.00 21+ 6/24 Thurs. New York, NY Baby Jupiter's 9:00PM $5.00 21+
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v02140b00b316efe34646@[208.251.162.104]> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 13:10:12 -0500 From: gloop@ntr.net (Yazbek) Subject: YAZBEK SUCKS That's Sucks as in "Sucks-eeds in becoming a musical theatre nerd". Alright, alright-- thanks for the many concerned e-mails from Chalkhillians concerning the blurb in Variety about the Full Monty musical. The answers-- 1. Yes, I am doing it. At least until they come to their senses. 2. No, I have no idea why they asked me. 3. Yes, Partridge has heard at least two songs from it. He told me he likes them, but then he's always sucking up to me trying to steal ideas and silverware. 4. Fuck you. 5. YES, MY OVERSIZED BAND IS INDEED PLAYING EVERY MONTH'S LAST THURSDAY (AS IN NEXT THUR. MARCH 25TH) AT BABY JUPITER IN NYC ON ORCHARD AND STANTON AT 9 O'CLOCK. 6. Yes, but without the harness. God Bless Relph. Relph Bless God. Please unsubscribe me. Thanks, Yazbek
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36F1421F.18AEA6C3@sirius.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 10:13:33 -0800 From: Gino Nave <gnave@sirius.com> Organization: omniman Subject: First Post-XTC in the Street Hi to All This is my first post to the list, but first I would like to thank everyone here for being the glue that held the XTC fan base together through all of those lean years . Before I comment on the new record, I have a minor, but pretty cool incident to relay. I live in San Francisco and while walking to work at about 9am this Monday, I passed this place called Cafe Prague (on Pacific & Kearny). As I hurried by, my ears were walloped with the chorus of "Easter Theatre." After I picked myself up off the ground, I rationalized that maybe they were playing the radio and for some un-Godly reason this song was playing on a local station. Fast forward 3 hours later, I pass by again and stop in for an iced tea and "Wake Up" is playing on the sound system! Keep in mind, this is San Francisco where a cafe's Oh-So-Cool Factor is measured by the staff's remoteness and by how terribly hip its music is. God forbid they should be playing a POP GROUP from the 80's. What will the style police think? Sarcasm aside, it was great to sit in a cafe and listen to the entire AV record. Seems they had been playing XTC discs all day. If you live in SF, go to this place and buy a beer or something! About AV: Without sounding like a gushing fan, I truly believe it is the best record of the decade. Maybe it is the lack of good Pop out there, but I have not been into a record like this since I was a giddy teen listening to Yes and Rush LPs (of all things!). There is an honesty in AV that is more apparent than other XTC records. Todd Rundgren once said of Andy (paraphrase): He tends to rub the listeners nose into his cleverness. There are moments where I agree. The Big Express has lots of too-clever clanking going on. With AV Andy seems to have shed the urge to tweak the listeners nose all the time. It is a VERY honest record and the stripped down organic nature suits the songs well. Have you ever heard a better line than "That longing look you gave me?" It encapsulates lost love like an entire library of sonnets. I could go on, but will save these ramblings for another time. -gino
------------------------------ Message-ID: <204640794C39D211A21700805FA735211AA24B@ahqex1.rei.com> From: Steve Sims <ssims@rei.com> Subject: tidbits Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 10:17:21 -0800 10 extra points to Andy for being the first to use "vichyssoise" in a song. And might I suggest "Apple Venus 2: Swollen Summer Moon." -steve
------------------------------ Message-ID: <2043F72A2C73D2119D5B0008C74CA17B55E685@azmail.rjconsult.com> From: "Miller, Ed" <emiller@rjconsult.com> Subject: To Dom and David Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 11:31:51 -0600 Gentlemen... Would you PLEASE take your petty bickering off-line please. I'm sick and tired of your childish clutter taking up space in the digest. If there were even a remote reference to XTC I'd give you the benefit of the doubt, but your bantering back and forth now just looks like a way for both of you to show off. I, personally, am not impressed with either of you. Sincerely, Ed
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 09:35:38 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <199903181735.JAA27512@mail2.deltanet.com> From: DCB-MBB <mb2@deltanet.com> Subject: a request could we have a courtesy flush, please? this whole Andy/Dave thing is starting to REEK. . . Thank-you, Debora Brown
------------------------------ Message-ID: <FBDF04743A94D21197E700A0C9AADB8D09B44C@GRLNT01> From: Paul Henly <PHENLY@laneshealth.com> Subject: Englishness Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 17:03:38 -0000 Being a Chalkhills virgin (are you allowed to mention that word/label?), I am amused by some of the subjects currently under debate, especially discussion of XTCs 'Englishness'. Examples being 'Strawberry Fool', 'Four Eyed Fool', Lord Nelson etc. With XTC being so popular overseas it must be difficult for some fans to get to grips with some of XTC's lyrics. By the way, in 'The Last Balloon' it's 'winos sliding down'. 'Easter Theatre' being released as a single at Easter? XTC cashing in on a religious festival, whatever next!!! I'm off to spray my buds, bye. PJH
