Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 177
Date: Friday, 16 April 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 177
Friday, 16 April 1999
Today's Topics:
advert
Hidden secrets and bits
Baby Spins Round, Just like a Helicopter!
That's ... Entertainment
Extatic Demos & Bull Guts
RE: speaking of venting spleens...
Beatles vs. The Beach Boys, Why?
Re: smalls change
Re: Waspies
Is vs. are
Buying Easter Theatre On The Cheap
Boring response thing
xtc stories
Hitchin a Ride
Soundings
Re: Overrated
Couldn't restrain m'self from laughing
Odd Thought That Happened to pop into my head...
Colin
Re: Crisp
Baby the Beach Boys have got you now
Re: No thugs
An unusual request
the list of questions
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Buster! Watch out for that revolving door.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 16:16:24 +0100 (BST) From: Mandy Taylor <mandyt@central.susx.ac.uk> Subject: advert Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.96.990415161254.10674B-100000@keeler.central.susx.ac.uk> I do have a feeling that Easter Theatre will be used in a car advert. much lovingment, Mandy
------------------------------ Message-ID: <37161B49.EA8E15DB@xpress.es> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 19:00:57 +0200 From: Imanol Ugarte <ix8494@xpress.es> Subject: Hidden secrets and bits Hi all, more bits for the list Hidden secrets : John Denver's Greatest Hits and lots of Moody Blues stuff (my first LPs in 1975).They were,among others, a big melodic influence through several years until I finally threw its strong frames out. Least favourite moment on AV1 : The very long time I've been waiting for it Least favourite XTC song : Gold ,perhaps Worst Beatles song : All You Need Is Love Song that should have been strangled at birth : Spain (Stranglers) Musician you'd like to kick hard : George Michael Whackiest title for a song : Song Within a Song (Camel) Most unpleasant musical experience : Listening to the tapes in my brother in law's car, which happens quite often!( it's plenty of bastard mainstream pop ) Imanol
------------------------------ Message-ID: <001801be85ca$fe0ceae0$98f9abc3@vucqprlj> From: "David Seddon" <D.Seddon@btinternet.com> Subject: Baby Spins Round, Just like a Helicopter! Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 17:23:36 +0100 Wow! My wife is expecting our first child (July 12th...I'll probably tell you about it, when it's born) and I have felt it move before but never seen it move. I've tried coaxing it, talking to it etc...nothing. XTC have done it! I saw it move for the first time last night, whilst playing Helicopter at pretty loud volume. He /she takes after his/her dad! It's doubly brill because I can think of no other XTC song that makes me jump around so much either!! I still love to pogo and twirl like a dervish to this one, tho' when I was "in me prime, like" I could really knock people flying. I guess that this is the song I'd want them to play live in my room if I could chose one. The energy is amazing. I've always loved it, and I guess this seals it. Way hay! Looks like another XTC fan will be born!
------------------------------ Message-Id: <s715fee1.040@chemonics.com> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 14:57:39 -0400 From: Todd Bernhardt <tbernhardt@chemonics.com> Subject: That's ... Entertainment Hi: Jam fan Dom said: >... having been starved of even a faint glimmer of glory in all the twenty years I've been a Hammers supporter I would, albeit reluctantly, volunteer to be sodomized by a rhino if it meant that we got a taste of European action. Very sad, but then that's the wonders of footie for you. I wonder how our US pals would cope with having real sport to watch.....the mind boggles! < Not to mention how you or the rhino would cope! My mind is indeed boggling... and: >Someone once pointed out that slagging off Phil Collins is like kicking a cripple < I think I said "like throwing stones at a kid in a wheelchair." >I can't say I agree - it's actually a very popular sport in this country < Well, I was implying that it was _easy,_ not that it wasn't _fun_. >BTW, why do Americans insist on saying <snip> Hey man, Metallica is on tour! No, you fuckwit, they are on tour. Two nations separated by a common language? Two nations separated by American English, more like.< Well, we _have_ evolved since the 18th century, you know. Actually, you can make an argument for either. I'd say Andy and Colin are members of XTC, but together they are one entity, a band, that they've agreed to refer to by a single name: XTC. So, the individual members of XTC are working on AV2, but XTC is working on AV2. And no doubt if you've seen Metallica live, you'll agree that they are a single, rather frightening (in a good way, of course) entity. If you think English vs. American English is bad, you should try editing Spanish-language documents meant to go to Central and South America -- the different countries there all have their own rules of style, and it's a bitch to try and account for all of them when you're chasing business in the region. >And no, I'm not being entirely serious. Can I stop pointing this out now?< Well, a wink's as good as a nod to a blind bat, but with the literalism I've seen here lately, I'd advise against it. And from long, long ago, in #165, Dom responded to my ridiculous Queen post: >Todd, you are a fine figure of a fink at the best of times, < Stop sweet-talking me, you pig. >but my opinion of you just soared< Okay, okay, take me, but let the rhino finish first. --Todd
