Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 113
Date: Friday, 12 May 2000
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 113
Friday, 12 May 2000
Topics:
Re: The Punk Rock a Roll on the radio bores my poor soul
Re: beefheart a go- go
into the light...
the Blues aren't always blue
Sting Rides A Rusted Lambretta
Lambrettas info (No XTC)
Don't Rewind!
Leisure
RE: the List
"No, *I'M* the man who murdered love!"
Lp's...Ice Cream Meat....and Andy's Self Image...FunFunFun
Guilty! I'm guilty! Yeah!
Radio interview
Chalkheads lives!
weird message
Bands that Shoulda/Coulda
How Colored the Flowers All Smelled
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What a waste of breath it is.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 14:35:04 -0400
From: "Brian" <mattone@bhip.infi.net>
Subject: Re: The Punk Rock a Roll on the radio bores my poor soul
Message-ID: <001501bfbc40$cc194440$c3e49cd1@Brian>
Tschalkgerz!
I chimed in recently:
> > I know that there is way too much music for radio stations to cover, but
> > there is alarmingly way too much of the ExTrad mentality among the
> > radio-listening masses, and Ed's right. There is way too friggin' much
> > music out there to where I shouldn't have to worry about hearing Sarah
> > McLachlan (sp?) once again ("I will dismember you..."),
And crisp (this person's non-capitaliztion, not mine) replied:
> Actually I like I will Dismember you better--gives the song more
character.<
Ya like? Here's more:
"I will dismember you
Before you dismember me
I'll cut off limbs one by one
And leave them for the garbage man."
That's a little of the weird "Weird" Al in me... :-)
I do this stuff all the time, although I can't recall ever defacing an XTC
tune.
But onward:
> On that thread--even radio in San Francisco has become very
> predictable and boring. I used to listen to Kfog. I got tired of
> them playing the same Stones, Crow, crap. What's worse is that when
> they do play Xtc they play Dear God or Mayor of Simpleton. I happen
> to like both songs but, common on! It's not as if they are the MOST
> important songs the band did. I rarely hear anything from Black Sea,
> never hear anything from Mummer (despite not being a huge fan of the
> album I have a handful of favs on it).
Man... you're lucky to even have a station that plays XTC!
I've heard "The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead" here once.
> Radio is where television was before the advent of cable.<
Are you trying to suggest that radio will 'expand it horizons' in the
future?
Yeah, right... cable is _almost_ nothing more than extra channels of
shit to watch.
-Brian Matthews
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 11:31:22 -0700 (PDT) From: pancho artecona <partecona@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: beefheart a go- go Message-ID: <20000512183122.6020.qmail@web213.mail.yahoo.com> I usually listen to cd's in their entirety, and while I'd like to think that it is usually to respect the artist's integrity, often times is simply because I am too lazy to program the darn cd player. I have been listening to Captain Beefheart's 'Shiny Beast' of late and must admit that it is quite a jewel from top to bottom. 'Tropical Hot Dog Night' has to be one of the best pop tunes ever written, I know it gets my feet a'tapping every single time. I've also noticed that there's a Beefheart song called Skeleton Speaks (or something similar) that predates Poor Skeleton Steps Out by 6 years. Then there's the reference to a 'big dig' in Candymine that I'm assuming refers to Beefheart's 'Smithsonian Institute Blues. And of course, the Ella Guru cover.....I'm sure there are other's I haven't picked up on yet. And finally, I saw a program on sexual mores through the ages the other day and they showed a 'chalkhill' similar to the Uffington Horse but with a guy with an erect phallus. I was wondering if anyone know where this was located as I missed it. That's about it then..... Pancho XPRXTCFAN
