Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 254
Date: Wednesday, 25 August 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 254
Wednesday, 25 August 1999
Today's Topics:
Right now I'm wearing next to nothing....
Scathe On!
content
Re:What is more tedious than endless posts about Nirvana?
Quality Songwriting
similar bass lines
Kibbles & Bits, Then the Meat & Potatoes
Bragging?
Assorted Ramblings
Greenman as a Single
Some news from Andy
Stoic
Clever
best of the best?
A recursive mess
Pete, The Iron Giant, & The Big Express
Re: What About Hitch?
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-Id: <3.0.3.32.19990824004458.007b8100@pacbell.net> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 00:44:58 -0700 From: "Zack 'Vegetable & Mineral' Rock" <e-sheep@pacbell.net> Subject: Right now I'm wearing next to nothing.... Okay, what's all this talk about everyone loving "Greenman" 'cause it's the most likely radio hit on the album? What's that crap? Can you please think about that for a second. Why the hell would anyone here want ANY song on AV1 to be a hit? Do you know what that leads to? I don't know about you guys, but if "Greenman" becomes a hit, and it gets played on the radio, and all the mindless consumer bastards buy it, and I see it in my friend's sister's collection of CD's along with Limp Biskshit and Puff Daddy and all that other "R&B", Britney Spears (who by the way looks like a redneck hoochie with too much make-up) junk, then I WILL BLOW MY BRIAN'S OUT! I don't know about the rest of you, but seeing just a tremendous work of art such as AV1 side-by-side with living, singing proof that western civilization is nose-diving straight into the deepest circle of hell would break my heart. Let AV1 alone. It's not a album for the retarded masses. Andy was smart to split Apple Venus into two different records. AV2 will be the hit maker, just wait, and leave AV1 and all it's spledor for the ones that know what music is. Oh, and all this talk about Nirvana being one of the great bands of the 90's, remember this: Grunge is gone, and the only thing that the world got out of that whole grunge movement was a few dead kids that looked up to Kurt Cobain too much. Zack
------------------------------ Message-Id: <4782AD6ADDBDD2119B570008C75DD5C12DB711@mgmtm02.parliament.uk> From: Lawson Dominic <LawsonD@parliament.uk> Subject: Scathe On! Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 11:23:22 +0100 >>I've missed people arguing amongst themselves. about irrelevant topics. Interestingly, nothing scathing from Dom or Dunks recently. Well, you know me. I like to keep myself to myself and I only speak when spoken to. Quite the erudite charmer in fact, according to my muvver at any rate. >>Hope you have a happy vacation, dear Mr. Sherwood. Don't tell anyone but I think he's bog-snorkelling in Luton. >>So why is it clogged with endless opinions and bantering about other bands >that I don't give a rats a** about? Whose problem is that exactly? As music fans we tend to talk about music quite a lot. Sadly, your taste is apparently narrower than a gerbil's ring-piece, therefore you find remarks about anyone other than XTC boring. Tough shit, quite frankly. It's a whole lot more interesting to talk about other music than to read some jaded buffoon's whinging. Scathe, scathe, scathe. >>I get so sick of people bragging about all their stuff they have bought, and then tell other people to buy it. You could always say 'no'. Works for me..... "Buy this album!"......"No!"......."Oh, all right then." >>If it's any consolation, I like reading everyone elses music recommendations, so I hope you don't mind this. Tyler, me old fruity, recommend away. If certain miserable gits would rather spend the next six months debating chord changes in "Merely A Man" then all well and good, but I see no reason to deny everyone else the opportunity to get into some new music. Buy "California" by Mr. Bungle - it's really rather splendid (and Beach Boys fans should find it an illuminating experience). There you go! >>He actually said "you know XTC is kind of like brussel sprouts, kind of hard going down at first but I know that they're good for me so I keep eating".....are we not the luckiest fans in the world? No, we are not. You call waiting seven years for an album lucky? Bloody hell, we're spoilt rotten aren't we? And yes, before everyone stamps on my knob, I do realise the reasons for the delay between releases, I just think you could name any number of bands whose level of activity surpasses XTC in every conceivable way over the last decade. Quality-wise, you have a point (although it won't surprise anyone to know that I'm firmly in the Cardiacs camp on this one) and AV1 is a huge bag of glittering greatness, but lucky? Say that again in 2003 when AV2 comes out. >>Anyway....have a pleasant day....it may be your