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 14:02:49 -0500 (CDT) From: Steve Fish <newman@jump.net> Subject: Extatic Demos & Bull Guts Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.02.9904151358110.5746-100000@serv1.jump.net> I am looking for original CDs of two of the Extatic XTC demo series. Specifically, I'm looking for Volumes 1 & 3. Any help someone could give me finding these discs would be very much appreciated. I'm also looking for a copy (doesn't have to be original since they tend to be expensive) of the Bull with the Golder Guts or the Jules Verne's Sketchbook tapes. Again, any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Steven M. Fish newman@jump.net
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 14:13:39 -0500 (CDT) From: Steve Fish <newman@jump.net> Subject: RE: speaking of venting spleens... Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.02.9904151405510.5746-100000@serv1.jump.net> Jill Oleson <oleson@moneystar.com> said: > "If it weren't for our rib cages, > there would just be spleens a-go-go." > > Robyn Hitchcock > from the movie "Storefront Hitchcock" > > Has anyone outside of Austin, Texas seen this movie yet? > It made it's world debut here over a year ago and it's > fantastic. Yip, yip, yip... I'm from Austin and I haven't seen it yet. Now I've something to do tonite! Thanks for the tip. Andy P. seems to have a penchant for creative band names, so I thought I'd try to bring this all full circle with the name of a band I've yet to use: Truculent Pancreas Maybe the band I'm in now will get around to naming itself and finally use this one. :) Steven M. Fish
------------------------------ Message-ID: <002201be8774$73465da0$9d4adec2@escritoire> From: "Allan Toombs" <allan@escritoire.demon.co.uk> Subject: Beatles vs. The Beach Boys, Why? Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 20:13:45 +0100 At one point in the sixties Brian Wilson actually considered himself to be in competition with the Beatles, but it's a strange idea to play off groups against each other all the same. It's like a WFW wrestling match between Beethoven and Mozart. With the benefit of over thirty years we can see that the two groups are very different. Perhaps at present Beach Boys fans are over-compensating for decades of the group being portrayed as just sun, surf, cars and girls; often by the Wilson brothers themselves. The Beatles have never been so glibly boxed in and their reputation has benefited for early intelligent criticism in the seventies. Being a Brian Wilson fan means picking over some dire pop pap to suddenly discover an utterly beautiful song amidst the dross. There are alot of BB albums out there that are guarranteed to deter the faint hearted. It's like mixing in the most risable John/Yoko avant garde nonsense in with the most sacharine McCartney (think Frog Chorus) and hey, then throw in a Beatles classic. The Beatles were blessed with an enviable consistency. They were great, they changed pop and then they split. The perfect band. The Beach Boys peaked early, got too far out, ground on way too long and still won't quit. The Beach Boys as a group are flawed, but there's greatness there nevertheless. Give them a fair listen. allan@escritoire.demon.co.uk http://www.escritoire.demon.co.uk/ "let a hundred flowers bloom"
------------------------------
Message-ID: <37160967.46D@bhip.infi.net>
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 15:44:43 +0000
From: Brian <mattone@bhip.infi.net>
Subject: Re: smalls change
Tschalkgerz!
I informed before:
>>"insect-headed worker wife" refers to the curlers in her hair, in case we
didn't get that one).<<
And a Mark here responded:
>This is a good insight. But exactly how does it refer to the curlers in
her hair? Do you mean it looks like she's got insects in her hair, or that
the curlers make a hard insect-like skull for her? Or something else?
Sorry for being dim.<
Not to worry.
Actually, it wasn't insight - I picked this up from something I read
somewhere. It seemed a typical XTC-type analogy/metaphor, and it stuck
with me. "No Thugs" is not THAT deep of a song that anybody should be
confused about what it's about ('grandfather', indeed). The curlers
merely represent things on her head, ala an insect. Suburban sprawl,
people as insects ("Across This Antheap" come immediately to mind as
another XTC allusion to the theme here.)