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 11:43:20 -0700 (PDT) From: MARK ELLIOTT <frontln99@yahoo.com> Subject: into the light... Message-ID: <20000512184320.21265.qmail@web118.yahoomail.com> Hi Chalk friends ...Been reading for over a year, but Chris Browning's post is forcing me into the light.... You probably won't get me to shut up from now on. Chris wrote... > i see an album as like a book, and i rarely skip bits >in books.the running order, the track listing WHATEVER >is absolutely integral to teh importance of the >record. if i ever skip through an album, it's because >time is short or whatever. otherwise the whole thing >from beginning to end. EVERY time. ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Totally agree... >Having said that, the one album perfect in every way >when it comes to length, track listing and pacing is.. >Nick Drake - Bryter Layter >musically and lyrically it is obviously the greatest >thing in the history of sound *anyway* but the suite >of isntrumentals, for which drake fought long >and hard apparently make it what it is...genius ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Well god bless you my son for your brilliant taste !! I got turned on to Nick Drake at an after gig party in LA 2 summers for a very well known lead singer of a huge band (well known in the UK anyway)..I won't bore you with the name drop game..anyway... After getting home & buying Nick's best of cd, I had to rush out & buy the box set *FRUIT TREE which is all of Nick's stuff plus a disc of later found recordings & it is so fantastic. * XTC's FRUIT NUT & the line "a man must have a shed" Nick has a song called "MAN IN A SHED"... strange huh? For those in the dark, the brilliant song "PINK MOON" has been all over the TV in the last 6 months being used in a beautiful TV add for VOLKSWAGEN.. Nick finally got a bit of the fame he never saw in his lifetime. I even got to drive through his home town TANNWORTH IN ARDEN lst summer and saw signs for Swindon but my road companions were not as interested as me. ONward.. sorry , but when Andy sings : "NO matter what the weatherrrrrr...." It is so very STING-like. I don't think it was intentional but the recognition synapse fires whenever you hear it. SPOILER~ Have had the new disc for weeks...it's fantastic... but....I would compare it to coton candy...all sugar..all light...and when it's over, your not sure why you don't feel blown away. It's just not as lush/intense & deep as AV1. Well, a long 1st post from a very Long time XTC fan. Mark Elliott ===== SUPPORT GIG RECORDS! HOME OF MILES HUNT, GROUNDSWELL U.K. & THE AMAZING MEET PROJECT!! INFO @ WWW.GIGRECORDS.COM
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 13:46:34 -0500 From: RN van Vliet <rnv@mac.com> Subject: the Blues aren't always blue Message-ID: <391C5169.50A4015A@mac.com> Jill Oleson wrote in #6-107: > Subject: Do you hear in color? > . . . Andy makes it clear that he > associates sounds with colors. As a painter, I find this a compelling > concept. So my question for you, whether you are a musician or > not, do you hear in color? Please offer specific examples, so I > can see what you see, and hear what you hear. No one else has followed up, so I thought I'd step forward: Although I hadn't really thought about it for years (well, since college, when we tend to be consciousness hypochondriacs anyway), I do tend to associate colors with sounds (and also, letters, numbers and words all have hues). But it's strictly oneway: I don't look at a daffodil and think, "Ooh, Gb maj 7th." Rather, I hear a chord or melody line or album and often think, "Yellow. Magenta. Horse manure." This can make album cover art quite shocking for me sometimes. "Skylarking," for example, is actually a very red/orange album, not blue, and "GO 2" should be brown (or, strictly, a deep stained maple), not black & white. And "Black Sea" should have been like the cover of Talking Heads' "Fear of Music": deep metallic grey. (Or a picture of some little club, empty and trashed after a messy gig. As it is, it looks like a bad comedy record.) On the other hand, "Mummer" is perfect with that pale lime and newsprint: that's exactly how it sounds to me--slightly used, and the light tan of old newspaper. And the "Drums & Wires" colors are exactly perfect for the feel of that album (but not the back cover colors as much). Also, ES's cover art is a perfect match. Now, I'm talking about the overall auditory feel of an