Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 328
Date: Monday, 6 December 1999

         Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 328

                 Monday, 6 December 1999

Today's Topics:

                      peas 'n cheese
                      Some Great CDs
         Invitation to join collextc@onelist.com
                   Beware of the Idiot
       D&W vector art, and those pesky Message-ID's
                     a moment of XTC
             Favs, favs, and big little dogs
           Oh Dear God Satanas Say It Ain't So!
                   Tension and release
                The highest tossed of hats
                      Re: Air Supply
            Rush Limbaugh/Generals And Majors
                no sympathy for the devil
                 trains, guns, and albums
             music of my impressionable youth
        Lists, Lists, Lists of Listening Listerine

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And I can't defend myself till we turn the lights off ...

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

Message-ID: <38495756.54A3@earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 04 Dec 1999 10:03:02 -0800
From: awa <errora@earthlink.net>
Subject: peas 'n cheese

Hello Chalkhills,

I'm Alec and I'm new here--not new to XTC but new to the Chalkhills
list.  I've avoided it for a long time because I was afraid of the load
of e-mail I was likely to be getting every day from the congregation if
I were to hop on.  I'm glad that it is in this digest form and not the
20-or-more-e-mails-a-day form.

I recently left the My Bloody Valentine list.  There were too many
e-mails every day and everyone was hung up on arguments for or against
vegetarianism and gun ownership.  Entertaining these subjects may be,
but they're also somewhat like quicksand.

I've liked the Chalkhills lists I've been getting!  It's great to see a
list that's so dedicated to actual opinions about the actual band and
their actual music.

I have to agree with what Iain Murray wrote about Terry Chambers.  XTC,
as a band, is up there with the best from any era during "Black Sea" and
"Settlement" and a lot of the success in the sound of those songs from
this period comes from chemistry between the individuals and Terry's
sense of drum.

It seems like Terry's dismissed a lot by Andy and maybe Colin, too.  At
least the handy dandy, spicy little bite-sized quotes I always see
writers use when painting the Chambers picture (out of context, no
doubt).

A "just bang 'em out" (or "up" or whatever it is) sort of drummer
indeed!  Is "Nearly Africa" just a bang-'em-out song?

I'll take his bandmates' word for it.  There's nothing like a drummer
who's too loud, too drunk, etc.  Whatever were the Terry issues, they
all turned out positive on disc.

I think XTC has suffered, for lack of a better word for it, in the
rhythm department since Terry left.  Andy or Dave Lord or whoever it was
did a good job with "Big Express" drums-wise but they're a little hard
to take, robotics, in an XTC context.

I guess the move from day-glo to subtle colors was a logical step for
XTC as their studio know-how grew but day-glo every once in a while
would be nice since they did it so well.  Though, I don't know how or
why they would do it again...

Speaking of XTC's day-glo eras, I also miss the madcap noodlings of
Barry from time to time.  Never got into his post stuff all that much, I
must admit.  "Go2" is like no other record I can think of.  An acidic
post punk/psyche ska melange exploded, guided gently and sensually along
by a very wise bass player.

What's the Barry Andrews solo 45 from the earlier days like?

It will be interesting, now that Gregory's gone, to hear what Colin and
Andy will create.  I'd love to hear a "Ballad of John and Yoko" type of
legit 2-person magical instrumentation thing from them.  You know, 2
people, some rock band type of instruments and not a ton of recording
process massaging. And quickly recorded, too, like Ballad of
was--something more bang-it-out, I think.  More bang-it than these
nearly decade-long gaps between such lush and perfectly recorded
statement records.

Great list,

Alec

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

Message-ID: <D9D76ABF9372D2118A0700A0C945685359250E@hermes.datamonitor-ny.com>
From: Ben Woll <bwoll@datamonitor.com>
Subject: Some Great CDs
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 13:11:50 -0500

Been lurking on the list for the past couple of months, used to subscribe a
couple of years ago and I have to say I was a bit disappointed at all the
ranting and raving recently...

