Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 54
Date: Thursday, 7 January 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 54
Thursday, 7 January 1999
Today's Topics:
Radio and Sales
Re: Once again, TVT pease read
TVT -- Another Chapter.
Belated drummer talk / Garden of Gregory Delights
Anyone Still Believe in Fate?
Japanese BONUS Tracks... and more
defending dave, praizing colin & 'tb' thoughtz
Gotta dance, gotta dance, got-ta daaance
White Music Review
TB and catching up...
Revolver! (no not the Beatles album, the ATV show)
the abc of xtc: andy, brian & colin
Re: All That Jazz
Boycotting/Japanese release
Another XTC contact , In Paris
I still buy vinyl too (plus a bit of a rant!)
Take Two: Another try at getting published.
RE: Limbaugh
RIP Frankie
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Here comes President Kill again, from pure White House to Number 10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 05 Jan 1999 10:27:11 -0600 (CST) From: James Reimer <jrreimer@DELTA.IS.TCU.EDU> Subject: Radio and Sales Message-id: <Pine.PMDF.3.95.990105101647.847954A-100000@DELTA.IS.TCU.EDU> I noticed that someone mentioned the Gavin charts as being a major component of radio broadcast in the U.S., but let's not forget CMJ. There are many more stations that report to CMJ and in the College market (which is where I think they should concentrate on) it is absolutely huge. There are a handful of stations that report to both, which can be a double bonus, especially since this is the first time they have released something in some time and since it's the legendary XTC. I do have concerns however. Their label, TVT, is not exactly the best when it comes to distribution. I have encountered some problems with them before, especially recently with the Brian Jonestown Massacre's Strung Out IN Heaven. My station played it all the time, but there was no place for the people hearing it to buy it. With this whole Seagram's fiasco, we are running into problems trying to promote 4 Hero's Two Pages (Talkin' Loud/Mercury). We play the hell out of it, but it is difficult to track down due to the shoddy distribution. What I am getting at is that this is all a team game and if the album is to sell, it needs to be there to sell. (I guess I am still a little bitter on how long it took me to track down Transistor Blast as well as Jets To Brazil's "Orange Rhyming Dictionary (Jade Tree)) James
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199901050300.TAA02062@sgi.sgi.com> Subject: Re: Once again, TVT pease read Date: Mon, 4 Jan 99 21:00:32 -0600 From: steve <schiavo@home.com> >Will someone please explain to me why so many Japanese CD's have bonus >tracks not available anywhere else??!! It simply doesn't cost any more to >press a CD with ten songs or twelve songs! It's common for Japanese CDs to have 1 or 2 extra tracks. I suspect it has something to do the the Japanese domestic market. They didn't record anything extra, so it's very likely that any bonus tracks will be demos. >I hereby vow that if this is true, I will NOT by the TVT release of "Apple >Venus." And I suspect many others will boycott the U.S. release if they can >get their hands on the Japanese import. The question is, do you want to pay $24.00 extra for a fancy package and a couple of demo tracks? >But if we make up the majority of purchasers, then TVT would be making a >colossal economic mistake not to release "Apple Venus" with bonus tracks as >well (or at least make them available as a separate CD single). If we make up a majority of the purchasers, then TVT made a colossal economic mistake when they signed XTC. >It's time to let TVT know how we feel! Sure, by writing them directly. But calm down first! ;) - Steve
------------------------------ Message-ID: <E1E3A91FF9A6D111B41000805F6FA6A7012C9E5E@beavertn-svr-29.nike.com> From: "Candiani, Erik" <Erik.Candiani@nike.com> Subject: TVT -- Another Chapter. Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 12:35:04 -0800 I am usually just a reader of the Digest, but after the post put up by Jdmack01@aol.com, I had to put my two cents in. I have to seriously agree with him in questioning the purpose of leaving off certain tracks on domestic releases. I have over 750 CD's, and a large part of those are imports. A bit more expensive, but they include extras a lot more than ours do. WHY? TVT - if you are reading this, an explanation would be great. I have enjoyed a lot of the ideas presented in this digest -- and would love to take part in some of them like the "purchasing AV all in the same week"... However, one idea I WILL be taking part in is NOT PURCHASING the US release if the import version has a track or two more. Why waste my money? And releasing it on a separate single is not going to fix it for me -- why should I have to pay more to get the same? I would rather have all of the songs on ONE CD... even if it is more expensive. What do you all think? As far as the packaging for TB... I think it was great. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have the plastic cases inside of another cardboard half-case -- INSIDE the outer-casing. That way the individual CD's wouldn't slide out so easy. (Kind of like Pink Floyd's PULSE case) Anyway, hind-site is at least 20/40 . See ya'... and I look forward to reading more for you all... Erik A. Candiani