:-)
--
BRIAN THOMAS MATTHEWS
* Digital & traditional illustration/animation
* Caricaturist-for-hire
* RENDERMAN ~ One-Man Band Ordinaire
SAPRINGER CENTRAL ~ http://www.angelfire.com/fl/sapringer
------------------------------ Message-ID: <37161E03.5080@bhip.infi.net> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 17:12:45 +0000 From: Brian <mattone@bhip.infi.net> Subject: Re: Waspies Tschalkgerz! >Andy is refering to underwear specifically not laundry in general don't ya think.< All 'waspies' are laundry, but not all laundry is 'waspies'. We stand correct, still. ;-) -- BRIAN THOMAS MATTHEWS
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3716207F.669E@bhip.infi.net> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 17:23:25 +0000 From: Brian <mattone@bhip.infi.net> Subject: Is vs. are Tschalkgerz! >BTW, why do Americans insist on saying that, for instance, Kajagoogoo is a pile of cack, rather than Kajagoogoo are a pile of cack? This has always irritated me because apart from the grammatical foolishness of it all, it always made me visualize bands (and not Kajagoogoo, thankfully) as single, lumbering dinosaur-like entities. Hey man, Metallica is on tour! No, you fuckwit, they are on tour. Two nations separated by a common language? Two nations separated by American English, more like.< Isn't Metallica - the collection of humans, guitars, drums, roadies, etc., rightfully considered a single entity, as such? The word 'Metallica' suggests a singular thing (it's not 'Metallicas'). I don't have a problem with Metallica being an "it", as opposed to a "they". Metallica is a band - a "thing". Maybe it's not truly grammatically correct, in the strictest sense of the word (and I'm one of those that tend to be concerned about these matters), but if we scrub our perineums too TOO much, makes it kinda hard to walk, if you catch my drift. And I'd bet some Brits make the same mistake, too. Nobody's perfect. -- BRIAN THOMAS MATTHEWS * Digital & traditional illustration/animation
------------------------------ Message-ID: <000f01be87a0$25982e40$912956d1@mabrey> From: "Andisheh Nouraee" <mabrey@mindspring.com> Subject: Buying Easter Theatre On The Cheap Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 20:29:08 -0400 At Q Magazine's web site, www.qonline.co.uk, they're selling the Easter Theatre for a deliciously low price. The CD, plus shipping and handling to the USA came to a total of only 4.59 British Pounds. Give or take a couple cents depending on the exact exchange rate that my Visa card uses, that's only about $7.50. I just ordered it today, so I cannot vouch for the service or speed of delivery, but I thought that those of you as impulsive as me may be willing to take a chance. Later, Andisheh PS - To the people who want the magazine, send me those stamps like we discussed!
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199904160042.UAA15370@lima.epix.net> From: "Michael Davies" <miser17@epix.net> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 20:14:51 -0500 Subject: Boring response thing Least favourite part of Apple Venus1: The lyrics to "I'd Like That" and "Frivolous Tonight". Least Fav XTC song: "War Dance". The lyrics are just so stupid that it's unlistenable. Why does everyone not like "My Weapon"? It's one of my favorite songs from Go2, behind "The Rhythm", "Red", and "Battery Brides" (roughly). Artist most people seem to think is pretty naff, but you actually quite enjoy: Collective Soul. Worst Beatles song: I haven't heard very many Beatles songs. Songs that should have been strangled at birth: "Jessie" by Joshua Kadison, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, and all songs by Celine Dion. Musician you'd like to kick hard: Stepin Fetchit or whatever that guy in Third Eye Blind is called. Wackiest Title for a song: "All Clockwork And No Bodily Fluids Makes Hal A Dull Metal Humbert o In Heaven Every Elephant Baby Wants To Be So Full Of Sting o Paul Simon In The Park With Canticle o But You Can't Pick Your Friends o Vacuum Genesis o DEFMACROS o HOWSOMETH o INGDOTIME o SALENGTHS o OMETHINGL o ETBFOLLOW o AAFTERNOO o NGETPRESE o NTMOMENTI oFTHINGSWO o NTALWAYSB o ETHISWAYT o BCACAUSEA o BWASTEAFT o ERNOONWHE o NEQBMERET o URNFROMSH o OWLITTLEG o REENPLACE o 27" by Game Theory. Most Unpleasant Musical Experience: Cats. Ohhh, the horror. Most ridiculous song I like: Haysi Fantayzee, "Shiny Shiny". I have their album, but it blows like the wind. > by his crew of super-buddies. The Mandarin, who draws his evil power > from his magic rings, responded with "Withdraw Ironman, or you will feel > the power of my ring!". Hmmm. What's funny about that? "Hop on, Gary!" Michael davies miser17@epix.net
