Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 205

                  Thursday, 13 May 1999

Today's Topics:

                    Dave's Not Here..
               horse whips for the brainiac
                Ridiculous? Exsqueeze me?
                Another XTC mention in OZ
                   "melting mire plays"
                  Two Small Requests...
                 Harvest Festival Sounds
                      Graham Parker
                     Back in the USSR
      AUTOreverse article on AP demos now available
                NYT for Sunday 9th of May
             As if THAT weren't funny enuf...
                      pick up line?
           The whole CD bonus track question...
   I' Should've Done My Song Stories Harvest Homework!
                      My Stage Bill

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Ra Ra for Red Rocking Horse / Ride on over all remorse.

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

From: music@telisphere.com
Message-ID: <3738CA8C.3013@telisphere.com>
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 17:25:48 -0700
Subject: Dave's Not Here..

"I would bet that 99% of the people on this list are supportive of Dave
and wish that things were different such that Dave was still a member of
the band.."

Definitely..
Dave's playing is exceptional. He's one of the great unsung guitarists.

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

Message-Id: <199905120101.UAA12650@access.mbnet.mb.ca>
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 20:01:06 -0500
Subject: horse whips for the brainiac
From: "McCausland_Ian" <talk@ian.mb.ca>

> The extra tracks in the middle of the CDs drive me batty on Mummer and
> Black Sea.
who ever thought of plunking those extra track in the middle of the cd
should be drawn&quartered  then flogged with a horsewhip! It ruins the CD
IMNHO

off dreaming in Scott Walker-land,

Ian McCausland
--
Scott Walker Lyric of the day:

I've hung aroung too long
Listening to the old landlady's hard-luck stories
You out of me, me out of you
We go like lovers to replace the empty space
Repeat our dreams to someone new

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

Message-ID: <19990512015749.57150.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com>
Subject: Ridiculous? Exsqueeze me?
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 18:57:48 PDT

Herne, Herne, Herne ...

How exactly do you define ridiculous? Why, for instance, have you included
the following?

>PART ONE:  Ridiculous songs

<snip>

>Song #6

>In the deserts of Sudan
>And the gardens of Japan
>From Milan to Yucatan
>Every womans every man

OK the lyrics are basically 'nonsense' when viewed from certain angles -
but ridiculous? I think not. This song is Funk Supreme. Who cares about the
damn lyrics? They scan, they're euphonious ... what else do you want?

>Song #8
>You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever
>But you rode upon a steamer to the violence of the sun
>And the colors of the sea find your eyes with trembling mermaids

"Tales of Brave Ulysses"? Ridiculous? Them's fightin' words, sonny ... come
back here, ya young whipper snapper ... why, if I was twenty years younger
I'd tan yer hide ... I'va always quite like this song actually. A bit hippy
perhaps, but none the worse for that. At least they tried.

>Song #9

>Tv dinner by the pool
>Watch your brother grow a beard
>Got another year of school
>Its okay hes too weird.
>Be a plumber  Hes a bummer
>Hes a bummer every summer
>Be a loyal plastic robot for a world that doesnt care
>Smile at every ugly
>Shine up your shoes and cut your hair.

OK now you're REALLY angling for a smack upside da head. "Brown Shoes Don't
Make It" is only ridiculous in the sense that Zappa is ridiculing The Great
So-ci-eteee (nya-nya nya-nya nyaaaa!). What is it you find ridiculous about
this song? The lyrics are MEANT to sound stoopid, stoopid! It's called
satire :)

I think this thread has gone far enough.

Oh and to inject a modicum of topic ... sorry, but I think the "Easter
Theatre" single is a rip-off. Nice packaging, sure, but I'll go on record
as NOT being an obsessive completist. My focus is the music, not the
marketing.

Assuming I fork out for the import version (has it been released locally in
OZ yet?) what do I get for my $20? A song I already have, a demo version of
the same song, and Andy talking about writing it. Am I the only person who
feels a little shortchanged here? The new Ben Folds Five single "Army" has
three extra songs, none of which are on the album. That's something like
value.