last. I bet you a monkey it isn't. >>The story could have been a little different if they had Stewart Copeland's business acumen. Or his dodgy political views, to be more accurate. Yes, I know, shut up! >>I'd say the same is true of musicians and a lot of artists. It would probably do all of them some good to take business courses to make sure that their music actually reaches the masses (or that they don't incur a huge debt). Yes, but can you imagine how different these artists we treasure would have been had they been experts in business? Jesus wept, what a horrible thought. There's enough bland, coffee-table pish around without encouraging more. John Lennon with a degree in economics? AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!! "Plastic Ono Band" would have sounded like Mike & The (****ing) Mechanics, only less entertaining. Look at the music industry. Look at the ignorant, vacant, soulless pricks who make all the money and give less than a dusty turd about the actual music itself and ask yourself whether business acumen would be a good thing. Oh sure, bands would have more secure finances but how much slap bass and DX7-ing can you stand? When music becomes a business (from the artist's perspective) the game will be up and we all might as well go home. It's already a horrible, greedy and vapid industry to be in, with the lure of success increasingly becoming an incentive to abandon talent and embrace a standardized set of musical attributes which are already guaranteed to shift "units", whatever the scabby knackers they are, without artists buying calculators and floating their middle-eights on the stock market. Honestly, it's enough to make me spit. >>The reason Chalkhills is of value and interest to me is because there is none of the petty, facistic control over individual expression that exists on other lists. Shut up and stand in the corner with your hands on your head. The anal investigation will commence at dawn. No clenching. >>Posts don't HAVE to be about XTC. And why should they be? I *like* hearing about other topics. Culture is a conversation. Apparently not for some people, and do you know what? Some of them don't even realise that they're replicants! Amazing. >>It's like the old argument about TV censorship - if you don't like what's on, you can always turn it off. It's not even that difficult in this case. If you don't like what's on.....er, that's it. You just don't like it. Not to worry, there'll be another conversation about stereo effects along in a minute - always fascinating reading for those of us with one ear. >>As Elvis Costello sagely observed:"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture" Er, wasn't that Frank Zappa? In fact, I'm sure I've heard that quote attributed to numerous people over the years. Ah, Mr. Apocrypha, we've been expecting you.... >>What SHOULD we be talking about exactly? The colour of Andy's socks? My guess is blue. Anyone else? Cor, this is thrilling isn't it! >>Besides, there are PLENTY of posts about XTC, and most people do their best to keep on topic, or at least include a token reference. Cough. Oh yes........XTC are bleedin' marvellous. Good enough? >>I've got to know some of the Australian Chalkers personally (g'day Paul, Iain, Seb, Toni et al) Ooh, you don't want to trust that Seb. He forced me to listen to Crowded House you know! >>If I'm really losing the plot, tell me - I'm a big boy now, I can take it. Risky! If I was having another crack at quitting the fags (easy tiger!) you'd be in serious trouble (well, amusing trouble anyway). >>If anyone has any objections to the content of anything I write, for whatever reason, they can post it, or email me, and I'll address it. Riskier! That's a dangerous game you're playing there, Dunksy! There's no shortage of flame merchants round these parts. See how many "you're an asshole" messages you can collect by the end of the year. I'll race ya! Besides, I'm sure Andy would approve. As he said in his touching note to me (on my copy of AV1)....."go away, stinky longhair!"........aw, shucks! >>JEESUS CHRIIIST Dunks, what do you do for a living that you have the time to think that long & hard for one post? I would bet my yearly salary that NOBODY read the whole thing. Oh I did. He was just banging on about how great Paul Hogan is, and how Hunters & Collectors are better than The Beatles, and how you're all ugly and stupid. Same as usual really, but funnier. And for the benefit of the hard of understanding......:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) (etc) Cheers - I like these quiet days at work! Current Favourites:- "Black Sea"/CD4 from "Transistor Blast", Mr. Bungle "California", Slipknot "Slipknot", Spratleys Japs "Pony", Cardiacs "Guns" and a really fantastic King Crimson tape, courtesy of Todd Burntarse, our man in Mali (don't drink the water!!!!). DOM.
