Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 48
Date: Friday, 25 December 1998
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 48
Friday, 25 December 1998
Today's Topics:
A great and sad day
Re: Four cases of TB
XTC and Jazz and Rush
re: next XTC producer
XTC and jazz
Countdown - 2 DAYS!!!
Cornelius "Fantasma"
drums
Re XTC n Jazz
St. Clements, drummers and jazz
Re: Mind Games
Merry Xmas
best of
Lots
Lots More
Re: Pepper Oil
Having A Blast For X-Mas
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It's dawning, here is Christmas morning now!
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <618F91505D89D21185330001FA6A4954082286@HFD-EXCH008> From: "Witter, Karl F" <WitterKF@aetna.com> Subject: A great and sad day Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 11:53:02 -0500 Great: TB is here, immediately vaulting to the top of my '98 list. All the English Settlement songs really kick as live recordings! Sad: The ABL just folded. I saw a touch of snow in the air, and on the first day of winter the Blizzard are no longer. What has this to do with XTC? Well, some would tell you that the ABL was about the players and the game, the WNBA about lockstep arm-twisting corporate relationships and marketing, with the quality of play and effort 2nd. Oh, and the next time I curse a team with my fanship, they might as well give me season tix and a souvenir kit for their worst rivals. I'm turning into the kiss of professional sport franchise death! Let me be the first to spoil William Blakely's fun: Victor and Ilsa get on the plane. The camera pans to a workman throwing a sled named "Rosebud" into the furnace. They climb every mountain, escape the Nazis and later open a Vermont ski resort. She falls out of love with Ashley and runs back to Rhett, whereupon he drops her fickle ass. Dorothy comes out of a tornado-induced concussion to find she's still stuck in frigging Kansas. Extra credit: The wire-wearing Menzies prompts Quinlan into confessing his creative ways with evidence at crime scenes; Vargas' tape recorder is discovered, and Menzies kills the corrupt sheriff in a gunfight, just before we learn that the last suspect Quinlan framed was guilty. What does it matter what you say about people?, Karl
------------------------------
From: sharedon@mbcc.mass.edu
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 12:21:41 -0500
Message-Id: <98122312214112@mbcc.mass.edu>
Subject: Re: Four cases of TB
season's greetings to all. if it's any comfort, my TB cases are
smashed, too. i can go buy another set, if i were a rich man;
tempting, but i think i'll have to pass. despite the inevitable
shortcomings of the set, i do love it - i was able to show my
wife that, yes, XTC could rock ("but i'm a punk," she protested!!)
the new year and AV are just around the corner, so i'm feeling
merry, and, inevitably, bright just now.
best to everyone.... don
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v03102802b2a7164764c5@[165.227.110.102]> Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 15:17:09 -0700 From: Richard Pedretti-Allen <richard@tactics.com> Subject: XTC and Jazz and Rush With the exception of "The World Is Full Of Angry Young Men", I don't tend to find any real jazzy sounding stuff from XTC. Not that it's not in there but it is so well integrated that it doesn't sound like jazz. In any event, there is tons of jazz that I like. Older classic stuff like Miles Davis early stuff (I tend to fade when he got too modern), Charlie Parker. Modern progressive like Dotsero, Charlie Hunter, John Abercrombie and Codona. Jazz rock like Brand X (Phenominal stuff with Phil Collins on drums!! neener, neener, neener), Alan Holdsworth and Weather Report. Pop jazz like Tom Grant, Shadowfax and Tuck and Patti. There is so much boundary breaking and experimentation in jazz that is absent in a majority of rock and pop bands. That is probably one of the major reasons we are all here on Chalkhills... because XTC tends to test or violate a great deal of the rock/pop preconceptions and quite often make it work. In that way, XTC is similar to Rush. Though I'm not a big fan, I have heard most of their stuff and some of it is pretty damn impressive in that they'll mix in a bar of 5/4 or 7/4 timing and make it work. They make it sound natural and not some spazo-herky-jerky discomfort. Rush does this with timing, structure and polyrhythms. XTC does this with chord structures, words and production. Cheers, Richard p.s. Why don't Christians sing "Happy Birthday" on Christmas?