Yours economically
Dunks

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

Message-ID: <19990512015744.50991.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Andrew Gowans" <ratwhacker@hotmail.com>
Subject: Another XTC mention in OZ
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 11:57:34 EST

Another article on XTC, this time from Drum Media, a Sydney Indie-Local
weekly, dateline 11/05/1999.

	[ http://chalkhills.org/articles/DrumMedia9905.html ]

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

Message-ID: <3738EC79.4423CF67@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 19:50:33 -0700
From: Yoshiko Yeto <beaudrillard@earthlink.net>
Subject: "melting mire plays"

Honor thy error as a hidden intention.
                            ---Brian Eno
                            from the Oblique Strategies

Chalkhillians:

I hold my head in eternal shame for the glaring errors fraught in my
postings: missing words, incorrect spellings, speciously attributed songs,
and other nefarious offenses.  Please forgive me...

Jeffrey gingerly reminded me that "Ball and Chain" is a Colin Moulding
song, not an Andy Partridge song.  I could say that the ecclesiastical
fervor of my driving experience precluded my ability to think rationally,
but I would be committing grievous sin.  I could also say that my errors
were founded upon my own peculiar artistic license.  But no... I will
boldly own up to my mortal shortcomings!  In the future, I will make a
concerted effort to sustain a higher standard of writing.  Although, I can
not guarantee the results of this undertaking...

Well, you can think of my postings as fodder for the back page of the
Columbia Journalism Review, which hilariously targets blunders in
journalism.  Oh well. :(

arrow knee us lee youse's-

Malady Nelson

p.s. A friend e-mailed me a truly silly questionnaire.  If there are any
interested parties, please e-mail me and I will forward it on to you.

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

Message-ID: <001b01be9c3f$e624d9c0$a1c0b3d1@oemcomputer>
From: "Aaron Pastula" <apastula@earthlink.net>
Subject: Two Small Requests...
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 23:23:05 -0700

Hey all -

Sorry to use the digest for this but I don't know where else to turn...I'm
looking for two things only partially XTC related:

1. A copy of the Grays' Ro Sham Bo.  Anyone who happens upon a used copy in
the greater LA area and doesn't want it for themselves please let me know
where to get it.  I'm dying for it...

2. Tab for songs off of Kevin Gilbert's THUD.  Have checked various internet
tab sites but to no avail.  I know there are a few Kevin Gilbert fans on
here and I'm dying to know how to play them...I'm a bassist and only a
marginal guitarist but I LOVE THIS RECORD.  Please advise, and feel free to
email off the list...thanks.

Aaron.

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

From: mollyfa@juno.com
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 02:45:36 -0400
Subject: Harvest Festival Sounds
Message-ID: <19990512.024537.4390.0.MollyFa@juno.com>

MV said:
<<Does anyone know where the sound sample at the very beginning of the
song (what sounds like a school classroom, and all the kids moving
their chairs? or standing up) came from?>>

Isn't it Colin and Andy pushing chairs around.  I think that's what I
read.  I don't think it's a sample of anything.

Molly
http://www.angelfire.com/mn/mollyfa99/index.html

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

From: CCooli9575@aol.com
Message-ID: <660d182a.246ab02f@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 06:21:35 EDT
Subject: Graham Parker

  Little XTC content, but highly recommended: I saw Graham Parker last
night, and it was quite a contrast with the previous two times I saw him,
the first twenty years ago at the Montreal Forum opening for Cheap Trick(he
almost, but not quite, blew them offstage; would have if not for Rick
Neilsen's oddball appearance and theatrics), the second on a rock and roll
revue show with Dave Edmunds, Kim Wilson, Dion Dimucci, and Steve Cropper,
where the first three got to do six or seven songs each, plus ensemble
numbers of Cropper's "Dock Of The Bay" and Dion's "Abraham Martin and
John." Great show. This was solo, though with opener Tom Freund(who was
also very good; if you like the idea of Jules Shear singing Springsteen's
Nebraska album you got an idea of what he sounds like)backing him up on a
few songs. Most of his albums were represented with at least one song,
though conspicuous in their abscence was his material from the first half
of the 80's; one song from Steady Nerves, "Mighty Rivers," and nothing from
The Up Escalator, Another Grey Area, and The Real McCaw; a pity, I would
have loved to hear "You Hit The Spot," or "Life Gets Better," which I put
on my wedding tape to be played at the reception.