album. But individual songs also have colors, and they don't necessarily override the color of the album. Example: "Skylarking" strikes me as red, but summer's cauldron/grass is a very crisp light green and yellow. Earn Enough For Us is a sharp electric blue, and fairly metallic, which is--I've never thought of this before--partly why I've never really liked it much: it would fit better on "O&L" (like Extrovert: another metallic blue song more suitable for "O&L," a very metallic blue album). What gives each song a different color pattern varies: the key, chords, or vocal harmonies all can carry a color association for me. For example, Another Satellite starts out a vacant grey and black with strips of yellow (the drum machine is the yellow part, while the guitar chords and vocals are what make it grey and black) but ends up more grey-orange and blue-black, partly because it modulates from Bb to (I think) G at the very end. My impression overall is that Andy has become more interested in more colors over the years (especially since "Mummer," though I'd say ES was the first really technicolor XTC album for me) while Colin has focused more and more on fewer and fewer colors. Starting with his songs on side 2 of "Skylarking," all of his songs (excluding the Dukes!) have been the same few colors to me: brick brown and dying-plant green. Sometimes this has worked (Dying, Boarded Up, Bungalow) and sometimes it hasn't (Frivolous Tonight, Cynical Days). Except In Another Life (silvery white), My Bird Performs (pale green and limestone), and One of the Millions (blue-black, like comic book hair). My favorite Colin song is Blame the Weather: the most beautifully multicolored song he's ever written (yet). To a certain extent, of course, this is value-based, and the two affect each other. That is, if a song doesn't evoke a color immediately (not every song does), and if for some reason I dislike the song, gradually it will become associated with colors that I dislike. So it's not some kind of preternatural "reading" of a song's inner being. It's at least partly random associations and partly an unconscious equation of sound impressions to visual impressions. Also, there's the issue of associating patterns and shapes to music, which I tend to do a bit as well, but only on the melody-line level. That is, albums tend to have colors, or color palettes, songs definitely have colors (when "viewed," so to speak, from a distance) but as I listen, note by note, there is sometimes an added element of colorful shapes and patterns, like skimming over a landscape. So, sometimes songs evoke very geometric shapes, other times it's very organic and, well, swirly. XTC tends to be more geometric (so Andy comparing songwriting to architecture in that recent L.A. radio interview didn't surprise me), and I rather like that about them. If there are other people who associate colors and sounds, I'm sure they'll have different colors for the same songs. Like I said, I hadn't thought about this for years until Jill posed her question, and it's not really the main thing I "notice" when listening to music, but now that I'm thinking about it, I'm curious: I can't be the only one. . . can I? --NV
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 12:07:05 -0700 From: "Radiosinmotion" <radiosinmotion@earthlink.net> Subject: Sting Rides A Rusted Lambretta Message-ID: <002601bfbc45$43ac64c0$0200a8c0@digitalpc> The Police were so god damn excellent. Sting made 1 or 2 albums that were also really good, but afterwards, in my OPINION, he sucked worse than people who for some reason don't go past the head... :) I just can't stand his him anymore. He has more ego than brilliance. I bet within 3 years there is a Police tour but I don't think I will go because there wont be enough room with his ego to enjoy the others in the group... Anyway, as I said, my opinion. Lambrettas were a cool group. I remember hearing like a few songs from them because this group of Mods around my way were all into them (as well as the scooters) and would play them all the time. Yes, they are indeed British. Oh, see you at the List on Sunday. I will be there with my chalkhills shirt! That is of course unless they don't let my baby in...