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 16:42:13 -0800 (PST) From: Benjamin Lukoff <blukoff@alvord.com> Subject: re: next XTC producer Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.981223163818.395A-100000@locutus.alvord.com> schiavo@home.com (steve) wrote: >If they're pretty close to starting on Volume 2, I wonder if it will be >the first self produced XTC album. Speaking of which, why haven't XTC released a self-produced album yet? Most other bands with which I am familiar had started producing themselves by this point in their careers. BDL
------------------------------
From: ElizaS33@aol.com
Message-ID: <ea36618f.368187f3@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 19:16:51 EST
Subject: XTC and jazz
As an XTC fan with a pretty hefty interest in jazz, I thought I'd offer up
my own wee thoughts on this question.
First, as a singer, I have a real thing for vocal-based jazz (Ella
Fitzgerald is IT, in my book; I'm also big on Nina Simone and Louis
Armstrong), and the classic songwriters such as Porter, Gershwin, and
Rodgers & Hart. That aside, I never really understood myself what set the
jazz I love apart from the jazz that makes me sit there and think, "My, this
is impressive playing," and spurs no emotional response whatsoever.
Then I read the first two paragraphs of the liner notes to Slim Gaillard's
"Laughing in Rhythm: The Best of the Verve Years." I'm going to reproduce
Brian Priestley's text here, because it's short and because it seems more
honest than my stealing his idea. ;-)
"The legacy of Slim Gaillard is a potent reminder that jazz and humor used
to go hand in hand, especially in the first half of this century. Never mind
the verbal wit of, say, Louis Armstrong or Fats Waller; jazz would have been
considerably poorer without their instrumental humor."
"The same can be said of Gillespie, Parker (often), Monk (always), Garner,
and Tatum. The list is long but excludes Davis, Coltrane and their
descendants, simply because humor smacked of "entertainment" - not an
element acceptable to new jazz stylists from the 1950s onwards."
And I thought, YEAH! And why not? A sense of humor is essential to me in pop
music, so why wouldn't that hold true in jazz as well? I'm not talking about
thigh-slappingly funny (although that can be fun too... much of the Slim
Gaillard material falls in that category, and I highly recommend it); I mean
a sense of fun in what you're doing, and perhaps as well the ability to see
the little absurdities in life and convey that in yto be "converted" to XTC
by her man. Many people had tried to turn me on to them by putting a song on
a mix tape, but I was never "grabbed" by the song... in fact, I often
wouldn't notice it until afterwards someone said "that was XTC." I felt
terrible about this, because I knew enough to know they were more or less
the sort of thing I generally liked, but at the time attributed it to a
slightly cold, overintellectual quality in their sound that was putting me
off. Hey, don't ask *me*... I don't hear it any more!). My at-the-time
squeeze played me Nonsuch on a cross-country road trip, carefully skipping
certain tracks and explaining to me what exactly he loved about the
others. And I thought, damn, he's absolutely right! So it *can* be done,
boys...)
Anyway, back to jazz recommendations... based on my personal bias, in
addition to those I've mentioned above I highly recommend Fats Waller, Louis
Jordan, Louis Prima, pretty much anyone else named Louis, Cab Calloway and
Charles Mingus. My two favorite current artists are pianist Brad Mehldau
(who actually managed to make such by-now-overworked songs as Bewitched and
Young At Heart completely fresh, writes really great originals, and
interprets Radiohead songs too) and Dave's True Story, a warped New
York-based act who won my attention on their song titles alone ("I'll Never
Read Trollope Again" and "Ned's Big Dutch Wife" among them).