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990318212536.6310.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "monsieur creekbird" <creekbird5@hotmail.com> Subject: XTCNLA Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 13:25:35 PST Hello to all! My LA signing experience: I waited two hours in which time i drank alot of coffee. Therefore by the time i got up to the guys, let's just say i felt 'weird'. Andy gave me a grape, signed my 25 O'Clock record (along with AV1) and I took a nifty picture of the two of them with my 3D camera (which Colin found interesting). Oh, and i gave them some CDs of my homemade music (hey, why not?). It was quite a nice experience, albeit strangely surreal. Somehow it reminded me of the cafeteria line in elementary school. MOO! Best song on AV1 hands down: EASTER THEATRE!! Colin's songs are great, too. Especially since i'm not a big fan of some of his older tunes (e.g. smartest monkeys (BLEECH!!)). Overall it is a wonderful record that leaves me wanting more! sincerely, creekbird sidenote: my little sis was in town and we got to go see Julian Lennon on the Tonight Show. His new record is quite splendid!
------------------------------ Message-ID: <900822C71730D2118D8C00805F65765C48195B@EINSTEIN> From: Jill Oleson <oleson@moneystar.com> Subject: yet more on beauty... Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 16:28:59 -0600 I've waited a while to write this because I wanted to consider very carefully my response and to choose my words well. I was deeply moved by Pancho Artecona's comment on "being ugly." It took the discussion of the acceptance of beauty in our contemporary world in a direction I could not foresee. It made me regret that I used "beautiful people" as my only example of the contrast of beauty and ugliness in our global society. When I wrote the post that originated this thread, I actually was thinking primarily of architecture. The ugliness of my home town's new convention center is a constant source of irritation for me and I wish that the architect had considered the concept of beauty for at least an instant before ink was put to paper, and mortar was put to stone. Although we use the term "beauty" in regard to music, we really do not use the term "ugly." We may say "atonal," "discordant," and so on, but those concepts can be used beautifully--as so well demonstrated by the first two XTC albums, for example. Perhaps the biggest insult we can hurl at music (or any art) is to simply call it "stupid." There are two primary decision points when something either beautiful, or ugly, or somewhere in-between can enter into our cultural consciousness: 1. When the work is created (by the artist). 2. When the work is distributed (often by a company). Frankly, both are problematic. If an artist chooses not to explore an idea because it is too different from an established body of work, then the artist has self-limited creativity out of fear of what others might think. An example of this is when an artist decides not to explore making something beautiful out of fear that it will not be considered cool. When a company decides not to support an artistic effort because it is concerned about how that work might be received by the money-spending public, then it has done a real disservice to both the artist and the public. While a company must obviously balance expenditures with profits, continuing to flood the market with senseless pablum rather than to support the output of truly creative minds is... well, you decide for yourself. Sincerely, Jill Oleson Austin, Texas NOTE: I can't help but smirk at Dom referring to me as "increasingly godlike." It immediately brought to mind an image of the Venus of Willendorf. (Hey, I have a mirror, man!) For an illustration, see: http://www.broomcloset.com/greenman.html
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36F180BB.CDC559C1@umich.edu> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 17:39:55 -0500 From: Rob Hill <rhill@umich.edu> Subject: Obheard Add this to the misheard lyrics antheap: "The Wheel and the Maypole." My girlfriend came into the room just as Andy launches gaily into the "Maypole" bit. She stopped in her tracks, wondering what sort of horribly demented nursery rhyme I was listening to. She thought he was saying "napalm." The song has taken on an entirely new meaning ever since. Rob