At any rate, here are some good CDs I thought Chalkhillers might enjoy:

Belle and Sebastian - Tigermilk, If You're Feeling Sinister, and The Boy
with the Arab Strap (great stuff!!!)
Blood Oranges - The Crying Tree
Camper Van Beethoven - Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart, Key Lime Pie
The Connells - Ring
Crowded House - Recurring Dream: The Very Best of...
Deus - In a Bar, Under The Sea
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Left of Cool
The Grays - Ro Sham Bo
The Greenberry Woods - Big Money Item
Harvey Danger - Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?
Joe Jackson - Greatest Hits
The Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall, Tomorrow the Green Grass (good country)
Leo Kottke - Live
Supergrass - I Should Coco
The Trash Can Sinatras - I've Seen Everything (one of the greatest records
ever put together), A Happy Pocket
Wilco - Being There

I had heard the demos to most of Vol One before getting it, so the element
of surprise wasen't there.  Haven't heard any of Vol Two, and this time I
want to hear the finished product first.

Ben

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

Message-ID: <3839CABE.1E348A5D@autoreverse.net>
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 17:59:10 -0500
From: Ian C Stewart <ian@autoreverse.net>
Organization: http://www.AUTOreverse.net/
Subject: Invitation to join collextc@onelist.com

Hello,

I would like to invite you to join the collextc community.

The description of this community is:

XTC Collector's Society
Got every record XTC ever released? Every demo? Every video? Do you
own 6 copies of "Drums And Wires" on vinyl, each from a different
country? Do you obsessively hoard XTC collectibles and mundanities? Do
you want to talk about your compulsions with like-minded folk? Welcome
to the Society. Collecting Honey For The Queen.

You can join this community by going to the following web page:

     http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/collextc

Or you can join by sending email to the following address:

     collextc-subscribe@onelist.com

If you do not wish to join this community, please ignore this message.

Thanks,

Ian C Stewart

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

Message-ID: <007501bf3e9c$f4782cc0$7a977ed4@atidy>
From: "Ade Ransome" <ade@instinct.freeuk.com>
Subject: Beware of the Idiot
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 21:17:20 -0000

Adrian Ransome wrote:

>I was listening to The Big Express recently
>and hadn't realised
>how incredibly jangly that album is.
>There's Dave Gregory twinkling away on
>his Rickenbacker in the most unlikely places.
>......Any thoughts?

You're wrong. And you're a grotequely ugly freak.
Try listening to Mummer and turning your brain on before you post.

with love.

Adrian

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

Message-ID: <003101bf3ebd$2bc2f000$8a4778c7@JH3.alternatech.net>
From: "JH3" <jh3@netins.net>
Subject: D&W vector art, and those pesky Message-ID's
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 19:07:57 -0600

New at XTCWare: Vector art for the Drums & Wires album cover. If you
liked (or were at least able to use) the Oranges & Lemons vector art
file(s), then hopefully you'll like this too.

http://www.alternatech.net/jh3/xtc/xtcdaw.htm

Eventually I'll make up a better animated GIF than the one that's there
now. I've been a bit pressed for time lately.

Oh, and I hope no one was fooled by this:

>Message-ID: <386591970.944287667315.JavaMail.root@web05.pub01>
>Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 01:07:47 -0500 (EST)
>From: Jeremy Cargill <musician@publicist.com>
>Subject: Thank God!

>Thank God the Satanas thing is over!  Or is it?

Nice try, Brian/Satanas/etc.! Just a tip: Next time you post to Chalkhills
with a different e-mail address, try sending it via a different server --
you won't get exactly the same message ID's that way.

Personally, I'd get a hushmail.com account. They're practically
untraceable!

>None of you are letting
>it end.  What I find funny with the whole thing is all you morons who
>participated in the arguments!  Those of you who kept fighting with
>him were the cause of the problems to begin with! <snip>

Clearly, none of us want to be thought of as morons, so I suggest
we all just ignore this latest effort. (But just remember, big guy -
if you really ARE an XTC fan, you're still OK by me!)