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36929678.643D39C6@geocities.com> Date: Tue, 05 Jan 1999 22:47:20 +0000 From: Robin Holden <rhoblidnen@geocities.com> Organization: RPHolden Software / Pathogen UK Subject: Belated drummer talk / Garden of Gregory Delights Parte the Firste: I've just read a lot of the stuff about XTC's drummers over the years and there seems to be one other element about a drummer that defines their 'quality': their selection of drums/cymbals. Selecting distinctive drum tunings and cymbal types is halfway to getting your style. Dave Mattacks will tell you that any day (he's a very rigid methodist in the way he tunes his drums). In my opinion, Terry Chambers' style is characterised by his choice of hi-hat and the way he uses it (he rarely used a ride cymbal). The 'loose' sound of his hi-hat (achieved by not putting too much pressure on the pedal) is common to all his drumming and the way he opens the hi-hat is very crisp and precise. His actual choice of hi-hat seems like a thinnish type of metal, giving quite a high-pitched sound. The differentiation between the sound of his crash cymbals is also very defining. He tunes his toms to sound very large. It's almost as though he's drumming on cardboard boxes! Great sound, great drummer. I would disagree that he's not technically proficient. You can be a technically brilliant drummer and still sound crap if you don't support the music or select appropriate instruments. Terry knows what he's doing, he's just tasteful. My favourite bit of Terry's drumming: the tiny tiny ghost notes on the snare drum at the beginning of "Roads Girdle the Globe" on "Drums and Wireless." Prairie Prince is also one with a distinctive sound, but it's his snare sound that really thrills me. He actually manages to make a note out of his snare beats. There's definite pitch there (for reference, listen to Bill Bruford's drumming on Yes's Fragile album). Again, he differentiates his cymbals a lot. All his drums and cymbals have a lot of sustain, which really comes through on "The Man Who Sailed..." My piece of Prince: "The Fill" on Summer's Cauldron. Pat Mastelotto shouldn't be criticised for his work on O&L. In some of the mixes you can hardly hear him, but the sheer tightness of his drum heads makes a great sound. I couldn't imagine "Mayor of Simpleton" with a more suitable drum beat. Plus, the junk percussion on "Scarecrow People" and the percussiveness of "Garden of Earthly Delights" are mesmerising, whether or not they are Pat's own creations. My favourite Pat Percussion Piece: the above said bit of "Scarecrow People." * -------------------------------- Parte the Seconde: Whilst listening to "Drums and Wireless" I've found it incredibly enlightening to turn off the left or right speaker on the stereo and listen to Dave's playing. I have tried this with "Scarecrow People" and "Roads Girdle the Globe." If there's a way of learning XTC guitar parts, I think I've found it. Lovely little gems like Dave's bit behind the "steer me, Anna" section of RGTG have been revealed. Also, I really reccomend listening to Dave's acoustic guitar part on "Scarecrow People" on D&Wrls. as a tribute to the sheer hard work that this man puts into the playing and study of his instrument: it appears to be a single take. Enjoy! -- Robin Holden (rhoblidnen@geocities.com) Check out Pathogen's Website: http://listen.to/pathogen
------------------------------ From: Adamette1@aol.com Message-ID: <1a1895c9.3692b972@aol.com> Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 20:16:34 EST Subject: Anyone Still Believe in Fate? I got a subscription for Stereo Review a few months back on a whim because (in part) I wanted to check in on the latest technology and after reading a few issues in the waiting room of the clinic where I was a Physical Therapist. I never dreamed that the following would take place: I got out of my mailbox as I returned home from work the premier issue of Sound & Vision (the combination of Stereo Review magazine and VIdeo magazines). I was feeling a little dissapointed because I really just wanted the Stereo Review aspect of the magazine but I dove into its pages nonetheless. I started at the "letter from the editor" page which introduced