------------------------------ Message-ID: <37167F24.6F20D19B@gge.com> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 17:07:42 -0700 From: Dan Duncan <dan@gge.com> Subject: xtc stories am i the only one here who notices a distinct lack of xtc content on this list anymore? i like the beach boys and i love the beatles, but i subscribe to this excellent list to hear about xtc and xtc-related news & stories. lately i find myself fast-scrolling through dissertations on whether or not paul mccartney can beat up brian wilson. who cares? and what, if anything, does it have to do with the lads from swindon? * ----------------------------------------------------- last weekend my girlfriend (she talks and banners unfurl) and i drove down the pacific coast highway to a bungalow by the sea and listened to apple venus 1 on the way. it was great to hear it with the magnificent view of the pacific ocean and cliffs rolling by. we talked about each song as it came on, but i don't think we spoke during 'harvest festival'. * ------------------------------------------------------ >I was in a mastering studio a few years back working on something >unrelated when I happened to glance at a box of tapes on the >floor. This box contained none other than the original masters to >every XTC album up till Nonsuch. With shaking hands I actually >touched the reels of White Music, the soundtrack of my own childhood, >and gazed over the larger (digital) boxes that Todd Rundgren once >held in his hands. Just one of life's little surprises... reading that was like reading a novel i didn't want to end, lincoln! how goes the search for the honky-tonk cds? waiting for av2, dan picks du jour: fave xtc song : wait till your boat goes down fave xtc album: av1 2nd least interesting chalkhills thread (beatles v. beach boys being first): the one about songs where the voice fades into an instument.
------------------------------ From: OMBEAN1@aol.com Message-ID: <617bf8e2.2448084e@aol.com> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 23:28:14 EDT Subject: Hitchin a Ride Hillbillies, First off, Enough of this debate. Why dig so deep into comparisons? They both had good songs.Its all a preference.Im sick of paging down all the time. More Delicious Ridiculous: The recently mentioned Hitchin a Ride-Vanity Fair Yummy Yummy Yummy-1910 Fruit Gum Co.(Also one of AP's faves) Goodnight Tonight-Wings Pony Time- Chubby Checker( Great Singer, Lousy tipper) Thank You Mitch for the recent info.A Greenman video! Awesome. I cant agree more about Mollys writing. What was THAT? Inpenetrable was the perfect word. Lastly, To those Im sending a tape to, I got called out of town for a coupla days.Theyre recorded ,I just have to mail 'em (Fri ) Thanks for the tape Ian! Thats it ,Im done. Roger
------------------------------
Message-Id: <3716C3C8.A237F48D@tmbg.org>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 01:00:01 -0400
From: Ben Gott/Loquacious Music <gott@tmbg.org>
Organization: http://listen.to/loquacious
Subject: Soundings
The 'Hills are alive with the sounds of...
...our favourite band, of course!
Just a few quick notes, coming from a tired, worn-out brain housed in a boy
who just went through a three hour housing lottery! (But I got the
apartment I wanted, so all's well! Yeah, 9D!)
I was listening to some of the live stuff tonight, and it REALLY kicks.
"Burning with Optimism's Flames" is a killer song anyway, and it rocks,
hard, when performed with the love of live.
Then, I dragged out some of my other live albums (Morrissey, James Taylor,
etc.), and I realized that, when live music is good, it's GREAT.
Morrissey's live release ("Beethoven Was Deaf") is unbelievable, and J.T.'s
2-CD set contains "New Hymn," possibly the best song that he's ever written
-- it's gorgeous, stunning, and unbelievably heartfelt. It ain't nothing
like "Sweet Baby James," that terribly annoying piece of drivel. Who the
hell gets nostalgic about the "turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston"? The
Mass Pike *sucks*, James! C'mon!
Another thought: I think that Reuben Blades's "Man Who Sailed" is amazing,
and that Freedy Johnston's "Earn Enough for Us" is good. The rest, I can
do without.
Wouldn't it be cool if Dr. Dre produced the next XTC single? Just a
suggestion, TVT!
