Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 227
Date: Thursday, 1 July 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 227
Thursday, 1 July 1999
Today's Topics:
Bags of Fun with Buster now on CD
HEAD
Greenman single
More 'Black Sea'
XTC and Electronic
I'd like that, but only if was worth it
Drumbs and wieres....
Re: Can't stop grins from going wide today
interpreting madame barnum
I remember the Sun!
Senses Working Fold Open 7" vinyl
Zombies
XTC flagwaving
Theology of XTC and Introduction
You musn't change the things that make you what you are
Slightly off-topic: personalised CDs
Re: Zombies
First XTC experience...
greenman in Colorado
Greek Myths: Sex in the Eris?
XTC Interview in The Big Takeover
English Settlement Sucks! (A provocation)
American Venus
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <19990623142341.64308.qmail@hotmail.com> From: jonathan monnickendam <monnickj@hotmail.com> Subject: Bags of Fun with Buster now on CD Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 07:23:40 PDT Viz Comix and John Otway produced a fan club only cd to celebrate Otway's ability to fill the Albert hall in 10/98 and at the end of it is a crystal clear Bags of Fun. If anybody wants my copy get in touch. I also have the '10 feet tall' version on the Smash Hits released on an orange flexi disc and the 12" 'love on a farmer's boys' with the 3 live trax. Snakefinger/PHil Lithman Is there anything of his earlier than his Chilli Willi albums from the early 70s ? jon
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990625144209.40153.qmail@hotmail.com> From: Ralph Simpson DeMarco <sawpit@hotmail.com> Subject: HEAD Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 07:42:08 PDT Greetings chalkers: Ms. Malady Nelson scribbled: >For any interested denizens of Los Angeles, The American Cinematheque >is >hosting the Mods & Rockers film festival....(also featuring the) > >Godard-esque Monkees' film "Head". Mickey Dolenz will be on hand for >a >discussion of the film. If you are interested in further >information, you >can contact them at www.martinlewis.com/mod.html. I must tell everyone on this list, if you have not seen the film "Head", rent it now! It is the film that the Beatles should have made instead of the pathetic "Magical Mystery Tour". Basically, the Monkees TV show had been cancelled and this is sort of their swan song. They poke fun at themselves to the point of absurdity. The music is good (some of the songs written by band members!) It's very funny and very, very strange. A live cartoon. I've never seen a more hilarious rock movie by a "manufactured image with no philosophies" so-called band. Dig it. Ralph Simpson DeMarco
------------------------------ From: OMBEAN1@aol.com Message-ID: <2db4a16b.24a5923d@aol.com> Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 22:17:33 EDT Subject: Greenman single Hill Raisers, I just received my promotional copy of the radio -edited version of Greenman. Its 4:21 long. They removed the very beginning and the song fades before the overlaying at the end. This could do it. Accompanied by a video, this might just do it. Although Greenman is a great song, is there anyone out there who doesnt think Harvest Festival is one the best songs by ANYBODY?? The plucking strings when Andy sings"What was best of all...". OOOOFFAAHHH!!! Helicopter & HF from the same man? If he was only Cindy Crawford he'd be perfect. Its over and Im out, Roger P.S. where is everybody????