------------------------------ Message-ID: <002a01be7159$2165cba0$0d2aa8c0@me.myoffice.com> From: "Steven Paul" <spaul@armstronglaw.com> Subject: misheard lyric - yum yum Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 16:04:52 -0000 Someone asked, > What are some of your better misheard lyrics from AV1? I hear this from Easter Theater: Stage left Enter Easter egg and she's dressed in yum yum. Just being Frivolous tonight.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36F1899D.7CF56BA1@gge.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 15:17:54 -0800 From: Dan Duncan <dan@gge.com> Subject: Re: Andy's Dictionary b.hancill@sundaymirror.co.uk said in his/her post: "...I'm bemused by the universalassumption that Your Dictionary is about Andy's marriage break-up. My own first reaction on hearing the song was that he was writing about the band's long-running dispute with Virgin Records and all the small humiliations that this entailed" thank you for that post! that was the first thing i thought when i heard that song too. i didn't know andy went through a divorce so it never occurred to me. i joined this list the same week (or so) that av1 came out and read all these posts referring to d-i-v-o-r-c-e and that song and thought "ooohhhh......i get it. now it's clear as childrens' chalklines on the pavement!" then i felt silly, like when you trip over your own feet but luckily no one saw. my favorite song today is "towers of london" victoria's gem, dan
------------------------------ From: WWi8064839@aol.com Message-ID: <e7ba9f02.36f1bcbe@aol.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 21:55:58 EST Subject: Winston Churchill in "Frivolous Tonight" Colin sings: "But this could be our finest hour" Colin's reference is to one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century, by Winston Churchill, June 18th 1940, to the English nation regarding the RAF. "...this was their finest hour." I'm guessing the speech was given after the Battle of Dunkirk. Thank you, and good night, Lord Kitchener
------------------------------ From: Jdmack01@aol.com Message-ID: <7c899211.36f1b31f@aol.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 21:14:55 EST Subject: I just feel like taking up bandwidth Some people just like hearing the sound of their own posts - like me! 1. Why is there so much hiss at the beginning of "River Of Orchids?" The rest of the album sounds so good! 2. "Easter Theater" is about as close as Andy's come to a perfect song. It's poetry set to music! But I have a hard time with the phrase "yellow yolk." It just doesn't roll off the tongue very well, being that the accent is on "-low." 3. I wish I was a buddy of Andy's, and he had asked me my opinion of "Your Dictionary" when it was still a demo. This could have been one of the greatest songs ever written about breaking up in general, except for two things. First, the phrase "four-eyed fool" makes the song specifically about him. Second, the ending makes the song specifically about a divorce, and not just a generic breakup. If he had changed these two items, the song might have had more mass appeal, and he might not have felt like he was reopening old wounds by singing it. 4. Paul and John eventually made up, but lord knows they stabbed each other in the press for a few years. Give Andy and Dave time (yes, another XTC- Beatles connection). 5. When I heard the demo for "Greenman," I hated the fact that the opening woodwind part repeated throughout the entire song. Thank God that someone had the sense to ditch that idea! Now I think the song sounds great! 6. The addition of percussion to "I Can't Own Her" improves the song dramatically for me over the demo! 7. I like Colin's songs on AV1, but it took me a while because they stick out like clowns at a funeral. 8. Why am I numbering these? 9. Can someone at Cooking Vinyl tell us why they are putting the demo for "Easter Theatre" as the bonus track on the single, instead of a demo of one of the rejected songs? My vote would have been for "Bumper Cars." I think that song is great, but I knew from day one that it was never going to end up on an XTC album. 10. I truly wish that "Easter Theatre" had been allowed to come to a complete end without being crossfaded into "KISK." 11. Sam Adams Cherry Wheat is GOOD beer! J. D. Mack
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 14:31:38 +1000
From: Duncan Kimball <duncan.kimball@tafensw.edu.au>
Subject: D-U-M-B, is that how you spell Dunks?
Message-Id: <36F1D329.6405966@tafensw.edu.au>
Hi Chalksies!
I herewith address diverse topics, beginning with Brian Hancill
<b.hancill@sundaymirror.co.uk>, who wrote:
>I only joined this list after buying AV1 and I'm bemused by the universal
>assumption that Your Dictionary is about Andy's marriage break-up.
With all due respect, Brian, it's more than an assumption. Andy has
referred to it quite specifically in several recent interviews, and
leaves little room for doubt that YD is primarily about his marriage
breakup. After all, he doesn't want his kids to hear it, and I doubt
it's the cussing that he's worried about.
Of course Andy seldom restricts himself to one level of meaning, so
obviously this is one of several songs he's written which also touch on
the Virgin brouhaha ("Ship Trapped In The Ice" etc). It could equally
apply to Dave's leaving the group
>Evidence? Well the song does contain the word "Virgin", and the "Now that I
>can speak/see/hear" lyric seems to fit the scenario of a guy finally free
>after a long period when he wasn't able to express himself.
