Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 192
Date: Tuesday, 4 May 1999

         Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 192

                   Tuesday, 4 May 1999

Today's Topics:

                        I Irony I
                Brandon Milner CONTACT ME!
                    Louie is the king
                   Nonsuch redux (long)
                     Nonsuch spelling
            Not new! - 1983 for the Creatures
                        Now, now.
          Sam is a laughing giggling whirlybird
                   Sub-luminary Denny ?
         Re: Some Folks See the World as a Stone
               XTC Content for Chris Yahoo
                         singles
                    Nonsuch/funny talk
               Why I Write The Things I Do
                      Hamish Macbeth
                   Music for my funeral

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And your criticism doesn't worry me.

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

Message-ID: <372DF5A8.1D5B7DF1@averstar.com>
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 15:15:18 -0400
From: Harrison Sherwood <sherwood@averstar.com>
Organization: Averstar, Inc.
Subject: I Irony I

> From: BPeschel@heraldonline.com (Bill Peschel)
> Subject: Burt and our parents music

> Beautifully written with a lovely kick to the last line. And I believe
> totally dogheadedly wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Frankly, I'd've been a little disappointed if *somebody* hadn't
disagreed...!  Thanks, Bill, for your measured and thoughtful response.

I stand by what I posted, though. I don't think we're in disagreement,
actually--just speaking at cross purposes--and I think there's plenty of
common ground between us. I'm speaking about the baneful effect of what we
have come to call "postmodernist irony," what O'Brien refers to when he
says, "History in this sense amounts to little more than a crowded closet
from which, with a bit of scrounging, useable bits of fabric or costume
jewelry can be salvaged." Used this way, the entire past becomes a
completely value-free repository of notable quotables, none any more or
less "good" than any other.  In fact, the very words "good" and "bad"
themselves become meaningless. (A world that accepts "Revolution" as an
advertising jingle gets the moral quagmire it deserves.)

> The result is, nowadays, the music I rejected has been stripped of many
> of its cultural associations. What was once a detested example of that
> smooth piece of crap is now . . . just a song. Music. Lyrics. The
> cultural assumptions it carried with it back in the '60s is no longer
> present (or if it is, it's no longer has burdensome).

Problematic, this. On one level, of course, you're right--if you're
speaking of nothing but the relationship between yourself and one
particular song or genre. But think about Bacharach's appearance as an
iconic figure in the Austin Powers movie. (O'Brien hilariously compares him
to Liberace.) Is that a figure that has been "stripped of its cultural
associations"? Of course not: The negative cultural associations are
extremely present, plain as day--but they're being played for hip, ironic
yucks! They're "stripped," yes, but here's the vital point: they're
simultaneously stripped of any moral force your *rejection* of them may
once have had. At some point, irony cancels itself out, reaches terminal
velocity, hits the wall. You pile up enough "surrenderings to the Other"
(even with the best of intentions), and the result is a meaningless glob of
sticky value-free nothing. At that point, nothing actually signifies any
more--in O'Brien's exquisitely sarcastic phrase, "unironic enjoyment is
almost successfully simulated."

In my more paranoid moments, I blame the Combine, the Con, the Clampdown,
for this seemingly self-regenerating state of affairs. I have ranted on
this topic before, so I won't dredge it back up, but the question "Who
profits?" has some uncomfortable answers indeed.

> That's why Harrison's line that "no music is any "better" or "worse"
> than any other music" sticks in my craw. That's a simplistic reduction
> of a complex thought. I prefer to think of it as a bell curve. Some
> music sucked when it came out, sucked decades later, and will continue
> to suck for all eternity.