------------------------------
Message-Id: <3.0.3.32.19990625223827.006d9200@pop.napanet.net>
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 22:38:27 -0700
From: "Elena F. Sirignano" <nycelena@napanet.net>
Subject: More 'Black Sea'
Dear Chalk Friends,
I recently was in a couple of indy. record stores in my area and I found
2 different vinyl versions of 'Black Sea'. One had lyrics on the inside, no
Virgin in the lower right corner and no Steve Lilywhite in the upper left
corner. The second was opposite; no lyrics, Steve... and Virgin. There did
not seem to be any other things that I could find that would indicate
weather it was an American or English pressing. If anyone has some info. on
this please e-mail me or post on the list.Thanks
NYC Elena
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990628182702.21725.rocketmail@web601.yahoomail.com> Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 11:27:02 -0700 (PDT) From: Nuala Tirechan <ntirechan@yahoo.com> Subject: XTC and Electronic Any truth to a rumour about XTC collaborating with Electronic? It would be interesting if it were.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990629043033.77478.qmail@hotmail.com> From: Duncan Kimball <dunks58@hotmail.com> Subject: I'd like that, but only if was worth it Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 21:30:33 PDT It's quiet in here ... too quiet ... I guess it must be summer holidays for you folks down north, huh? OK ... rant rant rant ... again ... The "New Single" dliemma: to buy or not to buy. Well, I did not buy "Easter Theatre" and I am not going to buy "I'd LIke That". I already own those songs, and I frankly think these singles are simply not good enough value to warrant buying them as a separate unit. After all, what do we get? A song we already own, a demo version of same (which IMHO will really only be of value to completists) and a little yarn from Andy about how he wrote the song. Cute package, I guess, but does it really represent the sort of value and fun XTC singles used to provide? Not really. What happened to the tradition of adding some *different* and otherwise unreleased tracks? Or how about some specially composed instrumental piece? Surely Andy's tape cupboards are bursting with things in the style of the old "Homo Safari" series? (Collect all six!) I dunno ... am I getting old and cynical? Yeah, I spose I am. Am I finding it harder and harder to justify spending money of songs I already own, just for the sake of "The Collection"? You betcha. Come on TVT - you've been good sports so far - surely you can come up with something better than these paltry morsels? Dunks
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199906292222.PAA08951@access> From: "Jeff Smelser" <jsmelser@access.tucson.org> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 15:21:39 -0700 Subject: Drumbs and wieres.... Hello Chalklanders, In our last fateful episode, > From: "K.D." <zos@SoftHome.net> spake: > And the best part of thealbum for me is the last track, > Complicated Game. Where has THIS been? Last song on Side 2, all these years. > This is heaviest XTC song I've ever heard. Yes, second only to Travels in Nihilon on Black Sea. > Is this song one of the "3 additional tracks not on the original > LP" that the cover speaks of? Nope, those are Chain of Command, Limelight, and Day in Day Out. (even though Day in Day Out was on the British release originally.) ENJOY! SMX J. D. SMX Engineering Services Manager Access Tucson smex@bauhaus.org
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 15:31:09 -0700 (PDT) From: relph (John Relph) Message-Id: <9906291531.ZM84286@mando.engr.sgi.com> Subject: Re: Can't stop grins from going wide today Paul.Culnane@dcita.gov.au asked a random question: > >1) Who blows that frantic sax (if it *is* sax) at the beginning of the song >"Red"? That's Barry Andrews. There were nine takes (according to _Aware_, Winter 1981-82). All nine takes were used in Mr. Partridge's "Work Away Tokyo Day". -- John
------------------------------ From: dan@gge.com Message-ID: <37795E4C.E91C806E@gge.com> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 17:01:59 -0700 Subject: interpreting madame barnum hans stromberg wrote: >So, the female Barnum is an allgory for the music industry with it`s >demands on the artists to do whatever the company requires of them. The >artist is a clown who performs for a public; a crowd who not always realize >the darker sides of the entertainment business and the impact it has on >some (!) of the performers: now, THAT, sir, was rather interesting indeed. i could've lived a thousand years and never read that into the song (even tho i'd still be listening to nonsvch 999 yrs from now). i don't agree with you, i still think its about a guy who gets played for a chump by a woman, but i can see your line of thinking. thanx for