Elizabeth
The Gallery of Indispensable Pop Music
homepages.infoseek.com/~popgallery
www.frigidisk.com/the coolest cds on the Internet
------------------------------ Message-ID: <368153B4.5A26A0D6@erols.com> Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 20:34:03 +0000 From: "Neal H. Buck" <nealhbuck@erols.com> Subject: Countdown - 2 DAYS!!! Merry Chalk-mas, Children, It's good to see a few Tom Lehrer lurkers about (I think I'll keep the matching pen & pencil). I wonder if the Dynamic Duo (Now we are two) are? Steve Jackson: Pittsburgh, right? (I'm not, but "Yuns" is a giveaway). Lennon: I am 42, and as I mentioned last time, my Mom was into the Beatles before me. I used to go around singing "She Hates You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" (I was 7, hated girls and anyone girls loved - and the Beatles were SOOO CUTE!). It wasn't 'til I saw a clip for "A Hard Days Night" (at a showing of "Zulu" - that arrow going into that guy's throat was SOOO COOL!) that I GOT the Beatles. The humor, energy, and rythm/beat came together for me then. John became my favorite Beatle. I saw "HDN" 19 times (at the movie theater) and "Help!" 21 times (ditto). Of course now I love (just about) all their music, but back when they were coming out, I resisted some of their later output - especially the psychedelic era (which is why the Monkees had success, until THEY got psychedelic with "DW Washburn," etc.) Heck, I even like the Stones now... Anyway, one thing that, to me, is amazing is that even on their last album they still ROCKED! "Get Back" and "One After 909" makes you wanna get up and dance to those old fogeys - they didn't forget their Cavern days. One disappointment I have with a lot of my favorite bands (XTC included) is that as they get older, more "mature," they discard the pop energy that drew me to them in the first place. I know change and growth is inevitible, and that different artists change in different ways, but I still don't always like it. It makes me have to adjust to a different perspective to appreciate it. But hey, that's life, time for the next wave. OK, so as a solo artist I soured on John a bit (except for the occasional song). "Double Fantasy" was "all right" - it was a little too lightweight, though it was good to hear him getting back in the groove. By that time, however, the "relationship" was long over - he had been distancing himself from the Four since the breakup. So, when news of the shooting came, it was like an old girlfriend had died. I felt a loss, but no wailing and gnashing of teeth. Every once in a while, the loss will hit, especially for possibilities no longer possible. I won't even get into a Christ comparison, except that John did what he believed in, whether anyone liked it or not, whether it was "right" or not. He WAS human, and I'm sure he also did some things he didn't believe in, too. We'll never know about Christ, but its all about the legacy, the myth, the meaning. That's why I'm remembering the birth and death of two influences in my life. Neal
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v04011702b2a7492bf20e@[208.240.250.142]> Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 19:56:55 -0600 From: Ken Herbst <ken@bamadvertising.com> Subject: Cornelius "Fantasma" Okay, I know I already posted my top picks for '98. But, boy did I screw up -- I forgot my favorite album of the year, which also happens to be the year's most original disc: Cornelius "Fantasma". I know somebody else mentioned him here recently (bless you), but I feel compelled to pay him special tribute. Very hard to categorize, he's something like a cross between Apples In Stereo, Spookey Rubin, Sterolab, and Carl Stallings (the amazing composer of all the classic Warner Bros. cartoons). There's some sprinkings of Wendy/Walter Carlos, and the occasional vocal styling of Stephen Hawking. According to the Matador website, Fantasma is CORNELIUS's third album. Released in Japan last fall, it's sold close to half a million copies in his home country, making it a multi-platinum record. But, don't let that keep you from checking it out. Just go into a record store. Ask them to put in "Fantasma." Click to track #5) "Count Five or Six." And be blown away. Some websites that can get you started...... http://207.51.134.2/~donk/cornelius/welcome.html http://www.matador.recs.com/bios/bio_cornelius.html --- Ken Herbst