John H. Hedges
XTCWare: http://www.alternatech.net/jh3/xtc

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

Message-ID: <19991205045011.66903.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Megan Heller" <hellerm@hotmail.com>
Subject: a moment of XTC
Date: Sat, 04 Dec 1999 22:50:11 CST

Wayne muses--
>Steve Oleson asked for favorite XTC moments unfortunately I have four. I
>tried to whittle it down to one, but gave up.
>
>I love the whole song Snowman, but really love the absurd growl

it's funny, I think English Settlement is full of great moments like
that-- I love the part of "Jason and the Argonauts" reintroducing the
vocal out of that sort of cacophony, I love, that part of "Snowman"
(again, a loud noise coming from a sort of softer mix of noises-- there's
a trend in what I like in music, actually-- Catherine Wheel's song
"Ferment" has a moment that defines my favorite kind of moment in music,
you may know what I'm talking about, but I digress).  I always liked the
transitions between Senses, Jason, Thugs, Yacht Dance, and finally, All of
a Sudden-- I had that record on cassette originally, and that was most of
the first side, and it was like an epiphany to me when I was 12.  That
whole album is all around an excellent bit of production and engineering--
kudos to Hugh Padgham.

hm, as for favorite moments on other albums.... the beginning of
"Complicated Game"... the transition into "Travels in Nihilon"... the
point where "Beating of Hearts" meets "Wonderland"... "Ballet for a Rainy
Day" segues (I just learned how to spell that word, cripes I had it wrong
before) into "1000 Umbrellas"... "Minature Sun" segues into "Chalkhills
and Children" (the latter is, in itself, like one great XTC moment for me)

so, I think it's clear I like the XTC transition points.

I'm going to go listen to English Settlement now.

megan (the babbly).

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

Message-Id: <199912050541.AAA09821@nantucket.net>
Date: Sat, 04 Dec 1999 23:46:24 -0800
Subject: Favs, favs, and big little dogs
From: "Diamond" <arnos@nantucket.net>

First off, Joe jacksons weakest effort by far is blaze Of Glory... just
pompous and uninteresting. I couldn't hum one tune from that album, it's
just not memerable. Laughter And Lust is pretty good.
BY the way, I finally caved in and bought Joe Jackson's Symphony #1. It's
really not as bad as I expected it to be. the last movement is really cool,
because it's variations on some themes from Heaven and Hell. Heaven and
hell, by the way, is tied for best joe Jackson record, along with Night and
day.

Hey, Dave Seddon

harold and Maude is a classic movie. Just absolutely brilliant. Also, Cat
Steven's soundtrack to that movie is on level with paul Simon's soundtrack
to The Graduate, another of my all-time favs.
Favorite movies, in no order?

Harold And Maude
the Graduate
Taxi Driver
The Shining
This Is Spinal Tap
Waiting for Gaufman -both by Christopher Guest

any movie with bill murry in it, especially Groundhogs day, and his recent
movie, Rushmore.

Hmmmmmmmm... There must be more.... But, seeing as this IS a music-related
board, I'll turn over to my fav. Purcheses for this year.

First off, let me say that most of my percheses this year (And I had many.
'm up to 300 CD's, and at least 200 of them were bought this year. Yeah,
that's a lot, but that's why I love Used Sections) As I was saying, most
of the CD's I bought this year are old ones, seeing as I'm only 16, and
have a lot of catching up to do with yous guys. But, of the CD's I bought
this year that were released this year, I'd have to say my favs are:

AV1
Homespun
State Songs-John Linnell
Up-REM
Wilco, Summerteath

Hmmmmmm... that might be it. I bought the new Crash test Dummies, and that
wasn't to bad. And, of course, JJ's symphony 1. But it's to early to tell
on that one. Mostly, I've been catching up on all the great music from
past years. I should be buying both The Soft Bulletin and Midnight
Vultures soon though, so we'll see about those ones.

On another note, my band, Leviathan Chihuahua, is making a CD next
semester as a school-related project. We've got about 16 songs that will
probably take up about 60 minutes of time. First question, does anyone
know of what CD burner to buy that I can burn music from an
eight-track(reel to reel) to a CD? Second, When and If we actually get
this CD done, would any of you be interested in a copy. I'm sure you'd all
like our music. We're a real amalgom of influences from XTC to TMBG to
OINGO BOINGO to TALKING HEADS to STEELY DAN... all sorts of things have
gone in to flavor our band LEVIATHAN CHIHUAHUA. So, if' you'd be
interestd, please let me know. Thanks.