the readers to the new set up and gave a preview of the premier issue. I skimmed over the parts that covered the video material but my interest was peaked by the following line: "And on page 143, just for kicks, we let a couple of well-known rock musicians sit in the reviewer's seat to audition three speaker systems." Thinking that it might be Jagger/Richards or maybe Entwhistle/Towshend I hurredly flipped open past advertisement cards and IMHO worthless articles about HDTV to page 143 and there were Andy and Colin (sitting atop the speakers they reviewed, Andy in an arms-spread pose with totally cool plaid golf pants on)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They reviewed the speakers with their "freshly mixed" Apple Venus Vol. 1. Also included in the pages of Sound & Vison is a review of the album. FOUR STARS!!!!!!!!! I do not know if Stereo Review or Video (magazine) has had a web site (or even if Sound & Vision does for that matter), but the entire article may be found on any of those places. Run, do not walk to your local bookstore to pick up this copy of XTC in a major magazine. Very big things are on the horizon for our beloved XTC. Jazzed as I ever, Patrick Go Go2
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199901052244.RAA10720@pimout4-int.prodigy.net> From: "Noble K. Thomas" <moonsilver@prodigy.net> Subject: Japanese BONUS Tracks... and more Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 16:42:34 -0600 Supposedly, Japanese releases include bonus material due to the dollar-yen currency relationship. It seems Japanese customers could very easily buy the American import at quite a reduced price as opposed to buying the Japanese version. Therefore, they need something to induce the customer. I would assume it is very likely that the Japanese release of AV 1 will include extra cuts and special packaging. As for these extra songs, usually they show up on singles from Europe or sometimes even in the USA... but since there are no singles slated for release, the Japan release may be the only way to get them. Which brings us to this question: what are the BONUS tracks? Are any of the recorded songs not slated for the TVT release? My guess is that any BONUS tracks will be demos or remixes etc. Regarding another matter... I'm looking for a tape or CD copy of the Dave Gregory CD. Anyone care to trade? Finally... should any musical artists out there wish to sumbit at tune for an upcoming CD compilation please feel free to send it my way. Contact me (toby) for more details.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.2.32.19990105232808.006b22a4@mail.interlog.com> Date: Tue, 05 Jan 1999 23:28:08 -0500 From: David Oh <davidoh@interlog.com> Subject: defending dave, praizing colin & 'tb' thoughtz az much az i love xtc & az much az i'm looking 4ward 2 the new albumz, i, personally, will miss dave's guitar playing on the future xtc releasez. i've been listening 2 a lot of xtc lately, in my car on 2 recent journeyz of 4 hourz duration each, in the big run up 2 the release of 'ap-v1' & there are a few thingz i've noticed... 1. from listening 2 'o&l', 'skylarking' & 'tb' straight thru & back 2 back, i've concluded that dave wuz (& still iz i suppoze) an awesum guitar player! just listen 2 his great work on 'merely a man', 'the loving', 'pink thing', his solo on 'that'z really super, supergirl', his great playing on 'towerz of london' on 'tb', hell all of his playing 4 that matter. he gave them a muzicality that wuz missing in the 'barry yearz', & hopefully it won't b 2 badly missed in the 'post dave yearz' 2. while listening 2 theze albumz, i wuz struck by colin'z great bass playing. on 'the mayor of simpleton' it'z all over the place & not an easy thing 2 play, @ least in my admittedly pathetic attemptz @ it. imho, colin wuz playing @ his best on 'o&l' & my relistening 2 it has made me appreciate his, & dave'z, abilityz even more than i did b4. 3. again, listening 2 'tb' has confirmed my opinion that xtc became a much more muzical band after dave joined than they were with barry on keyz. the live stuff with dave on 'tb' rockz, while the stuff with barry iz merely charming in a quirky, atonal sorta way. even andy sez that his voice in the early daze wuz like a barking seal! dave definitely brought out the muzic that wuz in the band. 4. with repeated listenz, & with her being a captive audience 4 up 2 4 hourz @ a time, my wife iz starting 2 unnerstand my obsession with all thingz xtc. b4 i arrived on the scene, her tastes in muzic were very mainstream, having been force-fed with commercial radio all her life. she wuz completely unaware of muzic beyond whitney, celine, rod, brooce, pill collinz (?), taylor dayne (??), lionel ritchie (???). i have tried, gently, 2 educate her in muzic on, & beyond, the fringez mainstream radio & now she'z listening 2 much more than she ever could've imagined herself listening 2 just 10 yearz ago. in the interests of the great debate on 'o&l' vs. 