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199812240227.VAA02489@lima.epix.net> From: "Michael Davies" <miser17@epix.net> Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 21:15:45 -0400 Subject: drums > Not listening to drums is tantamount to saying "I've played Drums and Wires > and English Settlement, but I haven't listened to them" The drums are of > paramount importance on both albums...you CANNOT listen to "Roads Girdle The > Globe", "Making Plans For Nigel" "It's Nearly Africa" or "Ball and Chain" > without listening to the drums as in each case the drums are an integral > part of the MELODY rather than merely there to provide a backbeat....I think i've listened to all these songs dozens of times and i've never noticed anything special about the drums that would cause me to pay attention to them, except of course the african rhythm in "It's Nearly Africa". i don't doubt that different drummers do different things, but i generally don't notice the drums on anything, so i can't compare drummers. i've read several times that the drummer for Archers of Loaf has a highly unorthodox style, and i keep meaning to listen closely to their songs to hear the drumming, but i never remember to. so even if i've heard that the drumming is unusual i still don't notice it. you notice drumming when you listen to music, some people don't. Michael davies miser17@epix.net
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199812240325.WAA03358@fs.IConNet.NET> Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 22:25:22 -0500 Subject: Re XTC n Jazz From: "John Irvine" <jirvine@bellatlantic.net> There was a time when the two records that spent the most time on my turtable were by the Minutemen and Charles Mingus - fat goateed soul brothers if there ever were. Now it's more like Stereolab and Stan Getz. The trouble with Inventing THE style like Charlie Parker is that it becomes the norm so all yer old records sound like textbook sax playing. That's why I cant listen to Robert Johnson records without thinking of George Thorogood or a Wendy's commercial. I don't know much about Jazz, but Stan Getz is just the smoothest. He played sax like some disembodied angel. Just pure sound. I can't get 'nuff. Mingus invented punk rock - check out Hatian Fight Song and think Sonic Youth. Hope this helps on your quest for Jazz. John I
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199812240357.TAA02059@sgi.sgi.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 19:59:16 +0000
Subject: St. Clements, drummers and jazz
From: "Dave Blackburn" <dblack@access1.net>
Evening All,
Just to augment what the august Harrison Sherwood contributed about
the origins of "Oranges and Lemons" the nursery rhyme: St Clements is an
area of Oxford down the end of the High street, a little past Magdalen
College at which Anthony Hopkins filmed "Shadowlands". There is a church
there, hence bells, and I have always believed that this is the St. Clements
in the rhyme--but I'm sure there are other churches/areas by the same name
which might lay claim to the distinction.
On the Pat Mastelloto>drummers in XTC>I never even notice drummers
thread: I am a drummer and my first reaction to these posts was "what
Philistines to not hear the personality and rhythmic signature of different
drummers", but the more I thought about how modern records are recorded, the
more I sympathized with the posters. Since the late 70's damn near all pop
records have used a click track, so the idiosyncracies of tempo have been
homogenized. Samples are sometimes used to replace acoustic drum sounds and
massive processing is commonplace, using reverb, delays and flanging, and
now looped 2-4 bar sections of real drummers' performances; and that's if
the drummer you are hearing is not in fact just a MIDI sequence triggering
lifelike drum sounds; all these factors have led away from a drummer
"expressing" much. It's all about solid foundation and accuracy. Now I
realize there are plenty of garage bands to whom the above doesn't apply,
but for the most part I think drummers have been pushed into a role as
beatkeepers and away from expressive musicianship. And this shift happened
rapidly: Stewart Copeland stood out, Terry Chambers stood out, Keith Moon
(if you dug him), Bonham etc. and then bam!!1982 --Drum machines took over,
followed by looping, and suddenly the opportunities for drummers to create a
strong personal signature shrunk unrecognizably.
All of this only applies to pop (and reggae,) and I think drummers are
alive and well in jazz, blues, country etc. To get a dose of a burning
drummer with TONS of personality, hear Billy Martin in Medeski, Martin and
Wood---
And to Bob O'Bannon, may I recommend "Time Being" by Peter
Erskine/ECM as one of the truly luminous jazz records. It is a trio with
Peter on drums, John Taylor, piano, and Palle Daniellsson on bass.