------------------------------
From: Saints3Den@aol.com
Message-ID: <5ac8fce5.24f3ed3e@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 08:42:38 EDT
Subject: content
hey people...
Regarding xtc content,if you go to chalkhills and read
the posting style and etiquette page,it would seem that you should indeed
stick to xtc related stuff.
However,*related *is the key word,I think. Sort of in the "six degrees"
vein. Anyone can somehow interperate what they want to post as to being
related to xtc.
I don't mind off topic postings, but every posting should have at least
a solid nugget of xtc information, opinion of some of their work, or
something off the wall, (dreams, for example). Am I wrong , here?
Here is what bugs me the most. A post which has nothing at all to do
with xtc, only to add at the end-- Obligatory xtc content-andy is balding.
That isn't really xtc content and it cheapens the fact that there should
,indeed be some. In my opinion. What I'm trying to say is cripes folks add
something on xtc . A paragraph per post at least,maybe. Two if its a
larger post. Dunks... you can do 15 paragraphs per ... I'm sure you have
it in you.
Here is mine ---How is AV holding up for me? Well, I sort of agree with
that post how its the christmas present you like but you hope the last one
left is the one you really want. (poorly paraphrased and sorry I forget
your name,but the perfect description ,to me) AV one is the record I didn't
want xtc to make.Since I came onto the 'hills several years ago, and then
got the demos,these songs ,for the most part were the weaker ones ,to
me. Of these 11 ,I hadn't heard colins or harvest festival, but of the
other 8 only i'd like that , greenman,and Easter Theater really got me
thrilled .My faves were left off! Having said that, I do love this cd.
Ithe songs have been improved that much ,especially I can't own her. So,
AV one exceeds my expectations. possibly in my top five xtcs.
Oh, another thing. My 7 year old son loves it too! He'll whistle
along to ROO,sing to I'd like that and Greenman, and tell me that andy is
not saying the words he is spelling during YD. One last thing. I hope
there is whistling on av2,hasn't been much lately. Also,I hope more of
xtc's sense of humor comes out on av2 I haven't felt it as much
since,say,The Big Express.This was one of the things that really drew me to
xtc.
eddie st. martin
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990824132729.26303.rocketmail@web601.yahoomail.com> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 06:27:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Joe Funk <funkadelic9@yahoo.com> Subject: Re:What is more tedious than endless posts about Nirvana? This could turn into an endless loop.......... Endless posts bitching about endless posts bitching about the endless Nirvana posts. Now I'm in nirvana.... Jomama Austin, TX ..Hey! Robyn! We've got the best computers, coffee and smack...