Sometimes my dumbness amazes me - I hadn't actually connected the
"Virgin Mary" line to Virgin. D'oh! Good call, Brian. (Funny how
Virgin's ex-boss's first name was Dick ...)
*----------------------------------------------
AAAAAAARRRRRGH!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I beg you all - let's make an end to all this
blarney about Andy and his supposed ego, and what he and Dave do or do
not think of or say about each other or what anyone else thinks about it
all. IT'S BORING. I'm sorry but it's about as interesting as a
documentary about fishing. Dave has left the band. He's happy; Andy's
happy. GET OVER IT!
*-------------------------------------------
Positively My LAST word about ego - if you want to see a real ego in
action, call a professional. Like.... Morrissey. Now, I love his work in
The Smiths and elsewhere, but he is by all reports an utter, utter
bastard. Over the years I have heard or read many, many reports
detailing his legendary temper tanties and assorted nastiness. One
notable pasting emerged from the lawsuit brought against him and Marr
brought by former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. The presiding judge gave
our Mozzer a right bollocking, describing him as "devious, truculent and
unreliable". Morrisey, for his part, described Joyce and (ex-Smiths'
bass player) Andy Rourke as "replaceable as parts of a broken-down
lawnmower". Nice guy. Joyce won the case on appeal, with (potentially) a
#1 million-plus payout. Unfortunately the hapless Rourke settled out of
court for a pathetic #83,000 and according to Q-Online has recently
declared himself bankrupt. (D'oh!). Moz is reported to be worth about #8
million.
*-----------------------------------------------
A metaphorical query - I haven't been to London, especially not to visit
the Queen (die you old bag!) and thus am a little confused by Andy's
imagery in ROO:
"I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus"
Apart from evoking yet more images of things revolving around a big pole
(phwooarh!) I sort of assumed that Andy may be referring to those big
lion statues, but ... my understanding is that they are at the base of
Nelson's Column (wah-hey!) in Trafalgar Square, not in Picadilly. And
what is the statue on the column there - Mercury? Am I totally off-beam
here? Can anyone enlighten my colonial ignorance?
*---------------------------------------------
While we're on figures of speech ... I thought Friday was going to be a
pleasant end to the week until Michael Versaci evoked this terrifying
image:
>And what about The Beatles? People will argue until they are
>blue-in-the-face over their technical abilities, but would anybody say that
>they (apart from Paul on the bass) were virtuosos? They were not, and yet
>if you put Pat Metheny and Eddie Van Halen on Guitars, Omar Hakim on drums,
>Tony Levin on bass and Freddie Mercury, (don't e-mail me and tell me he's
>dead!) Elton John and Al Jarreau on vocals and had this "band" recreate a
>handful of Beatle records note-for-note, would it be "better" than The
>Beatles?
Echhhh! Bleeechhh! Blaaarggh! I've just been sick all over the keyboard.
Who would even contemplate doiing something like that? (Except those
guys from Presley's band, of course.Gawd, that sounds awful).
*---------------------------------------------
Geniuses.... hmmm... (should that be Genii?)
Yeah yeah ...Lenny Da Vinci was a cool guy .. Einstein? Right clever -
but look at all the trouble he got us into ... Hawking? Bloody good at
maths, that's for sure.
Personally, I go for the people who don't get the kudos, like Edwin H.
Armstrong. Who? Well ... Armstrong pretty much created radio and TV as
we know it; he invented the Regenerative Circuit (the first radio
amplifier) in 1913, when he was only 22, invented the Superheterodyne
Circuit, (the basic circuit still used in 98 percent of all radio and
television receivers) in 1918 and - believe it or not - invented the
complete FM System in 1933. That guy was a GENIUS. Yet almost nobody
knows about him. (If you're interested there's a great Armstrong site at
http://www.erols.com/oldradio/)
As for Andy ... well, I don't imagine that he would be any more
comfortable with the 'genius' tag than was Brian Wilson, who said: "I'm
not a genius - I'm just a hard-working guy.".
But they're both bloody good, aren't they?
*--------------------------------------------
Finally (and pardon me if this is off-topic, and old news) I just got
the new edition of Q (well, new in the sense that it only just got to
Oz) and was very saddened to learn of the death of the brilliant pianist
Kenny Kirkland. Kenny was of course was a long-time member of Sting's
backing band, and more recently a member of the Tonight Show band with
Branford Marsalis. Having seen him several times live I can attest to
what a truly amazing player he was. Unfortunately it appears that he had
been using heroin, and died of an overdose at his home in late November
last year. A sad loss.