Imagine the delicately nuanced cognitive dissonance that overtook me when,
at my children's school talent show recently, a group of prepubescent girls
took the stage dressed as the Village People and lip-synched their way
through "YMCA," complete with dance steps and semaphore hand
signals. Bemused at the sheer weirdness of it, I looked back at the
parental units in the audience, and they all seemed to be grooving along,
mimicking the hand signals and clapping contentedly (on one and three,
natch). This is in suburban Washington, DC, not the most homophobic
bible-thumping place in the universe, but not exactly Christopher Street
either. Naturally, being of an analytical bent, I tried to figure out what
the hell was going on: Either these people *didn't know* what the song was
about, and thus their enjoyment of the performance was totally unironic
(very difficult to believe, given that the average age of the parents
placed them directly in the disco era). The other possibility was that the
'rents *did* grok the barely disguised subtext of the song, but out of
squeamishness or cowardice hadn't discussed it with their daughters, who
were too young to discern anything but good clean fun in their chosen song
and costumes.

Either way, I was, for the first time in a long time, shocked--not at the
performance itself (although the cheerful ten-year-old girl in cop drag was
pretty damned discomfiting), but at the sheer inconceivable Byzantine
complexity of the irony on display. The effect on me, finally, was
numbness: Having been jerked violently in several directions at once by
mutually contradictory cultural signifiers, I basically had to give up,
quit fighting and just let it happen. Upon my capitulation--hey! Guess
what!--it became just some girls singing a dumb disco song.

Thus was unironic enjoyment almost successfully simulated.

Harrison "Frankie Say Relax!" Sherwood

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

Message-Id: <v03102801b353aadcef5e@[165.227.110.102]>
Date: Mon, 3 May 1999 12:40:17 -0700
From: Richard Pedretti-Allen <richard@tactics.com>
Subject: Brandon Milner CONTACT ME!

Sorry to do this on the digest but...

Hey, Brandon.  Contact me immediately.  The address that you provided for
sending the Chalkhills tape did not work (This is precisely WHY I require
sending a mailing label).

Your various historical email address no longer work (bmilner@netcom.com or
bmilner@skidmore.edu) and I've waited a month since posting that I'd sent
the package without any response from you.

I'm guessing Brandon has become detached (possibly in numerous fashions),
so if you know him, tell him to contact me.

Thanks.  We now return to our regularly scheduled program, already in
progress.

Cheers, Richard

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

Message-ID: <372E0BE7.FAE3B27@mnsi.net>
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 16:49:50 -0400
From: Michael Stone <nedrise@MNSi.Net>
Subject: Louie is the king

Hiya  Chalkabouts

David Seddon wrote:

>TBOPP- This really rocks!  When I first heard it I thought it was probably a
>tribute to John Lennon and since I consider that he will go down in history
>as the greatest musician of the century (ok, so tell me who was more
>important)

Come on now.  That`s stretching things a little isn`t it? Yes, he wrote
some great songs, and he was in a great band, but let's not get carried
away.

Here's just a few musicians who I'd say have got all over Lennon for that
coveted title:

Duke Ellington -he had a great band for 50 years!
George Gershwin -perhaps the greatest song writer ever
Igor Stravinsky -wrote "The Rite of Spring", the single most influential
       piece of orchestral music of the 20th century
Charlie Parker - came up with a new way of playing that turned jazz on its ear

But without a doubt, to me the greatest and most influential musician
of the 20th century:

Louie Armstrong -with his fabulous trumpet playing, he set the course for
           all jazz that came after him.  As a singer and an entertainer,
           he set the course for popular music.  If there had been no
           Armstrong, jazz and pop music would be drastically different
           than it is now.

Sure, our present day pop heroes are important, but you've got to consider
them in the context of the entire century, not just within the Rock &
Roll/Pop idiom.

Mike

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

Message-ID: <697A4CA51395D111A658AA0004005806E12F24@NT6>
From: "Wiencek, Dan" <wiencek@aaos.org>
Subject: Nonsuch redux (long)
Date: Mon, 3 May 1999 16:41:38 -0500

Dave wrote a very well-considered review of one of my favorite XTC releases,
Nonsuch, and as the list has been slow of late, I thought I'd chime in w/ my
responses/comments.

>TBOPP- This really rocks!