'skylarking', she likez both equally, but her favourite songz from each r very interesting indeed. from 'sky', she likes 'grass', 'season cycle', 'mermaid' & especially 'sacrificial bonfire'; from 'o&l', she likez 'tmos', 'k4ad', 'hold me', 'pink thing' & especially 'chalkhillz'. however, she really dislikez 'prezident kill'. hmmm, perhapz she'z been reading sum of the chalkhillz posts... in conclusion, i realize that sum of u like the 'barry yearz', but 4 me @ least, xtc matured with the addition of dave, from 'drumz & y-erz' onwardz... i will miss dave being a part of xtc. davidoh "if you celebrate mediocrity, you get mediocrity" - frank zappa \ \ _ \ /\ \ /| \ / \ |_| /__\/ _\ \/ |/__\ \_/ | |
------------------------------ Message-ID: <618F91505D89D21185330001FA6A49540822B3@HFD-EXCH008> From: "Witter, Karl F" <WitterKF@aetna.com> Subject: Gotta dance, gotta dance, got-ta daaance Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 10:45:57 -0500 >I've heard OF "Sweeney Todd" and I've heard "Winchester Cathedral" (one >of my faves when I was a kid), so I'd say they were real, yeah. No, I know that the songs are real, (I can dig them both up at home) but do they mimic the actual notes played by real bells, or are they fictions? >Sting's lyrics, as an example, are "aggressively bad" as in they're >"not content to just sit there and be ignored". I'm adding this to my musical lexicon! I waver between the two poles, but if someone sits down to write an Important Song, it better say something in a new way (taking for granted that there's nothing new under the sun). Otherwise things can get pretty painful; look under "Through-Sung Broadway Shows", subsection "Translated from French". However, that's not carte blanche for mere ditties to be idiotic, banal and full of tortured near-rhymes. >Well, they showed a clip of Paula Abdul in some low-budget obscure >film where she looks terrible and sings even worse. Are you sure that isn't the diet Coke commercial with Gene Kelly's ghost? His estate looked more alive than she did in that one. Broadway rhythm, it's got me, Karl
------------------------------ From: Matt_Kaden/CAM/Lotus@lotus.com Message-ID: <852566F1.005E6817.00@mta2.lotus.com> Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 11:59:31 -0500 Subject: White Music Review XTC White Music They're up to no good; this much is clear. At once traditional and rebellious, values re-assigned, standards redefined. In the face, up the pace, spastic, elastic, drastically enthusiastic, sarcastically ecstatic. You try to tap your feet but you lose your breath as the adrenalined voice crams in more words and sounds per second than you thought possible. The singer's been shouting all night and you just tuned in. The guitar attacks with crunch and slippery slapstick and percussive precision [I can't help but imagine this guitar to be strung with wires and springs with spokes sticking out of it] steadily chewing into every song until its finish. The drums are slapping you repeatedly and this is not going to stop. The bass is gleefully off, jagged and unrelenting with its rubber fret jumping and deliberate wrong notes. The tinker-toy piano is tapping with unlikely repetition, then the organ is churning out carnival waves and whirlwinds, contradicting all the other tones with a childlike irreverence and fearless victory. XTC are not out to make friends. They are professional confusers - this is good; we need more of them out there. After stripping the structure of rock music to its bare spinal column, they rearrange the bones and mangle and mutate what's left to reconstruct the form under the name of uncontrollable frenzy... "just like a needle that keeps sticking to the same old groove". ***** 5 stars out of 5
------------------------------ Message-Id: <2.2.32.19990106194330.00738180@popmail.dircon.co.uk> Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1999 19:43:30 +0000 From: Simon Sleightholm <simon@nonsuch.dircon.co.uk> Subject: TB and catching up... Hi gang. It's been a while - the last six months have been pretty hectic around these parts, and to emerge resoundingly into 1999 with a great job, a continued loving relationship and a baby on the way, all of which were in doubt for a spell, has taken a great load off. Without wishing to denigrate the list or its contributors, keeping up with Chalkhills has constituted a pretty low priority against such a background, so I apologise in advance if the content of this mail is old hat. I'm sure much of it has been said before, and with more flair. Transistor Blast: I have it at last! My wife bought me the set