the p.o.v. * ------------------------------------------------ so i picked up 2 items that came highly recommended on chalkhills: the grays 'ro sham bo' and martin newell 'greatest living englishman'. i fu*king love martin newell! it was just what i hoped it would be and lived up to all the praise i'd heard about it. but would someone please back up and tell me what is so special about the grays??! i wouldn't say the album sucks *out loud* or anything, but it wasn't all that great, considering the praise alot of chalkhillers gave it a couple of months back. i *wanted* to like it too, but just found it remarkably unremarkable. now if you want remarkable you should hear tom jones singing with new model army, doing a rendition of the stones' "gimme shelter". yow! Burn up the old Ring in the new, dan
------------------------------ From: Chauncy14@aol.com Message-ID: <173db11a.24aac0ad@aol.com> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 20:37:01 EDT Subject: I remember the Sun! Hey all, Mostly, I remember the White Horse Hillbillies! Their version of Crocodile is incredible! Nice work Men! Especially the part of the whole in the wall, where the men can see it all! And, Comit, it tastes like gasoline! Comit, so try comit, and vomit today! A nice 131 bar tune there! I will always remember you all, who art but the art itself! Cheers! Never give up the cause, and your musicianship! John Gardner Chicago
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19990629184146.006d7cb0@pop.calweb.com> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 18:41:46 -0700 From: Steven Reule <steven@obsessed-with-music.com> Subject: Senses Working Fold Open 7" vinyl Hello, fellow fanatics... Just a notice of an XTC item on eBay, ends 7/4 : http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/music@obsessed-with-music.com/ Thanks... Steve Trying to "Earn Enough For Us"
------------------------------ From: "STEVE PERLEY" <steveandlauren@grolen.com> Subject: Zombies Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 21:45:54 -0400 Message-ID: <01bec29a$4a6c0d60$7f6140d8@steveandlauren.grolen.com> >Yes! I love Odessey & Oracle!!! "A Rose for Emily" is indeed great, but my >own favorite track is the sprightly opening cut, "Care of Cell 44" -- a >love song to a partner who's about to emerge from prison! It opens the >album beautifully, right from that gorgeously sung first line: "Good >morning to you, I hope you're feeling better baby ..." Great stuff. Dang! I almost forgot about that one. I'll have to dig out my copy. I love that song and almost forgot about it! Steve (Dying from the humidity in NH) Perley
------------------------------ Message-ID: <37794FC6.773@bhip.infi.net> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 22:59:30 +0000 From: Brian <mattone@bhip.infi.net> Subject: XTC flagwaving Tschalkgerz! Hi ya'll is! For any who might be interested, the new website being developed by us at work for our new top-secret (for now) online project has a music section, and I managed to get 'AV Vol. 1' put in as one of our music picks. I'll give ya'll the URL, but please keep in mind that the site is a mere shadow of what it's going to be: http://www.mindmagic.com/TFN We've basically borrowed the stuff about the album from CDNow, and I doubt much traffic will get through there, or that the album will stay there long once we start getting serious about the site, but I'm trying to spread the word as best as I can. Ciao for niao! -- BRIAN THOMAS MATTHEWS GOT MASS? :-) http://www.angelfire.com/fl2/mass
------------------------------ Message-ID: <37798A13.CE1F1D45@airmail.net> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 22:08:03 -0500 From: Danielle Gaither <redips76@airmail.net> Subject: Theology of XTC and Introduction I'll post the XTC content first. :) Someone commented on the paganistic themes in their music (which go back a ways) and was curious if there was a connection there. I don't have any info on Mr. Moulding, but according to my sources, Herr Partridge is an atheist. Here's my source: http://www.primenet.com/~lippard/atheistcelebs/pg22.html#a It cites an interview with AP in which he explicitly states his lack of belief in a god. Now that that's out of the way, some of you are probably wondering, "OK, who the hell is this person dispensing this information?" Well, let me tell you... <cue medieval music and chorus singing "she's going to tell" over and over again> I'm Danielle, and I'm an XTC fan. <cue audience saying, "Hi, Danielle!"