Mmm, sort of.  It begins with a fine wallop (I always suspect Dave M. is
doing a Terror Chambers pastiche) but the song goes on too long.  Maybe w/ 3
verses instead of 4 it would've been a hit.

>When I first heard it I thought it was probably a
>tribute to John Lennon and since I consider that he will go down in history
>as the greatest musician of the century (ok, so tell me who was more
>important)

Duke Ellington.  Louis Armstrong.  Miles Davis.  Bob Dylan.  Though
admittedly none of those are as beloved as Lennon.

>MBP-  I like the lyrics, simple and effective.  Some of Colin's best.

Andy recently said that when he plays Nonsuch, he starts with this track ...
I agree; a great song.

>DMB- A single that never was.  Plenty of bounce and melody.  One to sing
>along to.  What more do we need!

Guranteed to put a bounce in your step.  The start of the second verse, when
the tambourine and electric guitar enter, is a brilliant arranging touch.
The drumming is super.

>HD- Lovely.  Worthy of McCartney on The Double White or Abbey Road.  Love
>the line about holding all Battleships in check.

Yes, a gorgeous song!  It jumped out at me the minute I heard it and I
still love it.  Check it out on headphones for the superb stereo panning.

>TSM- IHMO, the weakest track on the album, but it's at least as good as
>Colin's on AV1.

The weakest on the album.  The weakest on many an album, in fact.  Oh well,
every masterpiece has a blemish or two.

>The Disappointed- Love the drum intro and there's some great guitar and
>singing on this. The boys should have had a bigger hit with this!  I know
>people who don't much care for XTC who hum this one!  Great fade out!

Relaxed, confident, endlessly catchy; Andy makes it look easy on this one.
Not the song I would've picked for an Ivor Novello nomination, but still
worthy.

>HUOP- Who else writes songs about their kids, sounds unsentimental, and
>puts in words like "where they bake beautiful girls"?

Nobody, that's who.

>Crocodile- Wow!  A great kids song for adults!  I love that "amphibious
>sample."  A pretty good piece of metaphorical lyric writing.

I love the arrangement on this one, particularly Gregsy's country-esque
slide fills leading up to the choruses.  I'm afraid that's the kind of
tasteful embelishment we'll have to live without now that he's left the
band.

>Rook- A great signpost for AV1.  My favourite part of it is the solo with
>the flugelhorn, but the piano part is really good, too.  I think Andy's AV1
>songs in this rustically-classical style are better, but this is pretty damn
>good, even if it is a bit of a blind alley on Nonsuch.

A marvelous personal breakthrough.  He confronts his mortality with an
honesty rarely captured in song nowadays, and I can't help find it moving.
Particularly brave statement coming from the man who brought us "Dear God."
;)

>Omnibus- It's very upbeat and jingley-jangly and it always energises me.
>The sexual innuendo in it is pretty amusing, too.

I can't think of any other band with the balls to make a song this damn
silly.  (OK, maybe Primus.)  This song never fails to delight me; a perfect
example of XTC updating their herky-jerky infant style into something
sophisticated and, well, "adult."

>That Wave- This still strikes me as a throw back to stuff on Black Sea
>...like Travels in Nihilon or No Language in Our Lungs.  It's not as good as
>those two, but it's was great to see Dave really going for it again.

Dare I say the Dukes snuck into the studio for a couple days on this one?
The vocals are so intense here--weird and thrilling.  And yeah, Dave rawks
here.

>Then She Appeared- My fav track. I remember in Song Stories that Andy
>described it as a bit of froth or something similar.  Well, I think this is
>absolutely gorgeous.  It's uplifting, cheerful and chimes along in a way
>that is very spiritually uplifting.

Never has fluff been so pleasing.  Some of Andy's best lyrics, I reckons.

>War Dance- Well, I suppose it is a bit of a rehash of Generals and Majors,
>but I find it pleasant enough.

I like the clarinet lines--I don't care if they're synthesized.