for Christmas, a few weeks before the holiday, and refused to let me anywhere near it until the day. Being laid low with the, by now traditional, winter agues (I was serving up the 'neck oysters' with alarming frequency) I tried to convince her that the last act of charity for a dying man should be the bestowing of just such pre-bundled CD-ular trinkets, but to scant avail. So I had to wait until the 25th which meant that I just enough time to tear of the wrapping and examine the packaging before being whisked off to the annual round of family visits (imagine the chariot race from Ben Hur, lengthened to three days and with me emerging from the end of it in much the same state as Stephen Boyd's Messala). Actually _listening_ to the thing didn't occur until the last few days. Fist impressions? Well, I did a mean Winston Churchill when I was three months old (hyuk, hyuk). But seriously... I think the packaging is cute and well realised for what it is - okay, so maybe the whole thing isn't too practical for regular use but then I'm not convinced that this will be many people's prime 'must play' XTC release, it truly is a collector's item. Even though mine was bought from a record shop I can sympathise with those who got a damaged copy by mail; the plastic on the cases does seem extra brittle and I seem to recall a mention somewhere, not long before the release, that there were problems with the perfecting the 'neon' plastic fabrication. I've whisked the CDs out into regular cases and put the box on my CD shelf. The music is, of course, excellent - standout bits so far are the extended intro to 'Life Begins At The Hop', the adrenaline whoops in 'Into The Atom Age' and Andy's scatting on Three's 'Science Friction' - but the running order of the sessions is a trifle bemusing. Why not a simple chronological arrangement? It's not really much of a problem for fans who enjoy the music from throughout XTC's career (though we know there are plenty of people who do not), but it _can_ jar a little - a varied diet is a wonderful thing, but varying between chocolate and chowder several times in the same meal can cause indigestion. It's a signal problem for casual listeners, though - I've played the CDs in my new work environment and they _really_ annoy people; it's not so much the music as the stylistic switching, there's little for the casual listener to latch on to. They may get a hit from the aforementioned rush of 'Atom Age' but before long we're into 'This World Over' and brows furrow. (Also vice versa with 'Ten Feet Tall' and 'Earthly Delight'). I suppose this, in light of the avowedly 'collecting fan' nature of the package, is not a _major_ minus, but I like to play this stuff LLOOUUDD, and bugging family and colleagues for the hell of it is not something I'm happy to do. If I play 'White Music' or 'Skylarking' they're happy to go with it, but the haphazard (although there must be _some_ reason for it lurking around in the Partridge/Moulding collective consciousness) order of CDs One and Two mean that I don't get to play it as often as I'd like. Of course I _could_ try and edit the CDs onto tape in a suitable order but the last time I tried something like that there were ructions. Speaking of 'This World Over', I have to put my lot with those who say it is indistinguishable from the album version - I haven't yet found a single difference in vocal or instrumentation. I was thinking about the whole notion of radio sessions as I was writing this. They're a strange thing. A band who, like XTC with Skylarking, felt messed around by their producer after an album might be tempted to record radio session versions of the tracks more as they'd have liked them to have been on the album, but this would perhaps be counter productive considering that the main point of such sessions is national exposure for album promotion. What's the point of broadcasting a version of a song which will entice listeners to buy an album which contains nothing remotely like it? For collecting fans alternate takes can be wonderful things, but I remember hearing Beth Orton on the Mark Radcliffe show doing wonderful acoustic songs and then hearing the album and thinking how much better her acoustic takes were. But that was from the casual listener standpoint, as a rabid Blue Aeroplanes fan I was dazzled by _their_ acoustic session on Radcliffe. A tricky line to straddle, something for the fans, or something for the masses? Anyway, nice to see you all again, and I hope you all had a grand time during the holidays. I'll _try_ and keep up... Simon -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- http://www.nonsuch.dircon.co.uk/bungalow.htm (http://come.to/bungalow) -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- An XTC resource - "Saving it all up for you..."
