Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 185
Date: Wednesday, 28 April 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 185
Wednesday, 28 April 1999
Today's Topics:
Woolfson?
Boingo & over it
Swindon Mentioned on the Tonight Show
Something for everyone
Laugh? I nearly did ...
Boston Chalkies
Another XTC-influenced band....
More Green Men
RE: New Dave news
The Donner (Dinner) Party
Re: Dave news from Mitch
XTC Gone From TVT Website?
Swindon Roundabout
Belew The Belt...
more Green men
only in Canada.....
"No Thugs" again & again & again...
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-Id: <v01540b04b34acd6c44be@[192.168.0.72]> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 14:12:08 +1200 From: digja611@student.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Woolfson? I notice the name Eric Woolfson in the credits to AV12 - is this the same Eric Woolfson who used to be in the Alan Parsons Project? If so, what contribution did he make to AV1? James
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3724FA2D.5B1E@bhip.infi.net> Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 23:44:25 +0000 From: Brian <mattone@bhip.infi.net> Subject: Boingo & over it Tschalkgerz! (*SNIF*) bless me... (*SNIF*) >Best Concert: U.S. Festival in the early 80's. great show. great line up: Ramones, English Beat, Oingo Boingo, B-52's Talking Heads, and The Police< Yeah, I can speak for Oingo Boingo - best damn shows I've ever seen (3 times)... if anyone who would have liked to see them didn't... well, you missed it. You truly missed it. Oh, hey, BTW - I'M OVER THIS 'NO THUGS' LYRIC THREAD!! MAN - SORRY I CHIMED IN WITH MY OPINION!! *Whew* Now that I've got that off my chest... As you were. :-) -- BRIAN THOMAS MATTHEWS * Digital & traditional illustration/animation * Caricaturist-for-hire * RENDERMAN ~ One-Man Band Ordinaire SAPRINGER CENTRAL ~ http://www.angelfire.com/fl/sapringer
------------------------------ From: mollyfa@juno.com Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 23:50:39 -0400 Subject: Swindon Mentioned on the Tonight Show Message-ID: <19990426.235040.11790.0.MollyFa@juno.com> I'm watching The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and he mentioned Swindon, well he mispronounced it. He called it Swinedon. I was yelling at the TV saying Jay it's Swindon, not Swinedon. I just thought I would mention this. Sorry no XTC content. Molly Molly's Pages http://www.angelfire.com/mn/mollyfa99/index.html
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03130300b34a950ab1f7@[208.252.149.21]> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 00:34:22 +0100 From: MinerWerks <dminer@gte.net> Subject: Something for everyone Some thoughts on other artists mentioned in Chalkhills, and I promise - nothing about Brian Wilson or the fab four... First off, to whoever suggested the Owsley album - THANK YOU! Great songs, catchy melodies... reminded me of Jellyfish, Sugarplastic and (of course) XTC. In Digest #5-183, RiknBkr@aol.com continued slagging Fiona Apple's "Across the Universe" cover... I don't know what turned my head on this song, but I do know the first time I heard it, I was very offended (flashbacks of Tiffany's vomit-inducing cover of "I Saw Her Standing There" flooded my mind)... but when I saw "Pleasantville," I actually found the cover quite appropriate, and I have warmed to the rendition even more since. As for what "these directors" are thinking about I refer you to the DVD edition of "Pleasantville" (which I highly recommend) to hear Gary Ross' commentary where he describes exactly what he was thinking when he chose "Across the Universe" as the song for the credits. Strangely enough, score composer Randy Newman had nothing to say about the song on the other commentary track. And I also liked the music video (sorry Dunks...) Speaking of DVDs... I noticed the occasional mention of Tom Waits, so I can safely assume there are some fans here. Well, I also recommend the recently released-on-video "Fishing With John" series. John Lurie - of the Lounge Lizards and various indie film projects - did this six part series in 1992, and in the second show, he went to Jamaica with Tom Waits. The series is a deadpan takeoff of real fishing shows, and it's completely hilarious - from Jim Jarmusch trying to catch fish by holding cheese over the edge of the boat to the narrator chiming in "I'd love a bite of your sandwich." XTC fans should appreciate this type of show. A DVD of all six episodes is available from Criterion, with VHS tapes available from John Lurie's site at www.strangeandbeautiful.com Lastly, I noticed some mentions of Green Day and Alanis Morissette either as overrated or deserving of slow painful death in the recent polls... while I would never suggest that XTC fans should particularly like these artists, I do feel compelled to defend their status as worthwhile artists as opposed to commercial hacks. Seeing Green Day in concert (thrice now, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) provided some insight on their approach to their art. While most bands I have seen in the neo-punk/slacker-exploitation genre wear their stupidity like a badge of honor (making for irritating performances - and limited careers), Green Day often masks digs *at* that audience with their toilet humor and their lyrics. While not all winners, a lot of songs on Green Day's last two albums show