>Wrapped In Grey- A great piece of songwriting, lyrically and melodically. I
>especially love the chorus, and there's some well thought out percussion in
>this.  Should have been a hit single.  The boys was robbed!

I don't think it would've been a hit, but I find it very inspirational.
Sentiments we should always keep with us.

>The UU- This is a bit of a pop-tone-poem that takes you from A to Z .  I
>especially like the last part.  It's pretty beautiful after the harsh edge
>of the first part.

Ugly, clangy, and sarcastic: yeah!  The old XTC is back!

>Bungalow- One of Colin's most accurate comments on English life.  The
>backing choir is perfect for the song.

It took me a long time to get into this song.  Now that I have, I think it's
brilliant.  A perfect blend of satire and homage.  No wonder Andy wished
he'd written it.

>BAB- I did a tape of the CD for a friend, and the album wouldn't all fit on
>the cassette.  He was furious at this omission.  He claimed it was the best
>song.  How could I... well you know...something had to give, and I was in a
>rush to get the thing to him.  Shows the strength of the album, I suppose.

As much as I dislike "message" songs, this one won me over.  Worth it just
to hear the closing guitar battle between Partsy and Gregsy (not that I want
to resuscitate *that* thread!  Really, I don't!).

So, in sum, I am a huge Nonsuch partisan, and happily jump into the breach
to defend it.  Thanks for scrolling through all this ...

Dan

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

Date: Mon, 3 May 1999 14:47:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Benjamin Lukoff <blukoff@alvord.com>
Subject: Nonsuch spelling
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.990503144533.24355A-100000@locutus.alvord.com>

Right...and for that matter, Nonsvch = Nonsuch.  V=U!

Ben
---
From: Chauncy14@aol.com
Subject: Something....hmph?

All I am going to write, having read this many times....
Nonesuch  =  NONSUCH
Come on kids!

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

Message-ID: <900822C71730D2118D8C00805F65765C574659@EINSTEIN>
From: Jill Oleson <oleson@moneystar.com>
Subject: Not new! - 1983 for the Creatures
Date: Mon, 3 May 1999 16:42:26 -0500

For those interested in the Creatures debate,
I have a vinyl album called "Feast" released by
the Creatures in 1983.  It has Siousie and Budgie on
the cover in dressed in Hawaiian garb.  (Personally,
I think they went to Hawaii on vacation and made some
music while there so they could deduct the trip
from their taxes!  Listen to it and you'll know what
I mean.)  So anyway, we know the Creatures has
been a group on and off for at least 17 years! -- Not so new!

I saw them perform a couple of nights ago at a local club
(Liberty Lunch, if you care) and they were really incredible.
Just goes to show what 17 years of practice can do for
a band.

Jill Oleson
Austin, Texas

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

From: fheaney@erols.com
Message-Id: <199905032155.RAA18666@smtp1.erols.com>
Subject: Now, now.
Date: Mon, 3 May 1999 17:54:11 -0400

David Ferguson wrote:

> >"I walked right out of the machinery."
> >   -- Peter Gabriel
>
> No he didn't! Anyone else see the commercial for Disney's animated
version
> of Tarzan yet?  Pete MUST be doing the music, it was Rhythm of the Heat
> drums....saw him on the Oscars singing. Fat, balding and trying to hide
> himself in a long black coat

Oh, come on, it's just mean to make fun of people's weight and/or hair
loss.  Pere Ubu's David Thomas is a big, big man, but he's still a genius.
(Note: please do not start another discussion on the meaning of "genius".
Thank you.)  Besides, wait long enough, and that'll be you with the no hair
and the outwardly-encroaching waistline and will you have "Firth of Fifth"
to show for it?  So be nice.

Anyway, you're close about Disney's "Tarzan" -- it's the _other_ ex-Genesis
singer doing the music.  That's right,
songwriter-who-once-had-at-least-some-redeeming-qualities-but-does-no-longer
Phil Collins is taking over the Disney songwriting mantle from
SWOHALSRQBDNL Elton John.