> It's been about 8 hours since my last XTC listen. :) A little about me: I'm 23 and a Texas girl. My first encounter with XTC was about 10 years ago when I saw the video for "The Mayor of Simpleton" on MTV. For whatever reason, I didn't buy Oranges and Lemons at that time. In fact, I kind of just filed them in the back of my mind after a while. I'd hear a few references to them now and again, but I didn't really do anything. Then in 1998, I bought Factory Showroom by They Might Be Giants, which contains "XTC vs. Adam Ant", as many of you know. While that honestly isn't one of my favorite songs on the album, I thought, "Yeah, XTC. I remember those guys." Then when Apple Venus came out to glowing reviews (and pretty much zero airplay :( ), I thought, "Hey, I might get that album." And then about a month ago in Half Price Books, I saw a used copy of Oranges and Lemons for sale. It was destiny; I had to pick it up. :) Since then, I've also purchased Upsy Daisy Assortment and yes, Apple Venus Vol. 1. And for the record, yes, Apple Venus is *that* good. ;) I must also confess to having a bit of a crush on Mr. Partridge--I'm a sucker for tortured geeks. ;) Anyway, enough rambling from me. I'll return to my corner now. Cloaking as we speak, Danielle
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3779AE5B.CAEEF5AA@earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 22:42:51 -0700 From: Yoshiko Yeto <beaudrillard@earthlink.net> Subject: You musn't change the things that make you what you are Greetings Chalkhillians! Although I am not normally hung up by the societal confines of gender, I would like to clear up a rather trivial matter. Yoshiko Yeto and her diabolical twin, Malady Nelson, are both unabashedly female. Given my penchant for summery dresses, crimson red lipstick, and girlie hairstyles, I would certainly hope that I would not be mistaken for a member of the male species. Although admittedly, men are indubitably entitled to enjoy these predilections as well. Jeff, I wholeheartedly agree with you regarding "Care of Cell 44". Colin's gorgeously reedy voice conveys his affection and concern for his beloved in the first couple of verses. Although he establishes that his gal is unable to act upon her own volition, it isn't until the startling conclusion of the second verse when he casually proffers: "And then you can tell me 'bout your prison stay". A honeyed explosion of Beech Avenue Boys-like harmony accompanies the chorus. The song also features the dexterous piano skills of Rod Argent and the outrageously melismatic bass lines of Chris White. Ahh, sheer perfection... Mark, which crevices would you leave untouched? I admit that I would probably avoid the crevice beneath the spigot of my bathtub where the caulking has become disjointed. However, for the glorious "Rocket" from a bottle shot free, I would hazard my very own hygiene and vitality to succumb to its ether. I'm afraid that I already have... Lastly, has anyone read the luscious 10 page interview with our favorite Swindon lads in The Big Takeover? Apparently, Holly's piano playing is up on poppy! Cheers, Miss Yoshiko Yeto and Mlle. Malady Nelson, Esquirette
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990630091135.007a0320@popmail.iol.it> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 09:11:35 +0200 From: Giovanni Giusti <giovanni@delizia.com> Subject: Slightly off-topic: personalised CDs Dear fellow Chalkies, it might be slightly off-topic, but in a community where finding our favourite music can often be challenging, it may be of interest that, as I read in *Variety*, Sony Music and some of the major record store chains are experimenting with a huge and ugly machine that: 1) Allows you to choose records (and tracks?) from a humongous archive; 2) Downloads them from special servers on the 'Net; 3) Makes you a CD on-the-fly with cover and all. Thus record stores, where still a lot of people buy their CDs, could "virtually" carry all possible record titles available. No more plodding from mall to mall in search of the only copy of "I Like That" arrived in your town, no long waits for imports and back orders... just walk in your record store and *always* find your CDs. It is hoped that other music labels will soon follow Sony's example, most notably Virgin and Cooking Vinyl :) And for those of us for whom the difficulty of finding one's music is part of the fun, we can always try to get the original round-cover vinyl version of TBE or the green paper bag that covered the original BS. Thank you, and good night. Giovanni