interesting lyrical prowess and musical innovation in a genre with admittedly limited resources. Take a look at the other "punk" band that hit it big at the same time as Green Day broke - the Offspring. Their musical growth has been nil over three albums - unless you count ripping off the melody of "Ob La Di, Ob La Da" or a weak "social commentary" on wannabe culture as "growth".... As for Morissette, I think there's a lot of emotional openness and honesty in her songs which draw me to her music. Many critics have (unfairly, in my view) focused on the "bitch" persona of a song like "You Oughta Know" or the grammatical inaccuracies of "Ironic," while nobody seems to recognize songs like "All I Really Want," which (to me) eloquently expresses the confusion of trying "to find a soulmate, someone else to catch this drift," as she puts it. I also like the interesting twist on a love song, "Head Over Feet," where the singer comes to accept and appreciate the previously declined advances of another. And on her new album, there's a lovely rememberance of friends and lovers past called "Unsent" that I'd rate up there with Lennon's "In My Life". Yeah, go ahead and laugh, but that's how I felt when I heard it! Now, I don't expect to really convert any of you, but as XTC fans, I can assume that you'll all take thoughtful commentary on these artists under advisement before completely dismissing them as sucking hefty moose dung. And I'll welcome negative commentary back, too (which I suppose should be kept out of the digest). By the way - I do have some XTC content. I had the immense pleasure of hearing "Your Dictionary" on the radio here in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. A DJ on community radio WMNF 88.5 played the song during a Saturday afternoon show a couple weeks ago. He called it "the song banned by commercial radio just because they spelled a dirty word"... the same day I listened to AV1 at work three times in a row, causing "Harvest Festival" to grow on me a lot. I am still a bit cold on "I Can't Own Her" and "The Last Balloon," though. I've never liked songs in the style of these by any artist (unfortunately, "I Can't Own Her" makes me think of cheezy faux-piano adult contemporary music), so it isn't anything against Andy here... Later all, Derek (minerwerks@tmbg.org)
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990427065801.81150.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com> Subject: Laugh? I nearly did ... Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 23:57:59 PDT Chalkers ho! Thank you Richard Pedretti-Allen for your 'Band Names' contribution - 'Retardo Montalban' creased me right up! And yes, we should all thank Captain Beefheart for his unmatched contributions to weird titles, music, and stage-names. 'Winged Eel Fingerling' - how can you top that? Speaking parochially, though, I've always had a real soft spot for the name 'Mental As Anything' - and they really live up to it! Reg Mombassa (aka Chris O'Doherty) is one of the funniest musicians around - I once read a Playboy survery where Reg revealed his greatest erotic fanatsy to be "having a shit in the bush". ---------------------------- From: nross <phoenixyellowrose@rocketmail.com>: >"Anyway... if you like Rolling Stone (the magazine)... then I think I >can safely say the pairing of Stones vs. Beatles is not so odd... >The magazine has a set of their own wars... we can all vote... >yeah... >but one of which is the Stones against the Beatles... I believe the >Beatles are wooping Jagger's bum... something like 75% to 25%." Jagger's bum? What a scary image that is ... Rolling Stone is such a load of old cobblers. I stopped buying it about 10 years ago, and moronic features like this do nothing to dissuade me from the virtue of that decision. Stop wasting your money and start subscribing to Mojo. (Finally got the XTC edition! Today at least, a few moments of happiness ...) * --------------------------------- >From: "Witter, Karl F" <WitterKF@aetna.com> >Subject: British TV >So, tell a Yank, what's a good British TV comedy and what's the >difference, and what's the best thing that isn't being exported? These examples may be useful for comparison, because the same star (Rowan Atkinson) and writer (Ben Elton) are involved: GOOD: Blackadder Five-star humour. Like Fawlty Towers they kept it brief - only 4 series were made; sharp, witty, bawdy, sarcastic, nutty, great acting, hilarious characters (Lord Percy rules!), and very clever series development - the 1st series is set in the Middle Ages, 2nd in Elizabethan times, 3rd in the Georgian era and the 4th in WWI, giving plenty of scope for new jokes; plus, the two main characters (Blackadder and Baldrick) reverse their roles as the series progresses. BAD: The Thin Blue Line A giant retrograde step into the early '70s, and potently unfunny. It attempts to eke humour out of the stalest situation imaginable (a police station), is hobbled by jokes so leaden and obvious even Benny Hill would have rejected them, and is populated with caricatures that make Mrs Slocum's character look like it was created by Tom Stoppard. I call this one "Are You Being Policed?" As for the best of the more recent stuff: I don't think all of these have been exported to the US yet; I know Father Ted is yet to be shown there; and some only recently made it out here to Australia - but I would strongly recommend: - The Fast