-- Francis Heaney

"What was it?  An idea whose time had come?  Or maybe it just seemed like a
good idea at the time."
   -- Pere Ubu

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

Message-ID: <011701be95b5$5b187020$19a725ca@speedking>
From: "Simon Curtiss" <mduffy@clear.net.nz>
Subject: Sam is a laughing giggling whirlybird
Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 10:35:34 +1200

Chris wrote:
 >  Im listening to D & W again. Does anyone else enjoy "Helicopter" as much
>as me? Doubt it. The rotary synthesizer threaded throughout the song is
>awesome.

Yep - My two year old son Sam - dances like a demon to that one!

David wrote:
>Dear Madum Barnum- A single that never was.  Plenty of bounce and melody.
>One to sing along to.  What more do we need!

Abso-frickin-lutely - another Virgin Mega-Gaffe - after the Disappointed
actually got airplay in the UK, this song would have kicked Chart-butt as a
follow up. I love to listen to the lyrics as an anti Thatcher (spit!) tirade
by one of her resigning ministers - hey! it made sense when it came out.

>said, "it [Skylarking]sounds like Todd Rundgren not XTC, and it's more to
>please American rather than English ears."  I agreed with him and I am
>prepared to be well and truly flamed for it!

Thats what I think about _Oranges & Lemons_ - never really got into that
album at all - first 4 or tracks wonderful then nothing else really good
until _Chalkhills_ at the end, I think it's the drumming that grates the
most with me.  To my english ears Skylarking sounds very er... english!

cheers

Simon

Who is very very very sorry he ever brought up the discussion on the lyrics
to _No Thugs_ in the first place. KT this is all your bloody fault :-)

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

Message-ID: <008e01be95bc$87d62060$7d5791d2@johnboud>
From: "John Boudreau" <aso1@mocha.ocn.ne.jp>
Subject: Sub-luminary Denny ?
Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 08:26:50 +0900

>From Francis Heaney :

>Well, there are all sorts of joy in life, but I'd hate to lose any of them
>-- even smug, ironic appreciation of cheesy cocktail music.
>However...maybe some people equate Burt Bacharach with Martin Denny and
>other sub-luminaries of that ilk, and maybe _

Martin Denny a sub-luminary ? I beg your pardon , sir ! I betcha AP has a
Martin Denny album or two in his collection ( not to mention Les Baxter ) .
Denny ( and Baxter ) have influenced rockers from Genesis P. Orridge to
Ryuichi Sakamoto and countless others in between including me . Not
everybody's cuppa , perhaps , but " cheesy " ?? For anybody out there who is
interested I make this offer : for $ 5 ( to cover postage and cassette ) I
will put together a tape of Martin Denny and Les Baxter tunes so you may
judge for yourself .

John in Japan

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

From: dan@gge.com
Message-ID: <372E2F7D.655A3C7F@gge.com>
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 16:21:41 -0700
Subject: Re: Some Folks See the World as a Stone

that was a pretty ambitious assesment of nonsuch in 25 words or less,
dave, and i'm pretty much on the same page with you. but i have to take
exception with this 'skylarking' stuff you mentioned. the backing vocals
on 'season cycle' alone make this album a keeper.
* -------------------------------------------------------------
the creatures was (were? did we ever get that straight?) siouxsie's band
even before the banshees, but who really cares.
* -------------------------------------------------------------
xtc songs i always skip over:
'peter pumpkinhead'
'dear god'
'smartest monkeys'
'wardance'
'down in the cockpit'
'paper & iron'
'last balloon'
* -------------------------------------------------------------
speaking of pub names, there's a bar in san francisco on 16th st., btwn
mission & valencia called the skylark. might be a good spot for a
chalkhills party someday.

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

From: Chauncy14@aol.com
Message-ID: <5fcd49cc.245f9824@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 3 May 1999 20:24:04 EDT
Subject: XTC Content for Chris Yahoo

Hey Chris @YAHOO DOT COM:  Or should I say,  *Chrissy*:

I quote:

"You're only here once so you got to get it right
               No time to fuss and fight
'Cause life don't mean much
               If measured out with someone else's plight (posts)
In time you'll see the light."