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 20:09:07 +0100 (BST) From: Rory Wilsher <rory_wilsher@yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Lambrettas info (No XTC) Message-ID: <20000512190907.22868.qmail@web1505.mail.yahoo.com> Jim Smart wrote: "Anybody heard of an early eighties band called the Lambrettas?" Yup. "Poison Ivy" cover version of the 50's rock'n'roll song (don't know original artist) was their biggest (only?) hit in the UK, in 1979 (I think). Searching for "Lambrettas" brings up a load of sites about the scooters they were named after (duh!) they were part of the mod revival of those times. However, I also found this, which may be of interest: http://www.discountlasers.com/music/artist/lambrettas.htm Suck it and see! Rory "Is it Christmas yet?" "No, it's still 10 days away" Wilsher
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 12:10:51 -0700 From: "Radiosinmotion" <radiosinmotion@earthlink.net> Subject: Don't Rewind! Message-ID: <002e01bfbc45$cabfdc80$0200a8c0@digitalpc> Oh, about the skip argument. I don't like skipping. There are so many songs I hated when I first heard them and I now love. By not skipping, you never miss them so maybe you end up loving them more. Anyway, that is why I use to prefer tapes. You would have to sit there holding down forward to skip songs. I use to be totally against forwarding or rewinding tapes (accept when there was that 5 minutes of silence at the end of side 2, and unfortunately sometimes at the end of side one, which would really ruin the mood to have to sit there and forward the damn thing!
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 20:18:53 +0100 (BST) From: Rory Wilsher <rory_wilsher@yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Leisure Message-ID: <20000512191853.7553.qmail@web1502.mail.yahoo.com> Travel Inn are currently advertising on TV. So what? Every time I hear it I think "what thewho's using XTC music for an advert?" They're not, of course; it's "lazybones", as Andy breaks into at the end of "Leisure". But it freaks me out! Rory "it's STILL 10 days!" Wilsher
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 14:17:11 -0500 From: "Wiencek, Dan" <dwiencek@crateandbarrel.com> Subject: RE: the List Message-ID: <B697DB46B423D411BE970050DA793DE0341F6A@escorp1.crate.barrel.com> Ray wrote: > As much as I would love to see Andy on TV, I completely hate "The > List". I've watched it a few times on VH1 and was completely disgusted > with the guests, their choices, and their pandering to the moronic > audience. I have a bad picture in my head of Andy sitting on stage with > Adam Sandler, or "Chip" from the Backstreet Boys. All his witty jokes > will fall flat on the audience and all his music choices will be met > with befuddled looks from the panelists. They probably vote out all > his choices and the experience will sour Andy from ever appearing on > American TV again. > > Or am I just being paranoid? I'm with you, brother. They had a chance to make a nice, diverting, "Politically Incorrect"-like show about music, and instead it reflects--all too tragically well--the blase, middlebrow tastes of VH1's demographic. Does anyone else get the idea that VH1 is for people who don't really like music? I have yet to see a single panelist on the List really speak with passion about music--even the musicians who appear end up sounding lame and predictable. In one recent 'Hills thread, someone mentioned that the average adult buys something like 4 or 5 CDs a year (all high-profile, major-label releases of course)and those are the people VH1 goes after, people who stopped giving a shit once they had mortgages to pay. I hope Andy does what he did for that Amazon.com survey--just makes up a bunch of shit. I hope the bands he mentions include the Twelve Flavors of Hercules, Anonymous Bosch, and the Four Posters. Let 'em all stare. Dan W, who, speaking of X, is slated to interview John Doe tomorrow, and is still not entirely sure what questions to ask ...