------------------------------ Message-ID: <000a01beee40$ebd9f500$e201063e@default> From: "David Seddon" <D.Seddon@btinternet.com> Subject: Quality Songwriting Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 15:56:08 +0100 The current thread seems to have moved back onto one of my favourite subjects...ES. People are asking what it is that listees like about ES and about a month ago I did a review of the first side of ES, adding that I hoped someone else would continue it. No-one did. There are too many things about ES that imreally like to mention here, but one of the things is the quality songwriting. The structure of quite a few of the songs is really excaptional. Senses Working Overtime has a sublime middle 8: And birds might fall from black skies, And bullies might give you black eyes... To me the ability to write seemless bits of song is one sign of great talent. Cole Porter was superb at intros and middle bits, for instance. 2 of the most haunting,by other artists, that really get to me so much and that I wish I'd written myself are: Here in the valley of indecision I feel you slipping away... in John Lennon's I'm losing you. In my opinion some of the most perfect notes he ever wrote and it really sends the shivers down the proverbials. Also: Oh, there's lots of Opportunities If you know when to take them... The best bit in that particular song and another piece of singing and melody that really gets to me. Incidentally, I think (and I can see possible floods of agreement and disagreement on this one) that the Pet shop Boys are very underated songwriters. They may not be quite yer classic/serious rock like the Beatles or Dylan, but if it's pure pop at it's best that you want (catchy, bouyant, bubbly, hummable, danceable stuff with strong riffs) then IMHO no-one since Abba has done it cleverer. Even when they steal, as in It's a Sin, they do it with style. Having said that, I've high hopes of my fellow scousers The Lightning Seeds, who also seem to have this gift. Look at what McCartney did with Free As a Bird...that super bridge: Whatever happened to The place that we once knew. It takes great talent to write a third piece of melody to fit when there's already two there and our Mr. partridge has this gift. Try spootting others on ES. It's full of them. A Milky Bar for whoever spots the most! Favourite XTC lyric of the day: They thought that it was just a Boys' Club badge he wore Favourite non-XTC lyric of the day: Stranger from another planet Welcome to our home Just strap on your guitar And we'll play some rock and roll. PS...rock on Titi Camara, keep it up and you'll be a legend!
------------------------------ From: WillJ4comm@aol.com Message-ID: <c605e259.24f41a09@aol.com> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 11:53:45 EDT Subject: similar bass lines Chalktalkers-- Don't know if it's been mentioned before, but I noticed a similarity between the bass lines on Melt the Guns and the Sonambulist, both in tone and in melody, albeit a little more hectic in places. Any thoughts? Maybe some of the musical ideas for "Melt" rose from the previous track? Will J XTC Songs O the Morning: Ladybird, Yacht Dance, All of a Sudden
------------------------------ Message-Id: <s7c27593.003@tcwgroup.com> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 10:35:16 -0700 From: "Dane Pereslete" <peresd@tcwgroup.com> Subject: Kibbles & Bits, Then the Meat & Potatoes In #5-251: >From: Chris Desmond <c_desmond@yahoo.com> >Subject: Redundarama <SNIP> >"Boring and repetitive," "repetitive and boring" -- I see you trying to >be sneaky and switching the order of the words so we don't notice that >you're being repetitive (and boring). C'mon Molls, I would have >expected more from you (if I didn't already expect so little). And the very next post is... >Subject: Sorry for being repetitive >Message-ID: <19990820.145428.-289531.4.MollyFa@juno.com> >From: Molly E Fanton <mollyfa@juno.com> Then in #5-252 >From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com> >Subject: I'm bugged ... > >Dear Chalkers, > >I will be brief(ish) (*this* time). Followed by... >From: OMBEAN1@aol.com >Message-ID: <fc4f2d45.24f1faf3@aol.com> >Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 21:16:35 EDT >Subject: long winded > >Hillbillies, > JEESUS CHRIIIST Dunks, what do you do for a living that you have the time >to think that long & hard for one post? I would bet my yearly salary that >NOBODY read the whole thing. OK Mr. Relph, I think it's beyond coincidence that your compiler did that unaided. C'mon...'fess up! ;-) By the way, Dunks' post was incredible. If you didn't read the whole thing that's your loss... And from wesLONG: >Okay....here's a contest for all of you interested in obtaining a free XTC >cdr of your choice, see the link to my trade list below. The game is >called...guess what's in my pocket. The most entertaining answer wins Ummm.....Jimmy Hoffa?? Now, at last, let's talk about AV1! Apologies if anyone has covered this before... I recently re-introduced my CD player to this fine disc after an all-too-long