------------------------------ Message-ID: <000301be39ce$5d267440$d5f9abc3@default> From: "David McGuinness" <dmcg@btinternet.com> Subject: Revolver! (no not the Beatles album, the ATV show) Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 23:42:44 -0000 Hi folks - Did anyone else here in the UK see the Revolver repeat on VH-1 tonight? Britain's greatest comic genius Peter Cook being drunk, gratuitously offensive and occasionally very funny 'and a word of advice - don't use the toilets unless you're in them' and then on came our lads to do This is Pop! AP in dire need of a haircut, rooted to the spot in fear. Silly split screen shots of a not-very-authentic punk yob in milkbar and on a walkway, attacking the camera at the end of each verse. The director seemed to want little other than shots of the back of Andy's head and the rather ugly audience (a few punks, a lot of Top Shop girls with flicked hair and mohair jumpers, and the odd future megastar: Bob Geldof hanging around at the front in a black leather jacket, clearly enjoying XTC, and was that really Julian Clary dancing to Tom Robinson at the end?). Sadly no view of Barry's disintegrating organ (missus). Oh how I laughed. P Cook: 'that was TCP and that was Pop - well if that was Pop I don't want to meet Mum' Cue abuse and heckling from audience. Oh yeah, and Kate Bush did Them Heavy People wearing tails and holding an SM58. Gosh. And Tom Robinson did Glad to be Gay and Up Against the Wall. Wasn't Britain a wonderful place in 1978? Answers on a postcard etc. -David dmcg@btinternet.com
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.2.32.19990106223156.006b334c@mail.interlog.com> Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1999 22:31:56 -0500 From: David Oh <davidoh@interlog.com> Subject: the abc of xtc: andy, brian & colin dearest chalkhilltonz all the talk of av-volz. 1 & 2 & producerz haz got me 2 thinking (& it really hurtz, 2!). according 2 song storiez, xtc asked brian eno 2 produce go2, but he declined by saying, @ the time, "u don't need a producer. all u need is an engineer just 2 capture what u do". that wuz then, this iz now! i'd love 2 hear an album (or more!), from my fave band, produced by brian eno, my fave producer. eno'z track record (punz not intended!) speakz 4 itself, having produced, & in some casez, performed on, some of the most influential albumz of the '70z, 80z & 90z. the only reservation i have about my wishful thinking iz how would they get along? andy haz a reputation az an unorthodox & sometimez difficult muzician, while brian haz a reputation az an unorthodox producer, relying az much on chance & randomness az he duz on hiz ample recording knowledge. would it be a match made in aural heaven or a recipe 4 disaster? & how would colin'z muzic, & state of mind, cope with the 2 super-brainz @ the helm of thoze recording sessionz? i hereby throw open the doorz of debate on the topic of the abc of xtc... any1 else feel that eno would pull a great album from andy & colin? iz it just wishful thing? a recipe 4 disaster? 2 peaz & a pod? just a thought i had... davidoh "if you celebrate mediocrity, you get mediocrity" - frank zappa \ \ _ \ /\ \ /| \ / \ |_| /__\/ _\ \/ |/__\ \_/ | |
------------------------------ From: CCooli9575@aol.com Message-ID: <b987a1ab.369499dd@aol.com> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 06:26:21 EST Subject: Re: All That Jazz >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. Sorry about the late response, I just flew in from a week in L.A.(and boy are my arms tired, hyuk hyuk) to find a week's worth of digests to work through. This is too interesting to ignore, though. I can think of quite a few jazzy XTC songs, off the top of my head; "Ladybird," "I Remember The Sun," "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul," "Dying," "Miniature Sun," "Chalkhills And Children," and there may be others, but nothing I can think of. Definitely not much jazz influence on their early material with Terry, though. On the aforementioned, however, though it's definitely not traditional jazz, the jazz voicings and rhythms are definitely there. I knew my college music theory classes were going to pay off someday... >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. All very diverse, yet all considered jazz to some degree. I prefer the wilder free jazz of Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, and late Coltrane myself. Nonetheless, I don't listen to my few jazz albums much not because I don't like them, but because my wife actively dislikes jazz. It's a great prejudice of hers, but it doesn't both me much because jazz is something I enjoy hearing once in a while but don't hanker for much when I'm not listening to it, unlike, say, whatever pop/rock album is tickling my ear at the moment and saying "play me again; I know you've missed me." Right now it's Neil Finn's Try Whistling This, which my in-laws gave me for Christmas.