Show (it's called "Brilliant" in the US): basically a weekly set of variations on a standard group of sketches - but really off-beat and damn funny. BTW - once you see it, the various catchphrases will suddenly make sense of all those mysterious captions they keep putting in Q magazine. (Mmmm - nice!) - Reeves & Mortimer: try to imagine Morcambe & Wise - on acid - performing sketches by Spike Milligan and the Pythons. (This is my 4yo son's favourite show - he thinks "Le Corbusier & Papin" is the funniest thing in the world; nothing like a good fart joke, eh?). A monster - my fave Brit-com of the 90s - Father Ted: surreal satire about a bunch of lunatic Irish priests. No description can do it justice. If you can find it, just watch it. (Word is that an American version is in the offing, and it sounds absolutely awful) - Big Train: newish sketch show by the 'Father Ted' team. Not as consistent as The Fast Show, but some great moments, and weird too. ----------------------- >From: Chauncy14@aol.com >Subject: Mrs. Slocombe and her Pussy >Americans, including myself, like this sitcom because it is humorous! >Mrs. Slocombe and her Pussy are hysterical! What's not to like about >this show...very entertaining... And this is the same nation that produced "The Larry Sanders Show"? Go figure. 'Mr Bean' I'll grant you willingly, John, but "Are You Being Served"? Are all those pussy jokes and the excrutiating gay affectations of Mr Humphries really so novel to Americans that they find it funny? That kind of humour is the reason vaudeville died, surely? Must be a cultural thing - perhaps a phenomenon similar to that which permits the French to find Jerry Lewis so hugely amusing? Can't see it myself ... My position is this - I do not subscribe to the Anglocentric view which holds only the Brits can really "do" comedy. I don't think American could have produced "Monty Python" but, equally, I doubt that Britain could have produced "Green Acres". (And let's not forget that Spike Milligan main inspiration for Eccles was Disney's 'Goofy' cartoons). I think America has originated some of the great comedy of this century. I'm with Woody Allen - a world without the Marx Brothers would be intolerable. But however much I like American comedy, I can draw the line with three little words - The Three Stooges. But don't get smug, you Brits. To those who think *all* British comedy is better, I need only cite two examples: "Love Thy Neihgbour" and "It Ain't Half Hot, Mum". Case closed, I think. Yours in a white wine sauce, with shallots, mushrooms and garlic, Dunks
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199904271150.HAA28511@mail1.javanet.com> Subject: Boston Chalkies Date: Tue, 27 Apr 99 07:54:11 -0400 From: Max Germer <maxindu@javanet.com> A tip to any of you Boston-area fans - a friend of mine told me that Disc Diggers in Sommerville, MA, has a bin (?) of XTC promos for sale. I'm unable to make the trip out there someone on this list will get some goodies out of it. The only specific cd that my friend could remember seeing was a promo for Transistor Blast. Good luck! Max www.themaggies.com
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 12:49:13 +0200 (MET DST) From: Martin van Rappard <rappard@dds.nl> Subject: Another XTC-influenced band.... Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.90.990427124720.17943F-100000@fatima.dds.nl> Given that probably not too many people on this list subscribe to the Big Takeover list, I thought it might be worthwhile to repost the following from that list: Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 20:09:56 -0700 From: Heidi Chiao <hchiao@jps.net> Subject: Re: The Pills in NYC on Fri. 4/30 I agree, check out this great Boston band! They are, in my mind, a cool combination of great artists like The Kinks, early era XTC and The Jam. They have very strong songs and a crackling energy and power both live and on record. It will be worth your time. Martin
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v03102801b34b93619912@[165.227.110.102]> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 09:33:31 -0700 From: Richard Pedretti-Allen <richard@tactics.com> Subject: More Green Men Just got back from the Southeastern Microbrewers' Conference and, to add more to a largely unrelated thread, there is a Green Man Brewing Company in Asheville, North Carolina. To ensure some XTC content, while in N.C. I found a store called Schoolkids Records and thought, "Cool! My old Ann Arbor haunt is growing!" Well, they have seven store around N.C. and are of no relation to a really great record store in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ANYWAY... while there I bought the Cooking Vinyl release of Easter Theatre which includes the CD version, the demo version and 13 minutes of Andy (freezing in the shed) talking about how Easter Theatre came to be. ...kind of tough to dance to but great fun once or twice. Cheers, Richard