-Ben Gott
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3716C8BD.8390CD79@pobox.com> Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 01:21:01 -0400 From: Jefferson Ogata <ogata@pobox.com> Subject: Re: Overrated Chalk full o' nuts: Mixing it with vivid and entertaining metaphors, Lawson Dominic <LawsonD@parliament.uk> went on about: > I wonder > how our US pals would cope with having real sport to watch.....the mind > boggles! Ooh Dom, you little tinker! Tinker is right. I get Brazilian football on the "telly" here. Now there's a *real* sport. > Now this I find a bit weird. Yes, teenybopper music is utterly vile and in > most cases entirely bereft of creative significance or value. However, it's > NOT BLOODY AIMED AT US!!!!! No, but it's aimed out of the music industry's evacuole, and into the mouths of babes. > Molly confused the hell out of me.... Me too. I think Molly is posting from a juno account, which means she might be typing into a dumb terminal program (no offense, Molly!), and perhaps her line editing skills haven't been honed by years of assembly language coding. > BTW, why do Americans insist on saying that, for instance, Kajagoogoo is a > pile of cack, rather than Kajagoogoo are a pile of cack? Because we "sodding" well understand the difference between a syntactic plural and a semantic one, unlike that English crowd "do". Besides, there are more of us than you. If a language is a dialect with an army, we kick yer butts reel good. Take it like a man, Lawson! I got yer rhino right here! Favorite moment on AV1 (this week): Drum entrance on Harvest Festival. Favorite XTC song (this week): Easter Theatre Artist most people seem to think is pretty naff, but you actually quite enjoy: Fiona Apple, at least the three or four songs I've heard Best Beatles Song (this week): Across The Universe performed by Fiona Apple on the soundtrack for Pleasantville. You must hear this. Tasty ear candy. Most pleasant musical experience: Marisa Monte at the Birchmere, July 1997. (Monte-produced new album from Carlinhos Brown already released in Brazil, to be released early May in the U.S. I am hopping up and down like I was whilst waiting for AV1.) -- Jefferson Ogata. smtp: <ogata@pobox.com> http://www.pobox.com/~ogata/ finger: ogata@pobox.com ICQ: 19569681 whois: jo317@whois.internic.net
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3716D062.E8905901@pacbell.net> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 22:53:38 -0700 From: Ken Sanders <moparson@pacbell.net> Organization: Pacific Bell Internet Services Subject: Couldn't restrain m'self from laughing Howdy again, Chalkies!. H. Sherwood, if I EVER get the chance to be in your neck of the woods, PLEASE let me buy you a pint of your favorite whatever-you-please. Your connection of DG to HP Lovecraft was brilliant! *And I've never READ HP Lovecraft, either..not my cuppa* (kowtowing in respect) Ken P.S. Uh, would it be too much to ask to put an end to the Beatles'Beach Boys thing? Please, PRETTY please? MOST FAVORITE SONG FROM A LIVE PERFORMANCE - Robin Hitchcock (er, was it the Soft Boys?) "I Wish I Was A Pretty Girl (so I Could Rape Myself Ih The showERRRRRRR!!! *trying to sing it like R.Hitchcock*)
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3716D13B.4ECD84C8@pacbell.net> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 22:57:15 -0700 From: Ken Sanders <moparson@pacbell.net> Organization: Pacific Bell Internet Services Subject: Odd Thought That Happened to pop into my head... ...What IF "Black Sea" WAS called "Working Under Pressure"...would David Bowie and Queen NEVER make their collaboration, which in turn, would be later used by *ackGAG* Vanilla Ice? Mebbe he'd use "Travels To Nihilon" instead?? Ken
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990416070415.52728.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "kevin donnelly" <kevin_j_donnelly@hotmail.com> Subject: Colin Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 00:04:15 PDT There's been some discussion of Colin's contributions lately so I thought I would add a couple of comments to the effect that I think he is tops, and that he has been massively underused (as has been pointed out ) on the new album. I once saw an interview with him where he said that due to the long periods of inactivity with XTC (ie with not touring, and then not recording) his song writing 'libido' has decreased over the years. Maybe he's just not writing as much as he was. To my mind his efforts on Skylarking are the highpoints of the album, his self deprecating lyrical style counterpointing Andy's more pretentious songs nicely. I'm not a big fan of O&L but find King for a Day and One of the Millions the most accessible tracks. And I think that's the key - his stuff, because of his preoccupation with the little but consuming things in life with which it's easy to identify, is often more comprehensible than Andy's. And that's nice if you've got things like Summer's Cauldron or It's Nearly Africa (though I love both tracks) to puzzle through. Top 10 Colin tracks: Heatwave Nigel English Roundabout In Loving Memory of a Name Big Day Dying King for a Day My Bird Performs Bungalow Fruit Nut Of course Andy could always impose a David Sylvian like ban on anyone else doing songs for XTC and solve these troublesome " we want more Colin" issues :) Kevin ps - though I might add I don't like Ball and Chain at all.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <4782AD6ADDBDD2119B570008C75DD5C1022072@MGMTM02> From: Lawson Dominic <LawsonD@parliament.uk> Subject: Re: Crisp Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 10:13:13 +0100 >>>> But I won't be stomped on like a bug onthe undershoe of life, I tell you!... ...and so on. How fascinating, to see someone make the same stupid mistakes I made, only with the volume control set to eleven....