Merry Christmas to all in Chalkland.
P.S my wife is planning to record "The man who sailed around his soul" for
her next CD, so that's my contribution to the "my wife digs/doesn't dig XTC"
stories.
------------------------------ From: CCooli9575@aol.com Message-ID: <6252a23e.368231c0@aol.com> Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 07:21:20 EST Subject: Re: Mind Games >I recently have read XTC's Song Stories and some of the posts in here. >Andy Partridge speaks of playing Rain on the night of John Lennon's death, >powerful memory. My memory is of my mother waking me up on my 12th >birthday by telling me someone had shot John Lennon. I must admit, anyone who's actually heard the Two Virgins album would be excused from thinking Lennon's overrated and so full of crap his eyes are brown. He's meant a lot to me for a long time, though. Most of my favorite musicians have released at least a few songs I have little use for(or entire albums; Mind Games, anyone? Feh...). but Lennon at his best was jaw-droppingly amazing. Andy Partridge should build a small shrine to him in his bedroom if he hasn't already.(We're not worthy! We're not worthy!) Myself, I was listening to the Plastic Ono Band album the day Lennon was shot; as he was going through his list of don't -believe-ins in "God,"(a much better questioning-God song than "Dear God," BTW; Andy would probably agree) just as he gets to "I don't believe in Beatles," there's a knock on my door and my neighbor down the hall Fred MacKay says in a panicked and stricken voice "John Lennon's been shot!" I looked back at what was playing on my stereo and thought "holy shit, synchronicity..." Not only that, he was shot on my mother's birthday.(And MLK was shot on mine. Weird, huh? I was too busy playing to notice; I was turning six at the time) Chris
------------------------------ From: "Edward Percival" <epercival@meshplc.co.uk> Subject: Merry Xmas Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 12:24:05 -0000 Message-ID: <000a01be2f38$4c47cac0$4e01a8c0@M60443.mesh.internal> Just to add my top 10 to the list. Mutton Birds - Envy of Angels (came out last year, but I've played it more than anything else this year- go and buy it now!). Dodgy- Best of Smashing Pumpkins- Adore Neil Finn - Try Whistling This (Great songs, lousy production) Radiohead- OK Computer (once again last year, but ever-present) Best Song - Catatonia - Road Rage (I'm getting the album for Christmas) Err- that's it. Roll on Apple Venus. Happy Christmas to all my Chalky Chums.
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 12:49:51 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <v03007802b2a7e4fbe32f@[209.86.128.123]> From: Mitch Friedman <mitchf@mindspring.com> Subject: best of It's my turn! In no particular order . . . 1) Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On a Gravel Road (well this one is in a particular order because it's easily the album of the year in my opinion). 2) Costello/Bacharach - Painted From Memory (it wasn't bad seeing them do this live in front of tv cameras either!) 3) R. Stevie Moore - Phonography (a first time cd reissue of his first lp from '77; he's the world's best unknown home taping songwriting genius who Andy refers to as "the american Martin Newell"). 4) Soul Coughing - El Oso 5) Ray Davies - Storyteller (no one in the world could have pulled off an album like this so successfully) 6) The Residents - Wormwood (almost listenable!) 7) The Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow (reissue of the amazing 1968 first concept album ever engineered by the same guy who did Sgt. Peppers and Pipers in the same year.) 8) XTC - Transistor Blast 9) Dave Gregory - Remoulds etc. These may be the albums I enjoyed the most over the past year but my musical highlight was a tie between taking a 5 day songwriting course taught by Ray Davies in March and spending 3 days with Andy and Colin in September while they mixed/hanging out with Dave for two days. In fact those would be lifetime highlights as well. Happy New Ear, Mitch