Kevin Diamond

____________________________________________________________________________
"To emphasize the afterlife is to deny life. To concentrate on heaven is to
create hell."
          -Tom Robbins

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

Message-ID: <3849F7D7.7BC54B2C@mediaone.net>
Date: Sun, 05 Dec 1999 00:27:51 -0500
From: Don & Sue <DonSueP@mediaone.net>
Subject: Oh Dear God Satanas Say It Ain't So!

Hi Chalkers,

Here are my favorite and least favorite - no, not 1999 recordings -
Satanas "kiss off" posts from Digest #5-327.  Followed by some gleeful
vituperation, apologies in advance.

Thumbs way up for the three who delivered the "coupe de grace" with
humor (just the way I would like to have done it, if only *I* were so
clever.)

First, Iain made the most out of the creative spelling aspect.  Bravo!

> >>I was defensive and I argued back, and maybe I
> >>should have ignored them!  Even though and should not be followed by a
> >>coma!
>
> Sorry, I think I've just slipped into one.....

Next, Dominic delivered a typically insightful and beautifully vicious
dismissal.

> Also, there's been a vague whiff of bullshit about this whole
> palaver, particularly your oddly inconsistent spelling problem......hmmm,
> conspiracy theories abound!......and the Charlie Buck thing absolutely
> reeked of yarn-spinning. Still, only four weeks until Christmas and then
> it's time for some real fairy stories! Birth of Jesus, my bottom - that
> happened in May didn't it???

Then, Dan got the last and best laugh.

>> I am was one of the only ones who noticed the earth was round
>> here.
>
> I can confirm that the world is, indeed, round, and that
> those of you refraining from taking long trips for fear of dropping off the
> earth's surface can put your minds at ease. It is a pity that this
> subscriber left us when he still obviously had so much to teach.

But just when I'm grinning ear to ear, along comes the following
entirely humorless, dour and sour note.

> From: Jeremy Cargill <musician@publicist.com>
> Subject: Thank God!
>
> Thank God the Satanas thing is over!  Or is it?  None of you are letting it
> end.  What I find funny with the whole thing is all you morons who
> participated in the arguments!  Those of you who kept fighting with him were
> the cause of the problems to begin with!  I sat here reading post after post
> you while you guys instigated and tried to out-articulate each other while
> sweating buckets of Testosterone filled sweat.

"All you morons" . . . my aren't we feeling superior?

> I for one, love meat and am a devout Christian who teaches
> pre-school at my church.  However, I watched as over and over he
> tried to stop and none of you would let him.  You just edged him on
> to fulfill something missing in your life.

Yes, arguing with a troll is a bit like pissing in the wind, but to
suggest this means we have something missing in our lives is just more
superiority and self-righteousness, grrrr, I'm starting to feel
something bubbling up . . .

> What I would suggest is to read the bible and learn to love those we hate.

Ack! Cough! Spit! Blubber! That's it, I can't hold back any more . . .
Sure, "read the bible and learn to love those we hate" just like you so
obviously do?  Load of crap.  What has this got to do with anything,
anyway?  As I read somewhere, "It's *your* god, they're *your* rules,
*you* go to hell!  (Figuratively speaking of course, I wouldn't wish
eternal suffering on anybody, unlike a few supposedly loving gods I
could mention.)

> A matter of fact, how I became a fan of XTC was the song "Dear God."  Prior
> to that, I never liked them.
>
> I was so upset when I first heard it, now its one of my favorite songs.  It
> gives me faith that the people out there who have not yet found the lord are
> still looking.  Otherwise they would not be calling his name!  To make my
> last point, move on to something else and stop making the 'real Satan"
> smile!

Now you've gone and really done it!  You just had to go and bring up
Dear God again.  You should search the archives and find the three or
six previous Dear God debates if you like this sort of stuff.  See, this
always brings out people like me, who can't resist replying with things
like: Your faith is more a willful ignorance and denial of the direct,
clear and unambiguous message of the song: "It's just somebody's unholy
hoax."  Where's the freaking ambiguity in that? "If there's one thing I
don't believe in it's you dear god."  "Still looking", my ass!  And what
do you mean the 'real Satan', why don't you give reality a try, you
might like it!  I'm sorry people.  I'm usually much more calm, polite
and understanding than this.  Celebrate diversity and all that!