------------------------------ From: CCooli9575@aol.com Message-ID: <6f4ad929.2448695d@aol.com> Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 06:22:21 EDT Subject: Baby the Beach Boys have got you now >> The Beatles were *great* singers, but, frankly, the Beach Boys were >> better. >Sorry, gotta disagree with you there! The Beach Boys only sounded good on >album due to a whole lot of studio work. If you've ever heard them live, >you'd realize how crap they actually were. I saw them in concert years ago, >and it was most painful and embarrassing. Brian Wilson was nowhere in sight, I'm sure. You can blame Mike Love for turning them into an off-key oldies band. As far as I'm concerned, any spirit The Beach Boys had died with Dennis Wilson in '83, after which as long as Carl was on board they still had life signs but were effectively on life support. Brian was the only musical genius of the band, and Love was the only true dullard(the only time he's come up with any good songs has been in collaboration with Brian; if nothing else he's a good collaborator, and many of Brian's best songs, including "Good Vibrations" were cowritten with Love); as soon as he had a chance to take over the band was as good as finished as far I'm concerned, except on the rare occasions when Brian was actually a contributing member, which wasn't often in the 70's and 80's. Beyond them you have the more limited talents of Dennis and Carl Wilson(Dennis's late 70's solo album Pacific Ocean Blue is quite good, I hear, based on the thirty seconds or so I've heard of it), the dependable journeyman qualities of Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston(Johnston wrote Barry Manilow's "I Write The Songs." 'Nuff said), and when you consider Brian wrote and sang all the backup vocal parts on his first solo album himself(they alone are the biggest selling point of the album, the songs are for the most part second-rate), it's no wonder they may have been both in awe of and jealous of Brian. The problem with The Beach Boys was that Brian was unable to successfully convey his vision to his bandmates, yet he was unable to just do it by himself. Even on his first solo album he had to have help from about twenty different collaborators just to get the songs out, though I suspect the collaborators had less to do with the songs than the credits suggest; I mean, two of them were Dr Landy(his shrink)and Landy's girlfriend. Nonetheless, Brian's primarily a musical genius, like his closest British counterparts, Paul McCartney and Roy Wood; neither of them are the greatest lyric writers around, though all are capable of great expressiveness. Chris
------------------------------ Message-ID: <37171530.7AC42D0@erols.com> Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 06:47:12 -0400 From: Todd and Jennifer Bernhardt <toddjenn@erols.com> Subject: Re: No thugs Hi: Brian Matthews responded to Curtiss' interesting interpretation of the "No Thugs" lyrics by saying: > Man, Curtiss, did you ever listen to (or read) the lyrics to "No Thugs > In Our House"? > They are quite clear on the matter. > Juvenile delinquency of the typical order, with Judge Dad yanking No.1 > son's ass out of the fire. Brian, have _you_ listened to or read the lyrics? They're ambiguous, and Curtiss' take on them is completely valid. For example, because the first verse talks about "the husband" and the last verse talks about "dad," you could logically make the argument that they're different people. And if you're going to buy-in to the view that this little family is living in lower-middle-class clinging-to-respectability squalor, then it's perfectly likely that our waspie-hanging friend's dad is the judge, stepping in to yank grandson's ass out of the fire while wondering why his daughter didn't do better in her search for a husband. Or it could be Graham's dad who's the judge. To the indispensable Elizabeth: Jon Brion has a solo album coming out? Cool. --Todd