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03130307b39f93b2c8dc@[158.152.74.66]> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 09:47:50 +0000 From: Yukio Yung <yukio@orgone.demon.co.uk> Subject: Re: Zombies ><< I was wondering, are there any Zombies aficionados out there? Someone >recently suggested on Chalkhills that XTC cover "A Rose For Emily", which >was an absolutely exquisite idea! "Odessey & Oracle" has been hot glue >gunned to my overtaxed CD player! >> > >Yes! I love Odessey & Oracle!!! "A Rose for Emily" is indeed great, but my >own favorite track is the sprightly opening cut, "Care of Cell 44" -- a >love song to a partner who's about to emerge from prison! It opens the >album beautifully, right from that gorgeously sung first line: "Good >morning to you, I hope you're feeling better baby ..." Great stuff. Yeah, the Zombies were one of THE great all-time bands. The four-CD boxed set that Ace released over here (UK) is a crucial collection - but of course Odessy & Oracle is their sublime masterstroke. My band (Chrysanthemums) liked them so much that we did an entire cover of Odessey & Oracle in the early 90s (I think the KK/Madigascar label in Belgium still have the CD version in print if anyone's interested). Care of Cell 44 is just about the greatest opening track there's ever been - sets the mood perfectly for the entire album. For anyone with an interest in the music of the late-60s O&O REALLY is a must-have - it's a perfect period peace. It's a bit of mystery why the Zombies' popularity just fizzled out over here and yet they seem to have stayed massively popular in the US. Anyone know any good Zombies sites? ******************** The Orgone Company London ********************
------------------------------ Message-ID: <377A0CBF.1ED1@schoollink.net> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 05:25:35 -0700 From: Dan Phipps <phipps@schoollink.net> Organization: CIC Subject: First XTC experience... Hi all you crazy Hillians out there!! Been a while, eh? ;-) My first XTC experience can best be summed up in two simple words: "English Settlement" This LP (the single vinyl edition) completely changed my life!! I'm so glad to say that since I first heard this amazing album, I have not been the same! Thank God for that...And everytime I now hear the 15-track CD again and again, it creates fresh new memories as upbeat and positive as the first time I enjoyed it. Honestly, this is how much this particular XTC release has affected me! The band just keeps getting better and better all the time and they can (still) do no wrong in this fan's eyes! Waiting for AV2 now... Peace and Light -- BTW...welcome back, John! -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /Dan Phipps <phipps@schoollink.net> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990630163601.7444.rocketmail@web127.yahoomail.com> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 09:36:01 -0700 (PDT) From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com> Subject: greenman in Colorado Hi just got back to Chicago last night after a wonderful 10 days in Colorado. As I was driving on route 36 north of Boulder yesterday, I happened to see a sign next to a building that read 'Greenman Pottery'. We had a plane to catch in Denver and coulden't stop. If anyone lives or will be visiting near there, it might be worth checking out, who knows?
------------------------------ Message-ID: <377A7081.22E6575B@averstar.com> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 15:31:13 -0400 From: Harrison Sherwood <sherwood@averstar.com> Organization: Averstar, Inc. Subject: Greek Myths: Sex in the Eris? > From: Paul.Culnane@dcita.gov.au > Subject: "Can't stop grins from going wide today" > John mentioned The Beatles' use of double-tracking and delay. As an > example of double-tracking, where a second take of vocals is superimposed > onto the original take to "thicken" the sound of the voice, try "And I Love > Her". George Martin, in his Seminole book "All You Need Is Ears," describeth it thus (p. 154): [Double-tracking] was something we found out by ourselves, by experiment. We discovered that the double-tracking of voices or instruments gave them a different sound. In other words, if you record Fred Smith singing a song, and then re-record him singing the same song in the same way in time with his first recording, it will be different from having two Fred Smiths, identical in every way, singing at the same time. Why this is so is not absolutely clear. It may be partly to do with the cancelling-out of vibratos. It may be something to do with being in and out of tune, since nobody actually sings the same song twice in exactly the same way.... (I didn't know George worked with Fred "Sonic" Smith of MC5 and Patti Smith fame! The things you learn...!) Double-tracking on an XTC record: I'm not able to listen to The Canon here at work, so I can't come up with any examples. I'm sure it's absolutely slathered all over the Dukes. Anybody? > I must echo Bob Estus' recommendation that if you get a chance to meet a > fellow Chalkie, then do. Yes. And then give them money. I'll be at the corner of Constitution and 17th in downtown Washington, DC, the 3rd of July, from 9AM till handcuffs. I'll be wearing my Corliss Chalkhills T-Shirt, and nothing else, and bearing a hand-lettered sign that reads, "Will Take Hurtful Comments from Boss for Food." Twenties and fifties, please. ----- > From: Kimberly Martin <kimbriel@arches.uga.edu> > Subject: Acid Zombies from Venus > Actually, I felt like attempting to answer Aaron Pastula's > question, "What does Apple Venus mean?" first. I've been reading a bit > about the theories of C.G. Jung lately, plus, I'm a big Robert Anton > Wilson freak. The first time I even heard that XTC were coming out > with an album called "Apple Venus" and it was being released on Feb. > _23_ (Hail Eris! ha ha) I nearly flipped--all I could picture was the > giant golden apple of Eris from the Illuminatus! trilogy. Eris, for > those non-discordians out there, is the goddess of discord, one of > whose related symbols is the golden apple. Please set Decoder Rings to Bulfinch's Mythology (http://www.webcom.com/shownet/medea/bulfinch/welcome.html), whence this lovely passage (with props to Duncan K., Mark S. and others who already pointed this stuff out): MINERVA (Athena) was the goddess of wisdom, but on one occasion she did a very foolish thing; she entered into competition with Juno (Hera) and Venus (Aphrodite) for the prize of beauty. It happened thus: At the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis all the gods were invited with the exception of Eris, or Discord. Enraged at her exclusion, the goddess threw a golden apple among the guests, with the inscription, "For the fairest." Thereupon Juno, Venus, and Minerva each claimed the apple. Jupiter (Zeus), not willing to decide in so delicate a matter, sent the goddesses to Mount Ida, where the beautiful shepherd Paris was tending his flocks, and to him was committed the decision. The goddesses accordingly appeared before him. Juno promised him power and riches, Minerva glory and renown in war, and Venus the fairest of women for his wife, each attempting to bias his decision in her own favour. Paris decided in favour of Venus and gave her the golden apple, thus making the two other goddesses his enemies. Under the protection of Venus, Paris sailed to Greece, and was hospitably received by Menelaus, king of Sparta. Now Helen, the wife of Menelaus, was the very woman whom Venus had destined for Paris, the fairest of her sex. She had been sought as a bride by numerous suitors, and before her decision was made known, they all, at the suggestion of Ulysses (Odysseus), one of their number, took an oath that they would defend her from all injury and avenge her cause if necessary. She chose Menelaus, and was living with him happily when Paris became their guest. Paris, aided by Venus, persuaded her to elope with him, and carried her to Troy, whence arose the famous Trojan war, the theme of the greatest poems of antiquity, those of Homer and Virgil. > See the connection here? Apples are related to the "fall of > man," and therefore to SEX. Yes indeedly-do--but, if the foregoing is to be taken into account (and we know Andy at least has been elbow-deep in Jung and Campbell and the whole Hero-with-a-Thousand-Faces thang) we need to extend this a little bit to include "Sex and the Dumb Things It Makes Us Do," right? A whole Trojan War erupted because of that silly apple, and it might be fair to associate it with not only beauty itself but also the foolish vanity that attends it, to which even the gods are not immune. How clever of Miss Eris to have thought it up. It may be useful to take an example from Christian theology, whose students speak of "Jesus," "The Christ," "Jesus the Christ," and various other permutations as describing subtly differing aspects of Mr. Christ: Jesus the man, Jesus the messiah, Jesus the man *considered in light of* his messiah-hood, and so forth. In this vein, we might think of "Apple Venus" as shorthand for "that aspect of Venus that set off a war by succumbing to vanity and causing a rift between married people." Hmm. Funny, I thought I heard Marianne Partridge and Erica Wexler's combined silvery laughter wafting in on the breeze.... The pairing of the apple and the goddess of love in the title also suggests, as you rightly point out, the commingling of Nature and Love, and if you look at the themes of each of the songs (in particular the Andy ones) you'll find that they deal with these two topics exclusively (with one exception). It's been pointed out before that the album's sequence alternates Andy's "Nature" songs and "Love" songs (or "Apple" songs and "Venus" songs, if you like) in a perfect binary pattern--until "Harvest Festival," in which the two themes finally commingle and resolve: A scene in which the singer nostalgically remembers a "longing look" a girl gave him during a ritual that once had pagan overtones but now has been reduced in these magic-bereft times to a meaningless schoolroom pageant. Notice that "The Last Balloon" is about neither Love nor Nature, but the third Big Question, Death. To the folks who play with the record's sequence to make a "different experience" out of it: More power to you, I'd never stop you from doing it, but to me