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990427201742.35337.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Amanda Owens" <daveizgod@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: New Dave news Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 15:17:41 CDT Ah back for more after a brief absence........ the illustrious MITCH did sayeth, whilst quoting a letter from Dave: >Expect to see me >in studded dog-collar and chain by summer's end . . ." Oh man, I told him not to tell anyone about that! ;) And I might as well throw a few lines into the band name thread. There was a webpage up a few years back that had the list of the weirdest band names, and the two that stuck out in my brain were Afghanistan Banana Stand and Accidental Goat Sodomy. PS-John, don't even think about bidding over me for those two Little Expresses on eBay! (j/k!) Tis all for now, Amanda C. Owens "It seems the thinkers you call greatest are the sort who often fall ill young or pine away. how can they help but drag the species down?"- Brad Roberts XTC song of the day-Knuckle Down non XTC song-Playing Dead-Crash Test Dummies
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990427163553.00999340@smtpgw.ametsoc.org> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 16:35:53 -0400 From: David Gershman <dgershmn@ametsoc.org> Subject: The Donner (Dinner) Party Stephanie says: >Well, all I can say is, if that was to your liking, check out this >Donner Party website (and especially the agonized diary entries), at > >http://members.aol.com/DanMRosen/donner/index.htm > >Believe it or not, there are Donner Party buffs, who have nothing >better to do than to study this historical aperitif, visit the actual >sites, root about for old bone shards, etc. And I thought "Titanic" >buffs were sick... Interesting you should bring that up. Some friends of mine from college wrote an entire rock opera about the Donner Party tale a few years back -- "The Donner Party: Dying to Eat You," or something to that effect. They actually did a one-time-only performance of it at a party, complete with a cast of friends singing the various parts -- needless to say, the audience was hungry for more... Dave Gershman
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 16:49:17 -0400
From: Dorothy Spirito <spiritod@techmail.gdc.com>
Subject: Re: Dave news from Mitch
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.4.00.9904271640500.5939-100000@esun2028>
I hadn't any inclination to purchase Dave Gregory's CD -- until you
relayed that he'll be covering "Supper's Ready". You didn't have to tell
*me* what that song is! I could sing it in my sleep; I know the words by
heart. It's a treasured part of my extensive collection of early Genesis
vinyl. I love the flute solo, and the three bells that lead into the last
chorus.
I'm guessing Dave's version will be more like Phil's live version on
Seconds Out, than Peter's original on Foxtrot.
Doesn't matter; I'm looking forward to hearing it.
--Dorothy.
("No sig for you!")
------------------------------ Message-ID: <001701be90f2$640b4c60$a8f645cf@mabrey> From: "Andisheh Nouraee" <mabrey@mindspring.com> Subject: XTC Gone From TVT Website? Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 17:10:33 -0400 Does anyone know why XTC isn't on TVT's web site anymore? Let's complain! Hotlanta Andy
------------------------------ Message-ID: <372629BD.3001@sympatico.ca> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 17:22:42 -0400 From: Paul Duncan <paul.h.duncan@sympatico.ca> Subject: Swindon Roundabout Hello Chalkers, I am compelled by coincidence to post a note regarding the Swindon roundabout posted by Jeffrey Thomas. I too had the same experience way back in 1984 when I was travelling in Britain. I was even then an XTC fan and I had bought the newly released Big Express there and played it over and over in my travels through Britain. I happened to be in Swindon as my sister lived near there and that was the closest train station. It did not occur to me at the time that I could investigate XTC's roots in Swindon, I merely passed through there from time to time. However one day I rented a car for part of my stay there and I picked it up in Swindon. Little did I realize that when one rents a basic model of car in Britain, it has be manual transmission. As a person whose main experience with changing gears was on a John Deere tractor on my Uncle's farm in Ontario, this was rather nerve-wracking. I did not want to admit my incompetence so after stalling several times, with my legs shaking, and the clerk who rented the vehicle coming out to to inquire if there was a problem, I managed to manoeuver the vehicle into the road going the wrong way on a one-way street. After realizing my mistake I somehow got going in the right direction, grinding gears all the way, and very shortly found myself in (I'm assuming) the very same roundabout previously alluded to. I did as Jeffrey did, I was not about to try to change gears too frequently, so I just braced myself, perhaps even closed my eyes, and sailed right through this gargantuan multi-layered roundabout with surprisingly little resistance, only a few horns, fists waving, and some quaint English colloquialisms thrown my way that I didn't quite understand.. I had been thinking of this recently while reading some of the recent responses to the roundabout queries and then someone else brings it up! Coincidence?...I think not. Not directly XTC related I realize but Big Express was probably playing frequently on the car stereo, perhaps even at the very moment I went screaming through the circle, a lucky talisman maybe. By the end of that first day I became much more competent with the gears but the next time I rented a car I made sure it was automatic. I currently, however, drive a car with a manual gearbox and XTC still playing on the stereo. Yours in XTC Paul D.