------------------------------ Message-ID: <37171D99.503BEFA9@po.cisnet.or.jp> Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 20:23:06 +0900 From: Kevin & Chicaco Ramsey <ckramsey@po.cisnet.or.jp> Subject: An unusual request Hello. This is my first posting to Chalkhills. Actually, I subscribed specifically because I require information that is best answered by a fan of XTC. I was sure to read the FAQs before posting to avoid breaking any of the ground rules of this mailing list. I apologize in advance if my questions are seen as an intrusion. I work as a translator, and have recently been asked to translate a letter to Andy Partridge from a woman who is a fan of XTC. The fan makes several comments in her letter that are very difficult to understand, and I wonder if she may not be making references to lyrics of which I'm not aware, or maybe even to inside stories or band history. I listened to XTC some while in college (the band I was in covered Mayor of Simpleton =)), but I'm not familiar enough with their songs to make the connections to what the fan has written in her letter. I would appreciate any help offered. Please feel free to respond to me privately, as it may be best to avoid cluttering your mailing list with this matter. 1. She refers to "a space where there are 9 muses". 2. She calls her friend a "messenger" and "my apple venus". (I do know, by the way, of XTC's latest album, Apple Venus, Vol. 1.) 3. She mentions that she would have liked to have given him dandelions. 4. She says she would like to meet the band members while walking along a road in/on/at ??? The Chalk. 5. When meeting them on that road, she would give them flowers. But, rather than be herself, she would appear as a 10 year old boy and say, "Next, let's all sing together. Just join in when you feel like it." I hope some of this makes sense to you, because it certainly doesn't to me. If she isn't making reference to specific XTC songs, etc., then I have a difficult job ahead of me. Thank you, Kevin Ramsey -- Kevin & Chicaco Ramsey Hiroshima, Japan
------------------------------ From: jsteich@mindspring.com Message-ID: <002501be8806$c963e120$efcbf7a5@funtosplamisham> Subject: the list of questions Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 08:43:52 -0400 i dunno why im going to fill out these little questions, but im going to anyway. Hey, good questions! Here's my answers: EEEUUUUURRGH!, or THE MOST AWFUL ALBUM COVER IN HISTORY zenyatta mondatta. besides being stupid, its ugly. tied with the first revenge album. the pictures of naked women on motorcycles almost killed me. i have no problem with naked women or motorcycles, but it was just sooo tasteless. ALBUM I'M MOST EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT THAT I BOUGHT: fox on the box by village people. i was about 4 years old and i just wanted to get a tape. bargain bin at k-mart with my mom. oh my. i want to hear that album again some day. its still the village people though. oh shame. MOST BLUSH-MAKING PERSONAL MUSCIAL CONFESSIONS: i sold loveless by my bloody valentine a couple of days after i bought it the first time. it took me about a year to realize my mistake. but heres the worst of it: i bought the "baby got back" single by sir mixalot or whatever (when i was still very young and stupid). when i realized how wrong i was i sold it to a girl for a dollar, stole it back and crucified the fucker. really. with nails and all. even ripped the tape out. i was very vengeful to these tapes. poor things didnt deserve it. WORST MUSICAL EXPERIENCE: the day i bought the first revenge (new order spin-off) album and realized it sucked. GREATEST CONCERT EVER: tricky at tremont music hall in charlotte, nc. great show, played all sorts of new stuff. you could smell the joint that he was smoking even past all the cigarettes in the crowd. he was sure smoking some good stuff, because he was really getting into it. he was shaking his head to produce some strange vocal effect. it was entrancing. what a show. WORST CONCERT EVER: legendary pink dots at the same place. their live show verges on post-rock type stuff. which i am not a fan of. "YOU KNUCKLEHEAD!" - CLASSIC CONCERTS I COULD HAVE GONE TO, BUT DIDN'T: john cale in chapel hill last year sometime. FAVORITE (NOT BEST) ROCK FILM: sign "o" the times. WORST ROCK FILM help! (i dont know if its the worst, but coming out of the beatles, its painful to watch) PERFORMERS MOST DESERVING OF A SLOW PAINFUL DEATH: michael bolton celine dion and many others FIVE MOST OVERRATED ACTS IN HISTORY: oasis elton john bauhaus crosby, stills and nash yes UTTERLY CRAP BAND I'M PROUD TO SAY I NEVER LIKED: any bombastic art-rock band. except king crimson (who only sometimes ranks as "bombastic art-rock" and who i only sometimes like). jesse
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