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36828FD9.6BB080C2@which.net> Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 19:02:49 +0000 From: B Blanchard <b.blanchard@which.net> Subject: Lots Belinda Blanchard writing here on the evening of Christmas Eve yet. My first message to Chalkhills. About time too. It's a long one so enjoy or skip to the next one. No illuminating highlights except the thoughts and feelings of another XTC fan. I have been subscribing for about six months (since I got on the net) (thanks Mark Fisher for telling me about it - so typical of his style to write a tiny line about O&L being substandard and resulting in a correspondence that went on for years!) and I guess I have been building up stuff to say! Forgive me! I have been on holiday to USA and then came back and got flu and further illness for two weeks. Too ill to get out me bed and even turn on the computer. Yesterday I logged on to so many Chalkhills mailings I don't know when I'll have time to catch up! I'm sure it will be the usual stimulating stuff. I do enjoy reading it and trying to build up my images of the people behind the names and styles of writing; try and tell when they're winding me up sometimes. I live in south east London for all those who care. BTW I know for a fact many Americans live in areas where local calls are FREE, indeed I think friends in Australia and Vancouver also have this luck - so surfing the net for hours on end and being continually online to a chat room costs no money. What luxury! I just thought I'd let you know that! My phone bills are nearly all local. How I got into XTC. Someone gave me D&W maybe in 1984? I don't remember who and I don't know why. But I liked it. But at that time remember I was in to lots of different types of music. (Try and get a picture of me from THIS lot the psychologists amongst you!) Laurie Anderson, Stranglers, Janice Ian, Ian Hunter, Joe Jackson, Fun Boy Three, Kiss, Steve Harley, Hanoi Rocks (!), Split Enz, 10cc (and later Godley and Creme's music were my life and I happily admit to stating their joy of word and chord play just helped me appreciate XTC so much more later on), Queen, Vanilla Fudge, Spirit, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Cure, Creedence(!) Joan Armatrading, Elvis Costello, Bowie, and even - huge breath but honesty can't be a bad thing cos he wrote a song about it when I broke up with someone who suffered from a lack of it - Billy Joel - there I've said it. Anyhow, then I got English Settlement and a little job on the Dear God video and that was that. On set I read the song sheet. It said everything I believed right there. Summed up everything I felt. I went out and bought everything XTC ever produced, subscribed to Limelight, went to the Manchester Conventions in 1989-1991 (Does Paul Wilde subscribe to this? Hello and Happy Christmas from all of us Paul - you did a great job every year and we all made lots of friends - Thomas Walsh that great musician rang me only last month and I got a card from Laurie Schappert in Tennessee as usual this year) subscribed to Little Express and then ten years ago "Met David". Well of course that didn't stop me buying records - it just changes the tone of this posting a little - read on! David had never particularly been interested in XTC. How to convert? (Female to male remember?) Gradually, is the answer. Over ten years. Is the answer. By deceipt. Is another answer. He still won't ever be the fan I am but he does respect and appreciate the artistry. I think a huge clue is playing something off Dukes like Pale and Precious and saying "Hey dearest one, I found this old Beach Boys lost track in a second hand record store isn't it good?" and he said "Wow! Yeah! " and I went YES YES YES YES YES YES GOT YA THAT'S XTC BEING CLEVER now what do you think of this lost little track by The Kinks called You're A Good Man Albert Brown" (or whatever) and The Dear One said "HA - I recognise that voice as being Andy Partridge, but it's good." Phew!!! Now dear fellow Chalkhillians. Here's my challenge. My cousin's 18 year old son (called Andy) and I have started emailing and he lives in Yorkshire and here I am in London (about 400 miles - or a short trip up the road to an American!) so we never see each other - and Andy is into Blur and Manics and knowing I am into music too asked me what I was into. Naturally I said XTC. He said - take a deep breath again - he said - and remember he's only 18 and he said - WHO ARE XTC??? I emailed immediately and said just go out and buy anything you ever see with their name on. Would someone kindly email me privately with a complete discography? Is this available? I have one somewhere from the Manchester conventions but would have to search for it and may not wish to part with it! Anyhow, if someone could email me privately I'd be grateful. Was that question the whole point of my email? Almost. I am also severely into the Minutemen and later reincarnation