But maybe we can take this in a new direction, I mean why do we always
focus so much on Dear God?  Perhaps a better overall picture can be had
by reviewing the lyrics from some other XTC songs:

Jumping in Gomorah
I'm religion free.

Scissor Man
If you refuse to believe he exist
You won't be frightened when you find out you're on his list.

Living Through Another Cuba
On your knees and pray, and while you're down there, kiss your arse
goodbye.

Travels in Nihilon
We've seen no Jesus come and gone.

All of a Sudden
All of a sudden we find heaven's not there.

It's Nearly Africa
The fat man driving us over the edge of the nearest cliff-face is he the
same god that I've seen you kneel to?

Wonderland
One day you will break out of your spell
And some day you will want me for your own
And I'll say welcome to reality
Caught in your superficial, nonexistent, fairy-story, wonderland

Deliver Us from the Elements
Oh Lord deliver us from the elements
We at your mercy and your reverence
Oh Lord deliver us from the elements
We've no defense we are impotent
(Yes, a very different sentiment here, but left in as a gesture of
unbias.)

This World Over
Will you tell them about that far off and mythical land,
Where a child to the virgin came.
Will you tell them that the reason why we murdered
Everything upon the surface of the world
So we can stand right up and say we did it in His name?

I Bought Myself a Liarbird
Methinks world is for you
Made of what you believe
If it's false or if it's true
You can read it in your bible
Or on the back of this record sleeve

Season Cycle
Who's pushing the pedals on the season cycle?
Is there a God in Heaven?
Everybody says join our religion get to Heaven
I say no thanks why bless my soul
I'm already there!

The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul
Now he sits all alone
Knowing flesh blood and bone is everything
He found the treasure he'd been seeking

Merely a Man
I had no message and the message
was, we're all Jesus, Buddha, and the Wizard of Oz!
I'm all religious figures rolled into one, Gaddafy Duck propelled
from Jimmy Swaggart's tommy gun.
With logic and love we'll have power
enough to raise consciousness up and for lifting humanity higher!
We should chase superstition and fear from
our hearts if we're going to survive and take levels of sanity higher!

Across This Antheap
A bed is creaking as the new Messiah comes.
(Just for comic relief . . .)

The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead
Fed the starving and housed the poor
Showed the vatican what gold's for
But he made too many enemies
Of the people who would keep us on our knees
Hooray for Peter Pumpkin
Who'll pray for Peter Pumpkinhead?

Rook
If I die and I find that I had a soul inside
Promise me that you'll take it up on its final ride
(This is in my opinion the most, if not only, clearly 'spiritual
seeking' lyric from Andy ever. So I'll give you this one, except I will
point out that he does say *if*.)

Books are Burning
I believe the printed word is more than sacred
Beyond the gauge of good or bad
The human right to let your soul fly free and naked
Above the violence of the fearful and sad
The church of matches
Anoints in ignorance with gasoline
The church of matches
Grows fat by breathing in the smoke of dreams
It's quite obscene!

Cool stuff ain't it?  XTC was a real "godsend" to me.  I've often felt
that Andy and I, though an ocean apart, have been on the same
philosophical path for a long time.  I told Andy this in person when I
met him in Tower Records in Boston.  (Someday I may yet relate the whole
story of our meeting.)  These songs though are enough to make an
atheist's heart burst with joy, sort of a Chicken Soup for the Atheist
Soul.

I guess that's enough for now,
Don

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

From: Chauncy14@aol.com
Message-ID: <0.7350f145.257b8436@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 04:02:46 EST
Subject: Tension and release

Hey Chalkers-

Steve Oleson brought up a good point below, and I wanted to add that
architecture's structure, from a design and construction point of view, is
the same as music's construction.   Mozart is a good composer to highlight.
The penultimate point is, that they both have rest periods and accentuated
reliefs, but both also contain *tension and release.*  In Frank Lloyd
Wright's architecture, for eg., he uses tension by designing small and
cramped front entry ways, which lead you into to great-vaulted 2-story rooms
aft of the entry way.  Thus, the feeling is tension at the front entry, and
that *stress* or *anxiety* about the smallness/confinement of the space, is
released when you experience the next *great* room.  It is a subconcious
relationship to negative and positive space, but you don't really know it,
unless a docent, which I am, calls attention to this characteristic of the
space.