(and one of its songs was even on the in-flight programming coming back from LA, along with juicy bits from Jeff Buckley, Lucinda Williams, and Sheryl Crow, among other AAA type stuff; somebody at United has taste) Unfortunately, the airline lost our luggage due to a cancelled flight and last-minute rerouting, with all the CD's and tapes I acquired in LA(both X-Mas gifts and raiding a couple of used CD stores). Waah. >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. Ain't it the truth. That's why I feel that XTC has more in common with some of the more adventurous jazz-fusion type stuff than most rock and roll. The main difference between XTC at their most adventurous and, say, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, is XTC uses the shorter song format with vocals and a beginning, middle, and end. They're not afraid to use chords and voicings that just aren't done in rock and roll, just like Miles Davis had a tendency to do things that just weren't done in jazz and make them 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 I'd quibble with similarity on musical grounds, but a contrast based on approach and a common devotion to pursuing their own sound is interesting. I do notice "Miniature Sun" comes closer to Rush's sound and approach than any other XTC song, though. Chris
------------------------------
Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19990107100245.007cb590@mail.clemson.edu>
Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 10:02:45 -0500
From: Adam Tyner <ctyner@CLEMSON.EDU>
Subject: Boycotting/Japanese release
>Yes, I think you are. I hate boycotting things. How is XTC going to
>get the sales if we boycott the album? Why should we punish the band
>becaues of the record company. I'm going to buy the album the first
>time it's released, which is when?
>I say go buy the album, and not punish the band. That's all for now.
If the Japanese release does indeed contain material that won't be released
in the U.S., I will without a doubt buy the import rather than the domestic
version. I wouldn't call it a boycott, though...more like exercising my
right as a consumer. :-)
-Adam
--
/=---------------- http://www.he-man.org/ctyner/ ----------------=\
http://www.crystal-night.com/~ctyner/tuscadero.html
http://www.awod.com/gallery/rwav/ctyner/
He-Man, Tuscadero, "Weird Al", Yoo-hoo, Killer Tomatoes, & more!
------------------------------ Message-ID: <E0A8A4268B36D211B53000805FA9DACC14A43F@EXCHANGE_FRA> From: Denis-Philippe Legros <DLegros@Landis.fr> Subject: Another XTC contact , In Paris Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 17:48:12 +0100 Hi there , This mail to wish you a Happy New Year from a French XTC Appreciator and to ask you few questions : ?????? Have you heard about a US PROMO box Numbered Up to 100 with these 2 CD inside : Radios In Motion ... A History of XTC The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (edit); The Mayor of Simpleton (3'58); King For a Day (3'35); Dear God (3'36 LP version); Grass (3'05); Love On a Farmboy's Wages (3'58); Senses Working Overtime (4'45); Making Plans for Nigel (3'58). CD-5, Geffen USA, PRO-CD-4397, 24? March 1992. promo, gatefold paperboard sleeve. + This Is Not The New Album The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (5'00); Books are Burning (4'51); Crocodile (3'56). CD, Geffen USA, PRO-CD-4396, 24? March 1992. promo, gatefold paperboard sleeve The 2 CD's have the same cover as thes ones I have seen on your web site at this page : http://chalkhills.org/discog/indexp.html Thanx for the reply Best Regards Denis Denis LEGROS Network Engineer E-mail: dlegros@landis.fr URL: http://www.landis.nl
------------------------------ Message-ID: <900822C71730D2118D8C00805F65765C2F3C58@einstein.moneystar.com> From: Jill Oleson <oleson@moneystar.com> Subject: I still buy vinyl too (plus a bit of a rant!) Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 10:51:48 -0600 Per Aronsson brought up an interesting issue regarding whether Apple Venus will be released on vinyl. Like Per, I still buy vinyl. Sometimes I think that perhaps I'm buying more for reasons of nostalgia than for the superior sound quality... but either way, vinyl still gets part of my hard-earned dollars. Examples of recent purchases include Beck (extended tracks) and Stan Getz (an antique disc to be sure). So what's the answer here? Does anyone know if Apple Venus will be released on that treasured, cardboard-sleeved plastic? A ripe apple-green disc with a large full-color fold-out brochure would be quite nice, don't you think? Perhaps Andy and Colin could write some more liner notes like they did for Transistor Blast. I really enjoyed reading their comments, didn't you? NOW FOR THAT RANT I PROMISED: Can you believe that quote from Andy in the "Music News of the World" article kindly sent to Chalkhills by Neil Oliver? Andy apparently said, "We don't make great concerts, anyway. I got that out of my system in my late 20s." Well, bullshit, Andy. Bullshit! I saw XTC play only twice when Andy was in his twenties and they were incredible. Absolutely astounding. In the first show I saw, the opening band got booed offstage because people were SO excited about seeing XTC they wouldn't wait any longer. The second show I saw had XTC opening for the Police. The crowd was packed for XTC -- everybody dancing their butts off and having a GREAT TIME. When the Police eventually took the stage (and I'm talking Sting, et al, not uniforms with clubs and guns, of course) people looked at them with curiosity for a short while and then walked out. I am not kidding. The crowd thinned to a small group who were clearly not having as much fun as they had had when XTC was playing. What can I say? My friends and I walked out on the Police too. They were BORING. Now to be fair, they wouldn't have seemed nearly as boring if they hadn't been playing AFTER XTC. If you have any doubts about XTC's ability to put on a spanking-fine show, listen to Sissorman on Transistor Blast and prepare for rocket launching followed by a wild disjointed meander through space and time. The expression "breath-taking" falls way too short of an adequate description for the powers of XTC in concert. Hey, you were GREAT in concert, Andy! Absolutely GREAT! ** BUT NOW FOR SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT: ** In answer to Duncan Kimball's question about the title track to Lyle Lovett's latest album "Step Inside this House," the song was written by Guy Clark, not Roky Erikson. Roky's song, "Slip Inside this House," is very, very different. As Duncan mentioned, you might trip to Roky's 13th Floor Elevators song, but Guy Clark's is meant more for drinking heavily. Most music in Texas tends to go one way or the other. Yeehaw!! Jill Oleson Austin, Texas
------------------------------ Message-ID: <E1E3A91FF9A6D111B41000805F6FA6A7012C9E67@beavertn-svr-29.nike.com> From: "Candiani, Erik" <Erik.Candiani@nike.com> Subject: Take Two: Another try at getting published. Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 09:09:01 -0800 Bungalow Buddies - Not sure why, but my last (and first) post never showed up! So, I will attempt to invade the list yet again. This time with a few questions for the hardcore collector out there... I am only missing a few songs on CD, and would like to know if ANY of the following tracks (B-sides) have been released on CD anywhere... and under what name. Drums and Wires: 1. Chain of Command 2. Limelight Mummer: 1. Cut it Out Skylarking: 1. Terrorism 2. The Troubles 3. Let's Make a Den 4. Find The Fox (All four of the above are on my "The Meeting Place" record -- but was it ever released on CD? Johnny Japes and his Jesticles: 1. Bags of Fun with Buster 2. The Scrotal Scratch Mix Oranges and Lemons: 1. My Paint Heroes 2. Skeletons Nonsuch: 1. Down a Peg Other than the above, I believe that I have everything else... Any help would be greatly appreciated! Erik A. Candiani
------------------------------ From: "Jim McGowan" <jmcgowan@cms.dbc.com> Subject: RE: Limbaugh Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 09:10:51 -0800 Message-ID: <000101be3a60$ad8b1fc0$df0bd9c7@jmcgowan.dbc.com> In Chalkhills #5-53, marystephens <markdrake@mindspring.com> wrote: > Not much to say but I just had a panic attack in my cube. > I'm sittin' here catching up on my vacation e-mail (Reading vol 5-50 as a > matter of fact), listening to Tony Snow filling in for Rush Limbaugh, and > coming in off of the 2:25 e.t. break I hear "Generals and Majors" being > played as bumper music. And I'm having a panic attack knowing that a Chalkhills subscriber listens to Rush Limbaugh. James McGowan jmcgowan@cms.dbc.com Capital Management Sciences Los Angeles, CA
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v04011700b2baab87fed0@[208.240.250.142]> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 12:26:20 -0600 From: Ken Herbst <ken@bamadvertising.com> Subject: RIP Frankie >From Duncan: >Sinatra did, does and will always just totally, completely SUCK ASS. Flame >away, kiddies. >IMHO he bites - bigtime. Ditto Duncan. The only person that's as overly worshipped as Sinatra is the much overated Elvis Pres.
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #5-54 ******************************
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