  I got him to autograph the album of outtakes he was promoting after the
show. He was a very relaxed and affable guy, both onstage and off; the man
I was waiting to meet for twenty years was very approachable and even
affectionate with his female fans! He'd complained onstage about getting
lost in New Hampshire due to the very inaccurate map he got from
Yahoo.com. I told him to get a Rand McNally atlas next time. To err is
human, but to really screw things up, use a computer. I was fortunate
enough to sit right in the front row next to a couple I hadn't seen in a
couple of years(marriage had caused us both to fall off the edge of the
earth), literally in spitting distance from Graham(he really gave me the
weather during "Soul Corruption," he told me to treasure it forever when I
told him after the show. Now, I told the couple I ran into, all I need to
make my life complete is for XTC to tour again. "XTC?" the husband
asked. "Are they still together?" Yeah, they're still together, yeah they
have a new album out, best thing they've ever done, problems with record
company, bla bla bla...

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

From: CCooli9575@aol.com
Message-ID: <98729c24.246ab026@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 06:21:26 EDT
Subject: Back in the USSR

>It's difficult to compare Stravinsky with The Beatles and probably
>erroneous if it is as a direct comparison.  My point is that the Beatles
>are top of their tree and I don't think Stravinsky is of his.  The Beatles
>certainly affected the century more than Stravinsky.  Personally, I think
>you'll find it difficult to find a whole lot of people to argue the
>opposite case.  For instance, I have visited Russia twice (in 1976 and
>1985).  On both ocassions I found that all the Russians I met, aged from
>16-60 asked to talk about the Beatles when I said that I was English, and
>that's before they knew I was a scouser!  As the statue in Mathew Street
>says "four guys who shook the world."

  I was also asked about The Clash in Leningrad in '84 and The Dead
Kennedys in Kiev the same summer. Then my brother was telling me about
having a beer in a bar in Leningrad with an older guy who spoke zero
English, but every time he mentioned an American jazz musician he was
familiar with, (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, etc.)he'd say very
enthusiastically "Oh, Da, da da da.  Bolshoi!" Their entire conversation
consisted of naming jazz musicians, without more than a few words of common
language.

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

Message-Id: <199905121155.HAA12437@mail.netwalk.com>
From: "Ian C Stewart" <ian@AUTOreverse.net>
Subject: AUTOreverse article on AP demos now available
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 07:52:58 -0400

Hey y'all

I do a magazine called AUTOreverse that is dedicated to self-released /
microlabel recording artists and I've been trying as much as possible over
the last, oh, two years or so to wrangle Andy himself into having a chat on
the sole subject of Home Recording----for whatever reason it never came to
be. And after hearing his remarks re: XTC Tributes on that recent World
Cafe interview, maybe he'll never want to talk to me! Ouch!

So in typical DIY fashion I said "fuggit" (loudly, repeatedly) and went
ahead and wrote the article anyway without his direct input. I used my
cloudy, unencyclopedic knowledge of the subject and just started writing.
And writing. And editing and writing. It turns out that I am very
passionate (ie "verbose") on the subject of AP's unreleased/non-commercial
recordings. I guess I kinda knew that anyway, but I just couldn't stop
writing!

The article is now online at http://www.autoreverse.net/  Written from an
obsessive/completist fan perspective.

And I also sat down and mixed together about 45 minutes' worth of AP demos
for the AUTOradio portion of the presentation. It was tough to decided on
the final playlist because I could've done several hours' worth of
mixing...