Same for music, in my humble opinion.  Cadences and syncopations are the
musicians *reliefs.*  I love this stuff, and it's all over XTC's music.
Cheers!

<Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 11:12:37 -0600
From: "Steve Oleson" <Steve.Oleson@OAG.STATE.TX.US>
Subject: Andy's chorus genius>

<PLEASE SEND IN YOUR FAVORITE XTC MUSICAL MOMENTS>
Mine is the double guitaring in Towers of London, at the middle 8, I should
think.  In the Drums department, it is the entire song of Paper and Iron.
Vocals?  Pink Thing.  It's overlapping paragraphs are really cool.  Lyrics?
Hold Me My Daddy.

<My feeling about Andy's approach to music is this: he thinks more as a
visual artist, or a dramatic artist than as a musician. Think about it. His
use of dissonance, complimented by a lyrical melody, the tension created by
noise, and the release of tension is very dramatic and THEATRICAL!>
Musicians' license here..

John Gardner
Chicago

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

Message-ID: <001801bf3f15$e34b76e0$32cbac3e@default>
From: "David Seddon" <D.Seddon@btinternet.com>
Subject: The highest tossed of hats
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 11:42:57 -0000

EEEEEK!  Slapped knuckles time!!  Am I a saint or a sinner?  Just realised
that I had a superfluous apostrophe and a missing full stop in my last
letter.
Hope that doesn't push me into one group or the other on the list.  ;-)

As for Wounded Horse.  I have heard it once only, and it reminded me of
Neil Young, so I suppose that's country/blues/rock.
Though I have most of what is likely to be on AV2 on a bootleg, I have
limited myself to one listen only...couldn't resist that, but didn't want
to ruin the surprise of the new album either.

The construction of the some of the songs seemed to me to be, like AV1,
quite complex and lyrically reflective.  However, the mood it is altogether
more upbeat, and electric instruments are more to the fore.

bye folks,
(oh, first I'd better use the spelling and grammar checker)

a soviet is a cloth used by waiters in hotels

Dave Seddon

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

Message-Id: <l03130301b46f9b5d2daf@[208.13.202.161]>
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 23:40:47 -0500
From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net>
Subject: Re: Air Supply

>Christopher Coolidge had positive comments to say, even though he
>disagreed with me.
>
>That brings up a good point: Chris, stop kissing this idiot's ass!
>You've been listening to too much of your wife's goddamn Air Supply,
>and the excess oxygen has obviously gone to your brain! Now, on to the
>main subject of this post...

  The other Chris, you have a hell of a memory, I'll give you that.
Actually, I never listen to my wife's Air Supply albums, except their most
recent a couple of times, which was only tolerable because I hadn't heard
it before and it sounded like they were trying to do a Moody Blues move or
something.

Christopher R. Coolidge

Homepage at
http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html

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

Message-Id: <l03130302b46fa10e83e5@[208.13.202.161]>
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 00:03:02 -0500
From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net>
Subject: Rush Limbaugh/Generals And Majors

>Just in case this hasn't already been noted, XTC has
>been heard in what some will consider an odd place: as
>a bumper on the Rush Limbaugh radio show.
>
>(Lessee, does that reference require annotation for
>readers east of the Pond? He's a
>conservative/libertarian radio commentator heard on
>more than 600 radio stations stateside. Shortwave and
>broadcast.com are viable options for non-Yanks.)
>
>In December, Limbaugh's bumper rotation is pretty much
>all Mannheim Steamroller, but for most of this past
>year, he was using an agreeable collection of tracks
>that included "Generals and Majors" and something by
>past-its-prime Genesis circa *Invisible Touch* --
>"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," I think.