hiatus, and during the intro to HF I heard something never noticed before. Toward the end of the sliding chairs there are the sounds of either several pencils dropped to the floor, or one take of a pencil drop repeated. It made me grin from ear to ear when I recognized that sound. Andy's little details are superb... "I don't like to put music into a lot of separate little bags" - Ginger Baker *------------------------------------------------------- Logging in from beautiful Glendale, CA USA "Waiting for AV2" daneperes@aol.com -or- bramage64@aol.com *-------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------ From: Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com Message-ID: <852567D7.005F9339.00@fdlnata10.fdnet.com> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 13:38:38 -0400 Subject: Bragging? Molly said: <<I get so sick of people bragging about all their stuff they have bought, and then tell other people to buy it. I always tell people who say this type of thing, to give me the money and I'll buy it. This is one of my biggest pet peeves.>> Good Golly Miss Molly! I LOVE to hear other's recommendations; I don't think anybody is bragging but rather just sharing news of a release that might be of interest to us as XTC fans. Let's face it: 1. XTC only puts out a record every 5-7 years or so 2. There's not a good music mag (that I know of) that details the new releases in a way that lets me know I might like them. 3. God knows the radio never plays anything worth hearing. So, I'm left with reading posts from fans of music whose tastes I mirror (and not a bad option I might add; I have been turned on to LOTS of great artists, old & new by following a cyber-pal's advice). As far as money goes, you're right, NONE of us has enough money to buy all the things we'd like, so all the more reason to be discriminating with what dollars we get to spend on new music and depending on folks WHOSE TASTE WE TRUST to point us in the right direction...besides, I've gone without new clothes, I've gone without eating out, but I'll NEVER go without picking up some fresh tunes. Sorry for so much non-XTC content, so I'll close with this thought... I always thought the lead-in to "Scissor Man" sounded like something written by Richard Rodgers (of Oklahoma/Sound of Music fame). Anybody else hear that? Bob NP: Steel Pulse, "Chant A Psalm" (Great record, but hey, you don't have to buy it) :~)
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990824180636.44548.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Ralph Simpson DeMarco" <sawpit@hotmail.com> Subject: Assorted Ramblings Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 11:06:36 PDT Dearest Affiliated Members: Megan Heller wrote: >...now, XTC content, so I won't be a hypocrite (or get accosted)... >on >the "how is Apple Venus vol. 1 now?" thread, I am so happy to say >that I >think the album has held up beautifully, and I only wish that >vol. 2 were >coming out sooner-- or not, there's a three volume album >by Magnetic >Fields coming out in September (all three volumes at >once, hey, that's a >good idea) and a two volume Momus album next >week... I still think Apple >Venus may land the top spot in my albums >for this year... I must agree that AV1 is holding up great after repeated (and I do mean repeated) listenings. I must remind you, take with huge grains of salt regarding what Andy P. says about future XTC related projects. Why? because shit happens. It's not really his fault. Remember the hints about "getting his feet wet" for touring on those O&L radio tours? Oh, and recall the teaser he tossed us a few years ago about playing an electric tour from the back of a flatbed truck? Ah, yes, all well intentioned but frustrating as all heck. So, when he said that AV2 would be out by the end of 1999, I said to meself: ahhh I'd like that...but I doubt it very much. Heck, I'm still waiting for the Kinks' "Lola Versus Powerman and the Money-go-round Vol. 2" !!!! So, I can wait. And, who are the Magnetic Fields? Should I have heard of 'em? I recently bought two CDs: They Might Be Giants "Factory Showroom" and the infamous song XTC vs. Adam Ant is ...well very funny and very cool. It's my fave on the album so far. I love those guys. Saw them live a few years ago and they put on a great show! Also, The Negro Problem's new release is pretty good. I must give it more listens but on first hearing, I was impressed with their choice of arrangements and the pop hooks. Very cool. Oh, yea, the Dave Gregory site is very well done. Check it out if you have not done so. Cheers! Ralphie