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 15:45:05 -0400 From: erik schlichting <eriks@ci.conover.nc.us> Subject: "No, *I'M* the man who murdered love!" Message-ID: <391C5F41.910D04A4@ci.conover.nc.us> Howdy, all I have heard the 30-second clip of "I'm the Man...," and I must say, I cannot get the tune out of my head. It's like an annoying commercial jingle, only better. I await the rest with eager anticipation.... Another release I've been waiting for, the same day as Wasp Star, is the new Catherine Wheel offering, just in case anybody cares. Lately, I've been getting sucked int the The's "NakedSelf," which gets better with every listen. It's the album that should have followed "Dusk," and ShrunkenMan is one of the best songs Matt Johnson's ever written. "chris browning" wrote: "i have to say i agree with those who say that this argument is a little pointless. i see an album as like a book, and i rarely skip bits in books. the running order, the track listing WHATEVER is absolutely integral to teh importance of the record. if i ever skip through an album, it's because time is short or whatever. otherwise the whole thing from beginning to end. EVERY time." Hmmm.... I don't agree with you. In fact, I think most albums are a conglomeration of songs held together only by the fact that they're being performed by the same people. Your metaphor seems to compare an album to a novel, but I'd say most albums are more like a collection of poems or short stories. That said, my list of albums that *must* be heard in their entirety are: Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (I can't believe I haven't seen this mentioned yet), the Who - Quadrophenia (I don't have the patience for all of Tommy at once, though), Pete Townshend - White City, and Talk Talk - Laughing Stock. You know, the fact that most albums are a collection of individual songs is what makes the shuffle feature on CD players so much fun, not to mention making those "variety" tapes to give to friends or take on road trips. No XTC on my list of "whole thing" albums. I feel the same way as whoever it was that said they can't listen to any XTC album straight through. Each of them has at least one song I can't stomach. I have been steadily indoctrinating my soon-to-be-wife with XTC. She can now, without straining, recognize songs from Skylarking, and she bought for me the gold discs of O&L and Skylarking for Christmas this year. She still won't put XTC on by herself, but I'm working on her, and she's going to have to listen to Wasp Star the whole five hour trip home from the honeymoon.... Erik
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 16:30:04 EDT
From: "Seth Frisby" <vagueyear@hotmail.com>
Subject: Lp's...Ice Cream Meat....and Andy's Self Image...FunFunFun
Message-ID: <20000512203004.52692.qmail@hotmail.com>
Hi Chalkfolks,
Just checking in again (like your my parents or something
*shudder*). This talk about listening to full albums has got me thinking
(sorry no extensive list here)If I like most of an album I really can't skip
a song. Its like a painting, if you think a painting is beautiful but you
don't like a color you don't change it...you still look at the whole
painting. That's why an Album like Nonesuch and Oranges&Lemons still work
even if one song or so isn't quite up to snuff. Just listen to the whole
thing and overall you will be rewarded for your perseverance. You don't
leave a movie theater during the scenes you don't like do you? I myself
personally am very old fashioned. When I was discovering music I was
discovering them on my father's vinyl. Its probably because its a pain to
skip tracks on vinyl that I never got into the habit. Of course if bad song
after bad song assaulted me I'd end my torment with a lifting of the
needle..who wouldn't...well enough old man blabberings from a young man
(22)....please forgive the above metaphors...please..
Has anyone noticed that Andy has a strange self image of himself? I
mean c'mon he's certainly not brown or lumpy enough to be properly termed as
looking like a potato..I mean don't we love him because he drips his soul
onto albums so well and not his looks. I think we should all find a way to
boost this poor man's self image. Or course he also says he doesn't want
anybody worshipping him for any reason...so its a tricky situation...He is
merely a man..to quote...somebody
I'm really glad they're releasing WS towards the end of May because
from of what i've heard of it,I think its going to be great summer album.
Which is of course a rare treasured thing...especially since AV1 was such a
springtime green album, and the spring never seems to last as long as the
summer...
Well get back to life everybody and until next time I remain...
Seth "I vote myself the Chalkhiller with the biggest beard" Frisby
p.s. If anyone was wondering why I was creeped out by Avocado Ice cream
here's the reason...the flavor I was really creeped out by was the squid in
it's own ink flavored ice cream...honest a man in Venezuela makes this and
almost a thousand other flavors of ice cream (any meat you want)....well
there's food for thought...