  As an occasional listener to Rush, I've heard "Generals And Majors" on
his show on occasion too, as well as several songs from Utopia's last three
albums in the early to mid-80's. It would be misleading to call Rush a
libertarian, though. He's a libertarian only when it's convenient for him,
like most people. You try calling him about the war on drugs or same sex
marriage and he gets very conservative. If you were to put me in a room
with him and Bernie Sanders, I'd find a few things to agree with from both
of them, but they wouldn't be the same things.

Christopher R. Coolidge

Homepage at
http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html

"A Great law protects me from the government. The Bill of rights has 10
GREAT laws.  A Good law protects me from you.  Laws against murder, theft,
assault and the like are good laws.  A Poor law attempts to protect me
from myself."  - Unknown

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

From: Saints3Den@aol.com
Message-ID: <0.eadf6094.257bd610@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 09:52:00 EST
Subject: no sympathy for the devil

Folks...  Jeremy Cargill says;

<< Thank God the Satanas thing is over!  Or is it?  None of you are
 letting it end.  What I find funny with the whole thing is all you morons
 who participated in the arguments!  Those of you who kept fighting with
 him were the cause of the problems to begin with!  >>

  <<Sure, I found his posts ridicules>>

  << I sat here reading post after post you while you guys instigated>>

    Let me be the first to say... welcome back Satanas!  We missed you,
the list just hasn't been the same since you left. Or did you? Your
schizophrenic personality has mutated 180 degrees into a bible
thumper...that may have thrown us off the trail if it weren't for the
antagonism and strange sentences.

  anagram of satanas diablo----  a lot bad in ass  (misspelled,of course)

  Thank you John Boudreau. It is great to see this list back on topic---
The Beatles!

What XTC songs do kids like?  Helicopter, for one. My son -8 yrs old-loves
all of AV -1. Funny thing happened the other day. We were shopping, and he
was being very unruly in the mall . He wanted to get a Pokemon magazine,
and I told him no, since he was acting badly. His reaction? He turns to me
and yells "Well, Greenman Sucks! "(his favorite xtc song)

     eddie st.martin

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

Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 07:51:42 -1000
From: Jim Smart <jismart@ksbe.edu>
Subject: trains, guns, and albums
Message-ID: <7728288515AD.AAA38D4@mail1.ksbe.edu>

I've not been much interested in the trainspotting theme on chalkhills.
However, I suddenly "got it" when I was sitting in McDonald's waiting for
my kids to finish their happy meals when "I'd Like That" came on the sound
system. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to go shake the loners and old
people that hang out in the corners and say "listen to this! That's XTC's
new song!  Isn't it great?" Of course, the song seemed to have zero impact
on the quiet boredom of just-another-day at the golden arches. Maybe I'll
find the dream posts more interesting when I dream of the band....

Thanks to B. L. Zebub for those good riddens. They were some of the best
riddens ever.

Tyler wrote:

"I predict that Wounded Horse will be the weAkest track on AV2. There's
nothing really interesting about it at all, either lyrically or
musically."

I agree. Sometimes, late at night, when the thought that Wounded Horse
WILL be on AV2 while The Ship Stuck in the Ice WILL NOT becomes to much
for me, I run spastically out to a lonely parking lot and rage at the moon
about the injustice of it all.

Christopher R. Coolidge wrote very eloquently about guns in
America. Though I don't agree with you, I found your post very thought
provoking and well written. I do have to disagree with this bit:

"Andy is guilty of grossly underestimating the hold that guns have on
American culture."

I doubt that. I think he's well aware of it and is revolted by it (as am
I).  Our gun-totin', let-the-bullets-fly, we-should-all-be-armed culture
is a source of shame the world over, a blot on the USA. Maybe he made the
song as drop of water, a beginning, a chance to change the cutlure by
changing a few people's minds. In Song Stories Andy says "I just really
abhor guns. the are for one thing-killing. They're not for shooting
targets, that's just to keep you in practice to mak you more efficient at
killing."

He also makes a funny reference to "Reverend Kinky Partridge in the middle
shouting through a guitar amp" and says (I like this one best) "I am the
anti-Ted Nugent".

And, if I may be so bold as to offer a new thread, how about top ten
albums of the nineties? I think it was a pretty good decade, possibly
better than the eighties in some ways. These are the albums that continue
to impress me.....