Give us some meaningful, thought provoking posts, will you, and stop acting
like a prude, Damit!

I now quote you:

 <I'm supposed to feign being an intellectual snob and pretend that I am
above all this, but for fuck's sake, I'm only human.>

Yes, I think you should take that advice of yours.  Somehow, you strike me
more as someone who *chews on ice and takes cold showers* than someone
*feigning* having an INTELLECT!

Sorry XTC Clan, not much content to speak of herein.

John Gardner
Chicago

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

From: hiner1@uakron.edu
Message-ID: <372E4416.7AEADD10@uakron.edu>
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 20:49:29 -0400
Subject: singles

Forgive, forgive, forgive if this question has been posted recently and
I missed the answer.

Can anyone definitively tell me if the "Easter Theatre" and "I'd Like
That" cd singles will be released in the U.S.?  CDNow currently has "ET"
on sale as an import at $8.99 - but if I can pick both up at the local
Circuit City in a month for $4.99, I'll wait.

As for my two cents (they matter to?), "Nonsuch" is the best XTC album
since "Big Express."  My top five (in no order):  "Black Sea" "Go2" "Big
Express" "Drums and Wires" "Nonsuch," with "English Settlement" a close
sixth.  So there.

For non-XTC content:

Has anyone picked up the new Mojo Nixon cd yet?  I'll love to grab it,
but I was a little disappointed with his last few efforts - including
the collaboration with Jello Biafra (except "Love Me I'm a Liberal" -
damn funniest remake I've heard in years).

Any Chalkhillians plan on attending the Elvis show in Cleveland this
June?

-MH

"Brain and brain!  What is brain?"

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

Message-ID: <50DB5A137E82D2119B6300805FA60326046E28@uoponlex1.apollogrp.edu>
From: Travis Graham <tpgraham@apollogrp.edu>
Subject: Nonsuch/funny talk
Date: Mon, 3 May 1999 17:48:55 -0700

Chalkhills,

Wanted to add that the first couple of times I heard Nonsuch, I thought, oh
well, that's that for XTC!  I would cringe at musical stylings of Rook and
Bungalow, but after listening a few times, I grew to appreciate the album a
great deal.  Their music has become much more subtle than in the 'transistor
blast' days, it seems to me, and takes that much longer to appreciate some
of the songs.  I wasn't instantly enamored with AV1, although River of
Orchids, I'd Like That and Your Dictionary immediately attracted my
attention.  But after a few listens, I can appreciate some of the more
subtle songs.  If you like AV1, I say, go back and give Nonsuch a few more
listens.  Peter Pumpkinhead!  Then She Appeared!  Omnibus! (and yes, Rook!
Bungalow still makes me laugh out loud, however...)

>>Huw Davies: BTW Why do Americans like Are You Being Served so
>>much? To me it represents all that is bad about British TV.

I'm American and I like Are You Being Served because everyone talks so
gol-durned funny!  Gets me and the boys laughin so hard we could just SPIT!

Travis

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

From: Iain.Murray.70428176@army.defence.gov.au
Message-Id: <4A256767.00026B57.00@stagemaster.army.defence.gov.au>
Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 11:29:19 +1000
Subject: Why I Write The Things I Do

>>From: Xtckinks@aol.com
>>Message-ID: <bf058f50.245a5459@aol.com>
>>Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 20:33:29 EDT
>>Subject: M-O-L-L-Y pronounced TARGET in our DICKtionary

>>It really saddens me to be a part of such a well-versed, intelligent,
XTC-loving group and then have to read a lot of careless 'personal
attacks',
oops! I mean, 'mentions' <snip>
>>This is my third posting addressing cruelty in 2 1/2 years (second
regarding Molly).