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990825000604.14309.qmail@nwcst285.netaddress.usa.net> Date: 24 Aug 99 19:06:04 CDT From: Mor_Goth <mor_goth@usa.net> Subject: Greenman as a Single James wrote: <<I know it's only an opinion but...I for one do not think Greenman is/was at all an appropriate single for the band. It is a fine song and all but the "general record buying public" would not identify with the subject matter(some lyric about needing to be "spoon fed" comes to mind right about now).>> Interesting that you should say that. I for one have always thought that Greenman would be the single most likely to find wide success. I don't think that most of the general populace listens to or cares about lyrics very much (how else does one explain the success of so many of today's stars?). I don't think Greenman is the most significant song on AV1, but I beleive it is probably the most "instantly catchy" song. A little story: The day that AV1 first arrived on my doorstep from CDNow, I had just gotten home from work and had to leave immediately for my father's house to fix his computer. Naturaly, I wasn't going to wait until I got back home to listen to this long awaited masterpiece, so I make him bring a cd player up into his den so I could listen while I undid what his semi-computer literate tinkering had done. He sat there watching me work on his machine and listened to XTC (and my rantings on how great the band was). For most of the album his only comment was that it was "very unusual" and "pretty good". When we got to Easter Theater and I mentioned that this was going to be a single, he "hmmm" with little interest. Then Greenman came on. I could tell by the look on his face he was immediately more interested. After the song he said "THATs the song that should be a single". Not that my dad is a record producer or anything, but I found it an interesting insight as to how someone who had never heard any other XTC would react to AV1 on first listening. While the album is truly brilliant, with amazing complexity and many layers, many of the songs take several listenings to fully appreciate, even for a long time fan like myself. I think Greenman, and maybe Your Dictionary, are the songs that can hit hardest on first listening, and I would imagine that is important in choosing a single. MorGoth
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v03007801b3e8f68d791e@[165.247.22.3]> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 20:27:10 -0500 From: Mitch Friedman <mitchf@mindspring.com> Subject: Some news from Andy Hi, No I didn't get to speak with him but he did call and leave me a message today stating that the album is going very well, the studio is done, the Homespun liner notes were finished the other night and the outgoing message on my answering machine has me sounding like I'm breathing liquid hydrogen. Mitch
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199908250221.WAA26168@lima.epix.net> From: "Michael Davies" <miser17@epix.net> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 22:21:09 -0500 Subject: Stoic > "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture" > > Did Elvis say that? I'd heard that quote before, but didn't know who it > was attributed to. I believe it was said by Charlie Mingus, who was a jazzman of some type. I think he was a bassist, but I may be thinking of Charlie Haden. Speaking of Haden, does anyone else here like That Dog? You guys keep complaining about no XTC content and when I come up with a terrific thread like "most overlooked XTC song" nobody responds to it. Thinking up that thread sapped my energy for a good three days, and you people just turned your noses up at it. Well, good doggone. Favorite English Settlement moment: the synth part at the beginning of "Fly on the Wall", if there is one. I don't remember perfectly. Joey, I'm not angry anymore. Michael davies miser17@epix.net np: The American Measles, "God Took My Bike"
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199908250229.WAA27836@lima.epix.net>
From: "Michael Davies" <miser17@epix.net>
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 22:29:39 -0500
Subject: Clever
> clever" like their past stuff. Wow... I thought how could anyone be *too*
> clever? Elvis Costello said XTC was a perfect example of English
> cleverness, didn't he? I for one highly prize it, it makes me think how
> intellegent the lyrics are, I love those analogys and double entendras,
> like "your glance a match on the tinderwood" or "make your Union jack and
> your flag unfurl." I can be listening to a song I've listened to for ten
> years and sometimes find a different meaning, which always makes me smile...
I think XTC songs are very occasionally overly clever, when they
start combining extended metaphors with intricate time shifts and
other things that make the music sound not spontaneous at all. You
mentioned lines from two of the three songs I can think of to
illustrate this failing ("Omnibus", "Great Fire", and "Jason and the
Argonauts"), which just shows that there are all sorts of different
reasons for people to like XTC.
> From our fellow geek, Dunks. "I've got to know some of the Australian
> Chalkers personally (g'day Paul, Iain, Seb,
At first I thought this was a reference to Serb Chalkers. Are there
any Serb Chalkers? What sort of international presence is on this
list? The Guided by Voices list has had people in Malaysia, the Czech
Republic, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Sweden,
Japan, the U.K., Canada, America, Norway, Kirby Atoll, and the Crab
Nebula.