Well that's a cheery thought to go out on, eh?
have a nice weekend
Dunks
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36F24FE8.9D220ADE@earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 08:23:52 -0500 From: Emerson Shiff <emerson7@earthlink.net> Subject: Thanks and bye-bye! I've read the Chalkhills posts every day since the XTC in-store signing in LA and I've gotten some useful info from it. It repeats a lot so I wish you all the best. If any LA XTC fans want to trade tapes (or I'll make you tapes, it's not like my time is that valuable), send me an e-mail at emerson7@earthlink.net. At the URL below there's a review of the new CD on page 6, a story on seeing them in person on page 2, and a big career perspective thing on page 15(2). Some last comments: This digest should be edited a lot more to keep it new and relevant. Maybe topics should be suggested and then members can write about it for special digests. There's a lot of knowledgeable fans here and the digest can be a lot more than diary entries on where people were when they saw a TV ad for Apple Venus. As far as Andy trashing Dave, there's no excuse for it, and anyone who defends Andy is being overly protective of a grown man who should have a LOT more class about it. Don't worry, Andy won't stop recording if you rightly tell him to act like an adult. He's not a cult either. Expect more from your heroes, that's all. Good luck and all that! Emerson Old Punks Web Zine http://home.earthlink.net/~emerson7/oldpunks.htm
------------------------------
Message-ID: <002201be71ca$f4b6b660$26010101@hodad>
From: "david robson" <hodad@ozemail.com.au>
Subject: Re: The Dukes of Stratosphear
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 16:36:39 +1100
music@telisphere.com wrote....
Just got the Dukes CD "Chips From The Chocolate Fireball" (anthology).
Incredible.
One of my new favorite CD's.
Always loved The Mole From The Ministry, and thought it was by Klaatu.
The Dukes are brilliant. Hopefully fan interest, can resurrect them.
If any Seattle area XTC tribute bands need a guitarist, give me a call
:)
****** That's a very interesting idea. I mentioned in an earlier post that I
had talked about AV1 on the Klaatu mailing list and a few of them had gone
off and purchased it and posted some very complimentary things about Andy's
songwriting. The first thing I did when I connected to the internet in 1996
was to do a search of my favorite bands, and Klaatu and XTC were the first
two (along with Dodgy, The La's etc.).
The parallels between Klaatu and XTC are quite scary really. For those
who don't know the full story, Klaatu broke big time in 1977 on the back of
the "Klaatu are the Beatles" rumour that was instigated by an article
written by Rhode Island reporter Steve Smith. Smith indicated that Klaatu's
debut album entitled 3.47EST had no writing credits, and that the songs bore
an uncanny resemblence to a very popular 1960's band from Liverpool,
England. On contacting Capitol records, Smith was referred to Klaatu's
manager who refused to either confirm or deny his client's identities. The
fact that the album was released on Capitol (the Beatles U.S label) only
heightened the rumour and the album eventually went on to sell a million
copies worldwide.
Eventually the band were identified as 3 musicians from Toronto, Canada.
John Woloschuk - vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, Dee Long - Guitar,
keyboards, vocals and Terry Draper - drums, vocals. After they
were"unmasked" the public backlash relegated their albums to bombs that even
the superb "Hope" (1977) could not overcome. Capitol eventually ended up
being unable to pigeonhole them into a major selling act (sound familiar?)
and they split after recording their last album "Magentalane" in 1981.
I don't have The Dukes at the moment but am going to pick up a copy online.
I'm looking forward to some "new XTC" to go with my AV1.
Finally, how about we give the Andy/Dave battle a break for awhile. All
these tings ever achieve is the shifting of alliances with either artist and
they do not right any wrongs. What's done is done, however many of us might
wish it otherwise. Band's break up all the time and this is simply another
example of a parting of the ways. Dave's work exists on all those XTC
albums, so listen to them and be thankful for what was, rather than for what
may never be again.
For any who want to check out the official Klaatu web site go to
http://www.klaatu.org/
Dave Robson
------------------------------ Message-ID: <002f01be71db$dde1eca0$4a4e8218@we.mediaone.net> From: "Victor Rocha" <wstsidela@mediaone.net> Subject: Los Angeles radio interview with Andy and Colin Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 23:41:03 -0800 Los Angeles radio interview with Andy and Colin........you're welcome, Victor Rocha http://www.kcrw.org/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=or&air_date=3/14/99&guest_name=XTC&tmplt_type=show
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #5-142 *******************************
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19 March 1999 / Feedback