So, please, please check it out and let me know what you think! Feedback is
essential!
http://www.autoreverse.net/

And did anybody else see the copy of JULES VERNE'S SKETCHBOOK sell on ebay
last weekend for $280?!?!? This is what I'm talking about!!!

cheers,
Ian C Stewart

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

Message-ID: <618F91505D89D21185330001FA6A49548EACF9@HFD-EXCH008>
From: "Witter, Karl F" <WitterKF@aetna.com>
Subject: NYT for Sunday 9th of May
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 08:53:53 -0400

Just in case you haven't had the chance to look at the
article Tyler Hewitt mentioned, you can ring up some
parts of the Sunday NYTimes free for a whole week--so
don't let that stop you. (Thanx for the lead Tyler!)

Every few months there's a good piece in some high-profile
respected paper or magazine detailing how, like the
dog who caught the car, major labels have the promotion,
distribution, money, and artists, and don't know what to
do with them. Was it always thus?

Yew kin raid it in th'Bobble,
Karl

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

Message-ID: <C926D35F7ED6D211836C00805FC15F4E65D9DB@LNY-S-EXCHANGE>
From: "Lieman, Ira" <ilieman@lernerny.com>
Subject: As if THAT weren't funny enuf...
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 09:26:11 -0400

Hey Chalksters.

As if my funny story about my co-worker wasn't enough, when we went to my
in-laws for Mother's Day, her dad went to put on some "dinner music" for us
and I heard the intro-crackling of "Respectable Street". "I didn't know you
liked XTC," said I. "I decided to check it out of the library to see what it
was you were talking about, and I kinda like it," said he. This is coming
from a person whom I have absolutely zero in common with, especially
music-wise (and I didn't think I discussed XTC with him, come to think of
it), and who rarely defers to anyone else's opinions (at least in my
presence). I was shocked and surprised and bopping to Black Sea while
peeling my fresh shrimp.

As for the co-worker, another chapter to the story. She began to read the
book on the train home, and then put "English Settlement" in the CD player
after dinner. Unfortunately, her kids (7 and 4) got really hyper listening
to the music, so she had to turn it off until after they went to bed. She's
loving the mini-revival I helped create. :)

Oh well. Back to work.

-ira

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

From: "Michael D. Myers" <mmyers@telcordia.com>
Message-ID: <8525676F.004BC5B4.00@notes950.cc.bellcore.com>
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 09:47:35 -0400
Subject: pick up line?

Chalksters and Chalkettes;

The effervescent Kristi Leigh Siegel commented upon a note I wrote recently
as follows:

>Mike "Oh, behave!" Myers wrote:

>>-  It's been fun reading the last few issues of this digest because it
>>seems to me that more females are posting on a regular basis than before
>>and I for one appreciate their point of view and comments.

>This is a pick-up line, isn't it? ;-)

>--kristi

Well, bust my buttons, no it wasn't.  Really, I'm probably the
happiest-married guy on this list, and besides, sending a pick-up line out
to 100 or 200 females at a time is not my style nor would it be too
productive!!  :-)

XTC content:  The more I listen to AV1 it reinforces my opinion that Andy
is writing material on a par with contemporary Broadway show songwriters.
I still believe (as I've mentioned before) that this could be another
outlet for Andy's creative juices because it does seem that the recording
medium can't keep up with his songwriting output;  after all, there's a lot
of songs that he's written that haven't seen the light of day outside
pirated demo tapes.

Mike

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

Message-ID: <19990512134859.11936.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Megan Heller" <hellerm@hotmail.com>
Subject: The whole CD bonus track question...
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 06:48:58 PDT

Kristen Bennett mused--

>flow.  But, as I've mentioned before, I wondered why "No Thugs" was
>placed between "Jason" and "Yacht Dance."  Then it was pointed
>out to me that it wasn't actually between them on the original vinyl.
>That's what I get for becoming an XTC fan A.C.D. (after CD) I guess.
>The original vision is lost on me.

wow, I didn't read the things about "No Thugs" not being between "Senses"
and "Yacht Dance" on the original vinyl.  I first had the album on cassette,
and it was in the same order as the cd.  I actually strangely like that odd
juxtaposition-- I always found a nice balance between "No Thugs" and "Yacht
Dance."