Top Ten albums of the nineties:

(in no particular order)

Kirsty MacColl - Titanic Days
Beck - Mutations
XTC - Apple Venus One
Jellyfish - Spilt Milk
REM - Automatic For The People
World Party - Egyptology
Blur - Parklife
Neil Young - Harvest Moon
Crowded House - Woodface
Adrian Belew - Here

And I would like to squeeze in XTC - Nonsuch. If a baker's dozen has 13,
my top ten list can have 11.

thanks for reading,

Jim

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

Message-ID: <19991205203721.3977.qmail@web2106.mail.yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 12:37:21 -0800 (PST)
From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com>
Subject: music of my impressionable youth

David Seddon asks:

What songs did your parents play when you were young
that bring back happy memories?

My mom listened to Tom Jones (yuck), James Brown
(yum), Johnny Cash (yum), Creedence Clearwater Revival
(ok, not my cup of tea), The Beatles (yum) and others
I cant recall as well. It's definately influenced my
tastes-I love Jonny Cash and am pretty darn fond of
James Brown. I also remember that she bought the
Chipmunks' Christmas album for my sister and I the
same day she bought Tom Jones Live in Las Vegas for
herself (I was about 5 or 6 at the time). I remember
the Chipmunks much more fondly!

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

Message-ID: <384AC574.76EF@gte.net>
Date: Sun, 05 Dec 1999 13:05:07 -0700
From: "May O'Mahoney" <may5272@gte.net>
Subject: Lists, Lists, Lists of Listening Listerine

Favorite XTC moment? Golly, aren't they virtually all?  If I had to
whittle it down into a concise list it would be as follows:

(Please excuse the cheesy adjectives - it's a Sunday and I'm still in my
pajamas.)

Blissfully spaced-out intro to 'Rocket From a Bottle'
Gorgeous, overall wash of sound of 'I'd Like That'
Lucious layering of vocals and beautiful brushstrokes in 'Lady Bird'
Andy's soaring vocals on 'Sgt. Rock'
Awesome, flowery flowing guitar in 'Yachtdance'

    Top Five of 1999:

*Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
*Combustible Edison - The Impossible World
*Rushmore - Soundtrack
*AV1
*Anonymous 4 - Love's Illusion (Hey! Devil Man!  Here's something a
cappella!)

Honorable mentions:

*Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
*Irresponsibles - When Pigs Fly

"What songs did your parents play when you were young that bring back
happy memories?"

Ah, I'm conjuring up a haze of craftsman houses, stained glass and
persian rugs: Record after dusty record of classical music, Beatles
"Rubber Soul" and "Yellow Submarine". Jeff Beck's version of "I Aint
Superstitious" and "Spanish Boots". Joni Mitchell's "Blue" and believe
it or not Squeeze - "East Side Story" - my dad loved that album.

This is where I make my post THAT much shorter by combining two topics
into one:

I like Elvis Costello.  I especially like Elvis Costello's "King of
America" album.  One of my favorite Elvis songs is, "Stranger In The
House".  Can you guess which two topics I'm combining?  First one to
write me with the correct answer will get a copy of Santanas Diablo's
smash box office hit, "I'm Miserable - Can I Make You Miserable, Too?"

So, what I gather as I wet my finger and stick it out into the
atmosphere to see which direction Millennium sentiments are going, I see
they are taking a much welcome dive south.  Collectively, it seems we're
tired of the Milleneum.  (Bow to Dom's adjectives on this subject.)

And now may I open a can of worms?

Since we're so tired of the Milleneum, what does one do in the face of
such apathy?  Are YOU tired of the Milleneum?  I'm curious to know what
you Chalkies are going to be doing that night. (You can post me
privately if you like.  You can also post me privately to call me a c#nt
for even bringing it up, too.)  What do you think our favorite band is
going to be doing?

I think my Y2K kit will be in place once I buy a case of wine.  Oh, no,
not for celebratory reasons really.  I'll need to drink it out of
boredom as I sit in the darkness, watching random fires pop up all over
the city and normally mild-mannered suits taking axes to ATM machines.

Oh, I'm so funny sometimes!

- May "Will You Get Dressed Already?!" O'Mahoney

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

End of Chalkhills Digest #5-328
*******************************

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