fIREHOSE who I saw in London several years ago from the front locked into a secured area with two cameramen and my friend from Vancouver! I think we were the only women in the audience and it was the best gig I'd been to in years. I can't go out to gigs now - serious debilitating allergy to smoke! Agh! Another story! (Thank the Goddess for Smoke Free areas in Pubs!) I remember sending Mark Fisher a track from fIREHOSE and he replied "On the strength of the first five bars of "Hear Me" please send me everything they have ever done". Which was a cheek. I could only get their stuff through expensive import shops in Covent Garden at sixteen pounds. Anyhow, you do what you do. Thank you everyone for writing such useful stuff about my favourite band! I'll try and catch up on my post soon. Don't we feel precious about them?! Oh - and one more thing. I tried subscribing to the Yahoo! XTC site. I was told I had subscribed successfully and was emailed that I was now a member. I read the instructions and logged on with my name and password but was still being told I am not a member and am still a visitor to the site. AGH! OK so I'm relatively new to the net. OK. It's Christmas Eve, I've made my little mark. Thanks for anyone who replies re cousin ANDY and my YAHOO problems. Love to all, Belinda
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36829338.EA9E591C@which.net> Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 19:17:13 +0000 From: B Blanchard <b.blanchard@which.net> Subject: Lots More How could I have forgotten The Beatles, REM, and a couple of Brit bands I adored ONE THE JUGGLER, the (NEWTOWN) NEUROTICS, and Dave Edmonds! Then there's my fave woman of all time Patti Smith NTM Grace Slick. Christ I must be really getting old ! Belinda
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36824F13.799C@realtime.com> Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 14:26:26 +0000 From: chris vreeland <vreecave@realtime.com> Organization: Vreeland Graphics Subject: Re: Pepper Oil Bob Says: >I've been >dabbling in John Coltrane, Dave Brubek and Joshua Redman, but need >more guidance from people I can trust. I don't know if you can trust me, but I grew up around a bunch of Jazz-heads in San Francisco, and was exposed to all sorts of good stuff as a kid. I've just recently started collecting Jazz, but I believe the obvious starting point is Miles Davis. Kind of Blue was a watershed album in its time and is my current favorite Jazz album. A lesser-known alto player from L.A. named Art Pepper put out some fine disks in the sixties, namely Smack Up. Charles Mingus and Stan Getz are also good choices, to me. I've noticed quite a few Australians subscribe to this digest, and so would like to query all those who might reply on their opinions about Midnight Oil. I've been following them from the early eighties and have found them to be consistently outstanding. How were their last three albums recieved in Australia? Also does anyone see the similarities between them and XTC? (namely the guitar sounds- jangly rickenbackers, strats and such) Chris Vreeland in Austin, TX
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19981225042056.14428.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Bob Crain" <bobcrain@hotmail.com> Subject: Having A Blast For X-Mas Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 20:20:55 PST Chalkers, Alrighty! TVT has shipped me Transistor Blast! I haven't had time to listen to it yet, as Mom is visiting for X-mas and snow reports on the radio have taken up most of our listening time. I saw the TB box at the mall while shopping on December 23, and thought, geeze, maybe I'll just have to buy it with some of that X-Mas money that "Santa" may leave under the "tree" (actually just my Yamaha acoustic guitar leaning in the corner). But what should I see in my mailbox today, X-mas Eve, but the anticipated XTC-son greetings! And TVT threw in some cool cassette boxes to round out the package. Only one little spur in the Disc 4 neon case was broken. And I narrowly averted all the cases falling out the end of the cool slipcase, thanks to previous warnings on this list. But they do slide in and out pretty darn easily, take care future purchasers! One question: Nowhere on the package can I find a mention of "Idea Records", just Cooking Vinyl and TVT. Is "Idea" a myth? -Bob Crain
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #5-48 ******************************
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