As for the cd bonus track question...I had all the albums except _White
Music_ on cassette before I had them on cd, although not really that long
before I got them on cd (I got into XTC in the midst of my family's
changeover).  So, I can't comment on that one.  I agree that I like "Are
You Receiving Me?" enough that it doesn't interrupt _Go2_. I have a German
import of _Drums and Wires_ that says it has "Life Begins at the Hop" on
the track listing, without "Making Plans for Nigel," when actually it
doesn't have "Life," it does have "Nigel," and it has "Limelight" in the
middle (where the sides would break) and "Chain of Command" at the end.
That used to confuse the bejeezus out of me-- it took reading the ads at
the end of the Little Express for me to figure out what the songs were by
seeing the titles.  I don't know that I mind them being there, though.  I
don't mind the _Black Sea_ extra tracks *that* much.  Sometimes I'll
program my cd player to edit them out, but I found "Smokeless Zone" to fit
decently, and "The Somnambulist" is one of my all-time favorite XTC songs.
I absolutely *hate* the bonus tracks on _Mummer_, though!  Don't get me
wrong-- I like the individual songs.  They just don't fit for me.  I had
already heard most of them when I got the cd-- I had the "King for a Day"
cd single with "Toys" and "Desert Island" (that single and the "Mayor"
3-inch cd single were the first two cds I ever bought) and the "Dear God"
cd-ep thing with the Homo Safari series (god bless Atlanta CD and their
import selection, I wonder if they're still around).  I just liked _Mummer_
so much the first time I heard it-- my best friend bought it for me for
Christmas (at my instructions) and gave it to me on the schoolbus, and I
listened to it from that point on for a week, nonstop.  The bonus tracks on
the cd just don't seem to fit the way they do on some of the other cds-- eg
_The Big Express_, where I don't really mind the bonus tracks at all.

All of this reminds me-- is it possible *at all* to find "Find the Fox" and
"Let's Make a Den" on cd?  I'm wondering because I only have these songs on
ten year old cassettes, and the former is another one of my favorite XTC
songs.

babblebabblebabble but at least it's about XTC this time.

megan.

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

Message-ID: <373A79AE.5B9B8B7A@po.twin.ne.jp>
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 23:05:18 -0800
From: michaelw <michaelw@po.twin.ne.jp>
Subject: I' Should've Done My Song Stories Harvest Homework!

Thank you Mr. Gardner (John!) for reminding me that the sound at the
beginning of Harvest Festival was made and recorded by Andy and Colin
by sitting down in these classroom chairs and then  standing up--12
times! Then multi-tracked....sheer brilliance!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Chalkhills!

Michael

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

From: Chauncy14@aol.com
Message-ID: <1c73bbbe.246ae73b@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 10:16:27 EDT
Subject: My Stage Bill

Stage Bill

Performing at Symphony Center, Chicago (has the best acoustics in Chicago)
One show only - XTC

Admission is $15.00

The players:

Barry Andrews	-	Keyboards; Kurtzweil and Prophet V (with some
			extensive practice and no ironing board)
Dave Gregory	-	Lead Guitar on all songs, and for as long as he
			wishes; any guitar he wants; Vox
Colin Moulding 	-	Bass and Vox
Andy Partridge 	-	Guitar, Piano, Harmonica, and all Lead Vox
Chauncy14	-	Drums
2 Special Guests-	Drums also

Backing vox, percussion, wood-blocks, chimes, triangles, tympanis, bells,
cello, all horns, violins, any woodwinds in general, and all other havoc:
AOL's XTC Synch Session Clan.