------------------------------ From: WTDK@aol.com Message-ID: <87b6d73c.2457860f@aol.com> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 17:28:47 EDT Subject: Belew The Belt... OK, so maybe I'm letting myself in on a discussion that I know nothing about (I've been away and haven't checked the group discussion in sometime), but it sounds like someone was knocking Adrian Belew. Although some of the early Crimson stuff was pompous (yes, even the first classic album--although the music and the wit saved it), it frequently could transcend its limitations. Fripp's 80's version of the band with Belew was probably one of the best line ups. Belew, although not a brilliant lyricist, is more than adequate. As to the music and playing, well can't question that. He's a brilliant player. Period. As to the David Bowie track he "ruined" it seems to me Bowie probably got what he was after since he was the boss. As a songwriter Belew has the same influences (power pop, etc) Andy and Colin. If you check out any of his solo albums or the CDs he made with The Bears you'll find an uncanny resembence to .....XTC. In fact the last version of Crimson was a weird attempt to meld early artrock, mainstream rock and the lessons Fripp learned from Eno & Talking Heads (while playing with both). OK, now that I've got that off my chest.........curiously I forgot what I was going to say. Wayne wtdk@aol.com
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.6.32.19990427201011.007a3b20@pop3.demon.co.uk> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 20:10:11 +0100 From: The Larsons <MereBrian@larson4.demon.co.uk> Subject: more Green men Hi Chalkfolk, I'll add to the growing Chalkhills catalog of Green Man pubs by mentioning that I had a pint (of Theakston's, for the sake of completeness) at the Green Man that is directly across the street from the Gt Portland Street tube station, in the vicinity of Regent's Park. If anyone is doing the "AAA XTC Tour of Britain" - after they visit Uffington Hill they should also drive north to Yorkshire and take in Fountains Abbey which has a very fine Green Man carving on the outside of the east wall of the nave. Cheers, Steve
------------------------------ Message-ID: <372636DB.B0F507B6@bctel.com> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 15:14:51 -0700 From: "Brent Dougans" <brent_dougans@bctel.com> Organization: BC Tel Subject: only in Canada..... Up (over... around...) here, the phrase 'boys in blue' is a common term for policemen. That is what was intended in the 'No Thugs' song. Incidentially, Tenpole Tudor was / were (whatever...grrr...) a great band / group. Buy the 2 CD set on Recall an enjoy some great music. You get all the B-sides too. Quiz.... Where did XTC receive their first 'gold album' for sales and for which LP ??? Answer : Canada for 'Drums And Wires'. I once saw a 'Drums & Wires' sales award on the wall of a radio station here that used to play 'Making Plans For Nigel' when it came out. It was a hit in Canada back in 79/80. Why do you think Canada got the '5 Senses' EP and that every so cool 'Love At First Sight' 7" with the 3 live cuts.... Kind of a little reward of sorts. Please correct me if I am wrong. This is what I recall. Haven't read any of the books on the band. Brent wow.... look.... some XTC content.... oh.. 'Apple Venus Vol. 1' has been mentioned on the David Sylvian list several times....
------------------------------ Message-ID: <372608A8.6C5C@bhip.infi.net> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 18:57:57 +0000 From: Brian <mattone@bhip.infi.net> Subject: "No Thugs" again & again & again... Tschalkgerz! Hey, this is interesting: Where once I claimed that my interpretation of the lyrics was the correct one, it now seems that everybody else is claiming to be right, and I'm the one doing fanciful interpretations. The irony. NYUK-NYUK-NYUK! Oh, and Dom, since we've never had a word to say to each other about ANYTHING on this list, I'd that that cuss-whipped response to what I was saying on the subject as the first thing you've had to say to me about it was way out of line, DUDE... or should I stoop and use another, more decorative nickname for ya? -- BRIAN THOMAS MATTHEWS * Digital & traditional illustration/animation * Caricaturist-for-hire * RENDERMAN ~ One-Man Band Ordinaire SAPRINGER CENTRAL ~ http://www.angelfire.com/fl/sapringer
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #5-185 *******************************
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