Cruelty? I suggest you return to the original posting I sent in. Read it
again, and tell me which bit in particular could be described as "cruel".
It is *sarcasm* - nothing more, nothing less, and as such, it is totally
harmless. If you don't find it amusing (and I can understand that some
people don't), that's fine, but don't start banging on about "having to"
read what people write. This is where the Page Down key comes in handy (or
so I'm told).

Did this posting come across as "cruelty" because I didn't put in any of
those smiley things that people seem to like so much? I never intended to
sound "cruel" - I guess I just assumed that the majority of people on the
list would be able to see that I was "joking", and didn't really need a :)
to let them know.

>>I also think it's been mentioned to lay off Molly and keep to XTC content

Ah, another member of the relevancy police surfaces to keep us all in
check. In all honesty, some of the most intelligent and thought-provoking
posts I've read on this list have had little or nothing to do with XTC. I
realise that my posting that started all this wasn't one of them, but
that's not the point. This is : HAVING XTC CONTENT IN YOUR POSTINGS (or
indeed, in your e-mail address) IS NOT THE BE-ALL AND END-ALL. This is a
forum for XTC fans to voice their opinions, but in my experience (only ten
months, but I think it still counts) this list has never been about XTC
*exclusively*...and, in fact, it's never been about music exclusively.
Believe it or not, there's more to life than drumbeats and time signatures
- no offence to those of you who contribute to these discussions, but since
I don't have a strong music-theory background, postings like those bore me
shitless...therefore, I CHOOSE NOT TO READ THEM. The fact is that some
people feel like discussing these other, non-XTC topics on-list (like the
Massachusetts Turnpike, and the pros and cons of British and American TV
comedies), and I can choose whether or not I wish to read them, having been
provided with free will at an early age. I honestly can't see a problem
with this system - I think that a wide variety of topics keeps the list
from becoming stale.

>>Obviously, some people just don't get it.

At last, we agree on something!

>> FIVE MOST OVER-RATED ACTS IN HISTORY <snip>
>> 5.     Iain.Murray

>>DO WHAT YOU WANT BUT HARM NONE.

What about harming people who are obviously over-rated?      :) :) :) :) :)
:)

XTC content (since it seems to be important) : My brother has the same
birthday as Andy Partridge, and my niece shares her birthday with Terry
Chambers (but not in the same year).

PS : I've seen the new Tom Waits album get a few mentions here. I bought it
last weekend, and it's really good.....

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

Message-Id: <199905040204.WAA05424@lima.epix.net>
From: "Michael Davies" <miser17@epix.net>
Date: Mon, 3 May 1999 20:26:30 -0500
Subject: Hamish Macbeth

> Hamish Macbeth is playing in the US.  It's on BBC America, it's a cable
> station that shows shows from the BBC (EastEnders, Harry Enfield, etc).
> It's one of my fave stations.

I've never even heard of BBC America.  Who here gets it?

I'd like to see that show, because I've read all the Hamish Macbeth
books.

And speaking of books, has anyone here read anything by Sarah
Caudwell (pseudonym)?  This seems like the sort of group of people
one of whose members might have done so. (this week's grammar award
goes to that sentence)

Michael davies
miser17@epix.net

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

Message-ID: <19990504014127.98676.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com>
Subject: Music for my funeral
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 18:41:27 PDT

The only trouble is I won't hear it. Still ... "All Of A Sudden" is the
obvious choice if we're picking one from the home team; apart from that, at
my send-off the DJ will be presenting the following musical interludes as I
get crisped:

- Zappa: Zoot Allures (1988 live version)
- Phil Manzanera: Diamond Head ('801 Live' version)
- Hendrix: Hear My Train A-comin' (live-at-Berkeley version)
- Beach Boys: 'Pet Sounds'

Well that's the wish list anyway. Knowing my luck I'll probably end up with
selections from "101 Accordions Play The Hits Of The Style Council"

Am I done on this side?

Memento mori
Dunks

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End of Chalkhills Digest #5-192
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