Michael davies
miser17@epix.net
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v04003a02b3e9092733db@[128.104.52.185]> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 22:03:47 -0500 From: maggie jungwirth <mmjungwi@facstaff.wisc.edu> Subject: best of the best? I love Mummer too, and glad to hear others rate it up there. It's too much to rate everything I love about XTC at once, but if I narrow it down to my favorite worn out albums, (and forgive me, I recall this being kicked around months ago) I would say.... Skylarking Oranges& Lemons Mummer Big Express that really plunks me firmly in the "80's, eh? But my first love was *NIGEL!* For me, somehow they just kept getting better and better... Maggie "under mats of flower lava..."
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990825033630.12896.rocketmail@web128.yahoomail.com> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 20:36:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com> Subject: A recursive mess its true- posts about how the posts about how the posts about nirvana suck are making my head spin! So here I am waving my arms wildly hoping to create a distracton: What are your favorite and least favorite XTC records based ONLY on the cover art? For me, favorites would be English Settlement and Go2, least favorites are Black Sea and Big Express. Singles: Favorites: No Thugs in Our House and Senses Working Overtime least favorites: Sgt. Rock and Mayor of Simpleton. Are you distracted?
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990825051131.25958.rocketmail@web107.yahoomail.com> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 22:11:31 -0700 (PDT) From: K D <hentoe_xtc@yahoo.com> Subject: Pete, The Iron Giant, & The Big Express Chris, and anyone else interested.... Pete Townshend WAS asked to write songs for The Iron Giant. When Pete read the screenplay and realized that it did not include any spaces for songs, he agreed that the songs were unnecessary--that the movie was great without them! So, the movie has no singing in it....just some 50's music in the background at diners & such. Pete was not upset by the exclusion of his songs--he was even at the Hollywood Premier (I nearly had a heart attack when I saw him!) It is still failing at the box office, by the way... even made less this weekend than last! They could pull it from theatres any day--so rush right out to see it! Put it on the TOP of your list of movies to see! As for XTC content: My favorite parts on ES are No Thugs and Leisure. I really don't like Runaways. As a result, I listen to ES less than I would otherwise (I feel too guilty to push skip...) The Big Express is still my favorite....although AV1 has been giving it super stiff competition! The Baltimore Kate (in CA)
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990825054208.20793.qmail@nw171.netaddress.usa.net> Date: 24 Aug 99 23:42:08 MDT From: Jeremy Mathews <nsps@usa.net> Subject: Re: What About Hitch? Ben Gott/Loquacious Music <gott@tmbg.org> wrote: <<< Now, it *is* possible that I completely slept through it, but I haven't noticed any mention of Robyn Hitchcock's wonderful new album, "Jewels for Sophia." It seems to me that, although ol' R.H. is getting stranger by the day, his album-making cronies are making his strangeness incredibly tasty. Sure, we can argue about the extent of Jon Brion's production talents (Aimee's "I'm With Stupid" sounds like a carbon copy of something with Froom at the helm), but his collaboration with Robyn H. is pleasantly playful and moving (s.c. "No, I Don't Remember Guilford" versus "The Cheese Alarm"). Be sure to count me in the "Thank Goodness for Peter Buck" fan-club; I'm also grateful for appearances by Kimberley Rew, Grant Lee "Buffalo" Phillips, and extra production by Pat Collier). Anyone else psyched by this? XTC content: Goddamn, "Drums & Wires" is good! -Ben >>> Strange, since I am listening to 'Jewels' right now. The album is very good. I didn't have a problem with Brion's production, and found "Antwoman" and "Mexican God" delicious. My favorite track, however, is "Sally Was a Legend," whcihc was produced by Charlie Francis. Of course, my life and the quality of the song itself also influence that. The album took me by surprise, as it was released before it's planned date. Does anyone know when the actual release date was? Nirvana Content: Robyn says "People flocked like cattle to Seatle after Kurt Cobain" in "Viva Sea-Tac" Also, after all those tapes I've released I have new a CD called "Returning to the Fetal Position," you can hear RA clips at www.nsps.net (I try not to let a post get by without a little shameless self promotion.) :) Jeremy Mathews www.nsps.net
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