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 14:45:27 -0700 From: "Steve Young" <sjyoung@hotmail.com> Subject: Guilty! I'm guilty! Yeah! Message-ID: <20000512214807.67749.qmail@hotmail.com> Slight lyrical and musical spoilers await you below. The "S" word: rhymes (appropriately) with "ka-ching". Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned it. Does it help my case that I don't actually own a single "S" album? Probably not. My punishment is waiting until the end of May for my own copy of WS, and then I will listen to "YATCWABB" while driving along the coast (as someone suggested), with my windows down, no matter what the weather, and then I will know whether right is left or wrong is right. This will cure me of any impressions of things that rhyme with terrible (threatened bumblebees do it). Does anyone else love that little "urngh" noise Andy P. makes after the word "beautiful"? It's like the River of Orchids moan after "circle", "fossil" -- URNGH! I heard the solo from "Church of Women". It helped to have diminished expectations (thanks, demo folks!) - it kicks my butt. It seems so sparse, restrained, lots of breathing room. Like a lion tiptoeing around a church. Or a woman. I want to worship at the Church of Women too. I think I already do... till my head goes spinning around (or falls off)... I miss Dave Gregory's stuffed-in guitar work - wiggedy clickety clackity ticka-ticka roar. Made lots of XTC's songs like superballs. Bounce 'em once and they'd richochet... around my head. But now we hear more and more of Andy's milk-smooth backing vocals... one of the signposts to the newest age of XTC. Ambrosia. Wasp Star. It's got some lovely... and I'm taken with it, this gem of an album. Dashing my pot, ~~Steve Young
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 17:48:42 EDT From: Saints3Den@aol.com Subject: Radio interview Message-ID: <e1.440671c.264dd63a@aol.com> Folks! at 25 o'clock, May the daynevercome, Xtc will be interviewed by Master Bates on WANK, Anchorage, Alaska.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 16:50:32 -0500 From: John Voorhees <johnvoorhees@johnvoorhees.com> Subject: Chalkheads lives! Message-ID: <391C7CA81C2.06AFJOHNVOORHEES@EXCHSRV> Well, as promised, I've put together the beginnings of a rather nice little station on MP3.com which goes by the name of "Chalkheads : XTC Fans Unhinged." There's only 10 songs so far, but that's going to grow quickly as I get more time to listen. The URL is mp3.com/stations/chalkheads . Hop on over, take a listen and let me know if you've got stuff that should go there. The only requirements are to be a Chalkhillian and to have something I can use on MP3.com . I also include music by folks we talk about and like, as well as just generally cool power pop. The current lineup contains the following fine artists: 3Tripper, Adrian Belew, Steven Fletcher, Mitch Friedman, Household Names, Kompost, Minster Hill, Nashville Be@tles, Jason M. Phelan and (of course) John Voorhees. Enjoy! John Voorhees
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 18:09:42 EDT From: "Garret Harkawik" <funktaisia@hotmail.com> Subject: weird message Message-ID: <20000512220942.79018.qmail@hotmail.com> I just got this message in my e-mail: >Hey John- I'm sorry you feel our webiste "sucks." Others have felt it is a >truly innovative and groovy usage of flash animation and illustration. I >think it was a flawed but bold attempt to create something cooler than your >standard static html site. It is old and crusty at this point and we have >are building a wholly new site. New in-house design team. >Tech note: The home page does not crash all browsers. It is especially >problematic with certain computer models using Internet Explorer. It is >definitly designed for higher end users with lots o memory/ram and good >connections. On my G4 using a T1 is hums. The bus pulls up at 50mph and >it never-ever crashes. Obviously most users do not have the same set-up as >I. That is one of the main reasons we are re-designing. The new site will >not be a "web designers wankfest." I promise. >cheers >PS. You could have pointed out the thousands of audio streams, thousands >of free downloads, dozens of video streams, a huge database of photos and a >few cool microsites etc. I guess this is in response to my post about how the TVT site was bad, but for some reason it is adressed to someone named John, and last time I checked, john isn't my name. Garret Harkawik [ Clearly the above message was in response to my posting concerning the TVT Records site. -- John ]