Produced by	-	John Relph
Managed by	-	DinsdaleP
Ringmaster	-	Dom Larson
Chalkhills arrangements and entertainment:	Songburp, TracyXTC, and
			StarlingV
Travel by	-	Mrs. Hugh
Food and Beer	-	Anyone?
Munchies by	-	Anyone?
Sound by 	-	John Leckie

All Chalkhill Members receive back-stage passes, and box seats to the show!
Back stage party including unlimited Guinness, and/or your choice of beer,
and Salmon meat tray.

(Yes this is a dreamyou know these songs [:O) The song list is taped to my
kick bass)

Opening Set 1

1. "Helicopter"
Must use a Leslie speaker, plugged into the Prophet V, very loud, for the
helicopter sounds, which open & close the song.

2. "English Roundabout"
With a strong ending thoughno fade.

3. "Ball and Chain"
Using a rudimentary drum pattern to end it.

4. "This is Pop!"

5.	"Statue of Liberty"
	Transistor Blast version, although cleaned up considerably.

6.    "Senses Working Overtime/Grass/Love on a Farmboy's Wages"
Done entirely by Dave, Colin and Andy on acoustic, from the WXRT Radio
Chicago Live from the Archives Volume 1.  "Good ole farm boys!"

7.	"Earn enough for Us"   -  LOUD

8.        "You're the wish you are I had"
This song fades down, and has no break into the next song.

9.	"Poor Skeleton"  	- Which requires some sequencing.

10.	"Meccanic Dancing"
Clean and Driving!  Andy has to talk afterwards, to the crowd here, for the
first time since we open.  Give him, say, 3 minutes

11.	"Greenman"  	- Drum rudiment begins while Andy is still talking,
and then orchestrations kick in!  As this song begins its final descent, one
by one, musicians leave the stage, leaving me to finalize the green - man  -
rudiment again, on the kit.

Break - 20 minutes.  Cinema Show on 100 X 100 foot screen, all video
snippits of band members, and the like...while Van Morrison music is
played.

Set 2

1.	"Dear Madam Barnum"	-  Use a big drum roll, holding 4 bars, then
kick it in!
	Dominic Larson is our resident Ringmaster herein.
2. "My Bird Performs"
3. "I'd Like That" - 	who do you suggest do the thigh clapping?
4. "Knuckledown"
5. "The Everyday Story of Smalltown"
6. "25 O'Clock"
7. "Vanishing Girl"
8. "You're a good man Albert Brown"
9. "You're My Drug"
10. "Brainiac's Daughter"
Sir Johns John has some choice words for the crowd; 2 minutes.

11. "Pale and Precious"

Break - Cinema Show of Chalkhills Digest Members' photos while Elvis
Costello music plays in the backdrop.

Set 3 - The Final Frontier

1. "Paper and Iron (Notes and Coins)" - Performed by Terry Chambers on the
chops.
2. "Desert Island" - An acoustic number, and I am playing the kit with
mallets, and The AOL XTC Synch Sessions Clan is on the "conch shells."
3. "The Man Who Sailed Around My Soul" - Performed by Prairie Prince on the
chops, with the AOL gang on the rhythm section.
4. "Season's Cycle"
5. "Generals and Majors" - Straight-ahead style, longer Gregsy solo here;
and
no break to the next song.
6. "Rocket from a Bottle" - Bells lead into the next song.
7. "Towers of London," which fades into the next song also
8. "Then She Appeared"
9. "Wrapped in Grey" - Goodnight, from Andy, "That's all we know!"

Break, say 5 minutes for a quick Guinness, and then come back for the Encore
- 3 Songs only.

Encore - straight ahead, with no breaks.

1. "Sgt. Rock (Is going to help me)"
2. "Mayor of Simpleton"
3. "Funk Pop A Roll"  -  gave that one to the AOL XTC Synch Sessions Clan,
at
their request.

Subconsciously, these are my favorite songs on the kit.  And, mostly likely,
my favorite tunes altogether!

Cheers,
John Gardner
Chicago

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

End of Chalkhills Digest #5-205
*******************************

---

Go back to Volume 5.

13 May 1999 / Feedback