it smacks of second-guessing a masterpiece, and I for one would never want AV1 any other way. It's like using Photoshop to move that big stupid bull in Picasso's "Guernica" over to the upper right or something (http://www.compulink.co.uk/~phreak/picasso/secret_guernica.html). ----- > From: Wisemoon@aol.com > Subject: question > > What religon are the members of xtc... i noticed that many of the new album > themes seen EXTREMLY pagan... and with the Wiccan Rede on the back cover of > Apple Venus i wonder...... can you help??? :) thanks I think I know where you're headed, Wisemoon, but I don't think you can get there from here. The "paganness" of the album is an adopted language, an actor's costume if you will, rather than a sort of statement of allegiance to any particular religion. And while there are references to Wicca, there are just as many allusions to Greek mythology (see above) and for that matter, Norse and Christian folkways as well. We know from interviews (see particularly David Edwards' astonishing post in #5-128 -- http://chalkhills.org/digests/show.cgi?digest=Digest.5-128.gz) that Andy loves thinking about religion, but thinking about it and practicing it are two different things. Harrison "Will Put On Pants for Money" Sherwood
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990630215138.11484.rocketmail@web210.mail.yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 14:51:38 -0700 (PDT) From: "Lisa G." <devilgirlchocolate@yahoo.com> Subject: XTC Interview in The Big Takeover In the new issue of my favorite bi-annual magazine, The Big Takeover, there's a hilarious interview with Andy and Colin. I actually first picked up this magazine because it had a two part interview with XTC, back in '92. Jack Rabid, the heart and soul of the magazine, transcribes all interviews word for word, so you don't read things out of context, which can be pretty annoying. You can find it at Tower Records, or Borders (I'm in the South Bay, in California; are there Borders bookstores anywhere else in the world?). Please pick up the new issue and show your support for "music with heart," or go to www.bigtakeover.com. Lisa (aka The Devil Girl) === "The grass is always greener when it bursts up through concrete." ---Andy Partridge
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990701023606.79748.qmail@hotmail.com> From: Daniel Wrzesinski <rockhurley@hotmail.com> Subject: English Settlement Sucks! (A provocation) Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 19:36:05 PDT Anyone want to argue this with me? Really. I'd love to hear your reasons why you all think that English Settlemtent is such a great album. I think it is my least favorite of XTC's work. (I don't think it sucks. If I thought that, I wouldn't be a true fan) But chances are, if ya'll give me enough reasons to believe otherwise, I may agree. So please convince me. Here's your chance to rave! I just think that English Settlement is very weak, but then again I'm not a typical fan. Observe: My favorite albums are "Drums and Wires" and "The Big Express" (Most people would rather list Skylarking or your precious ES as a fav. "Ba Hum-bug!") Favorite XTC songs: "Omnibus", "No Language In Our Lungs" "Real By Reel" and "Shake You Donkey Up" (What do you think of that!!?!?!?!?!) English Settlement is the worst XTC album! Tell me why you think I suck! BRING IT ON, CHALKERS!!! D JAMES
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199907011708.KAA13408@intergate.sonyinteractive.com> Date: Thu, 01 Jul 1999 10:07:10 -0700 From: Bob Estus <bestus@intergate.sonyinteractive.com> Subject: American Venus Chawkers, Aaron Pastula asks "anyone care to venture as to what 'Apple Venus' actually MEANS?" I submit these facts for your exploration: 1) Of course, the phrase originates from the song "Then She Appeared". A song about a woman with a chronic arrival disorder who continually startles the author with her non-stop exhibitions in various costumes and poses. Most memorably as Botticelli's Venus. 2) According to B. Bryson _Made in America_ : [In addition to having two continents erroneously named after him] [Amerigo] Vespucci did have one possible, if slightly marginal, claim to fame. He is thought to have been the brother of Simonetta Vespucci, the model for Venus in the famous painting by Botticelli. 3) A friend and correspondent of John "Andy's dad" Partridge informs me: Andy produced a song for Erica called "I'm Sick of Models" (under the name "The United States of Erica"). 4) New York, New York, Erica's home is the biggest apple. Therefore I arrive at the conclusion that Andy's girlfriend Ms. Wexler is the "Venus of Apple" in question and the album named for her discovery. er....bother, -Bob
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #5-227 *******************************
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