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 15:20:45 -0700 From: "Mike Martis" <mmartis@softcom.net> Subject: Bands that Shoulda/Coulda Message-ID: <003b01bfbc60$52374760$aad6fea9@mmartis> Lost Bands: My all-time shoulda-made-it-big-band...Bourgeois Tagg, a Sacramento, CA, band that rose from the club ranks to land a deal with Island Records in the mid-80s. BT put out two records, and even had a hit single, the Beatlesque "I Don't Mind at All." They did the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson show, Top of the Pops here and in the U.K., and toured the U.S. and Europe with The Fixx, Robert Palmer and others. Bourgeois Tagg had a very cool pop/funk sound. Individually, they were all talented musicians, smart and witty with a commanding live presence. They caused more than one hardened record company exec to tout them as "the next big thing..." Alas, the essence of Bourgeois Tagg did not transfer well onto tape. Record sales did not match their promise, and they disbanded when singer/songwriter/keyboardist Brent Bourgeois embarked on a solo career in the late 80s. Where are they now? Not exactly hurting. After three solo albums, Bourgeois became head of A&R for Christian-based Word Records in Nashville. Singer/songwriter/bassist Larry Tagg got a publishing deal, put out a couple of solo albums, and did some touring in support of other artists. Drummer Michael Urbano has played/toured with Sheryl Crow, John Hiatt, Third Eye Blind and, currently, Smash Mouth. Guitarist Lyle Workman has a solo album to his credit (Purple Passions), and has played for/toured with the likes of Jellyfish (Spilt Milk) and Frank Black, among others, and is currently on tour as a member of Beck's band. Bonus XTC connection: Todd Rundgren produced Bourgeois Tagg's second album immediately after finishing Skylarking. The Todd/BT connection continued on, with Todd having all four band members play on his "Nearly Human" album as well as supporting tours. --Mike
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 18:36:40 EDT From: Hbsherwood@aol.com Subject: How Colored the Flowers All Smelled Message-ID: <3a.508997d.264de178@aol.com> >From: relph (John Relph) >Subject: Re: TVT's website >No, it's not just a stupid concept. It's also a stupid realisation of >a stupid concept. It takes so f***ing long to start the TVT page, and >it crashes my browser more often than I'd like to admit. A bloody >wankfest for web designers. If I listed all the fundamental user-interface rules that idiot site breaks, we'd be here all afternoon. Two windows? Whyyyyy? The smaller, "work" window deliberately separates you from your Back button, as well as your Location bar and your ability to bookmark! Why not just put a big sign on the front page that says "Fuck You!"? "Click a Stop": WTF does *that* mean? Perhaps my favorite: When you choose "Search" from the "Browse the Site" pulldown (itself a terrible navigation device), a search widget appears right next to the pulldown: What, you couldn't put it there *beforehand* and save me a step? It's not a wankfest for web designers, John: It's people who haven't got a *clue* how to design for the Web. Absolutely disgraceful. ----- >From: Jill Oleson <Jill_Oleson@kurion.com> >Subject: Do you hear in color? > >On the Easter Theatre single, Andy talks about certain chords >sounding to him like colors: "[strum] This is a chunky brown chord. >[different strum] This is the luscious earthy green that appears as >Spring rears its head each year..." And how about "My Brown Guitar," in which the fat tone Andy dials up for the leads can *only* be described as "brown".... Synesthesia (which is what this phenomenon is called) will not be unfamiliar to those of us who may have in our indiscreet youths ingested certain potions and powders that put us in a state of mind receptive to it. Anyone who's ever toked up a fattie and watched "Fantasia" will remember lengthy synesthetic passages from it. Artists who "possessed" (if that's the right word) synesthesia have included Vladimir Nabokov, Kandinsky, David Hockney, and Arthur Rimbaud. Synesthesia is of great interest to religious mystics, particularly those of the Buddhist persuasion, as it seems to offer evidence that our five senses trap us in a mode of perception that restricts us to awareness of only a tiny portion of the "bandwidth" of reality, and supports the important Buddhist contention that we live in a world of delusion. Think what life would be like if even *one* of our senses was tuned differently: What if we could see ultraviolet? Hear acutely above 15KHz? Sense individual photons hitting our skin? Taste air? What would that do to our laws, our religion, our relationships with each other? What if our senses told us what is true, rather than lying to us--if they told us, for example, that nothing is literally solid but is a dance of energy? Wonderful synesthesia links at http://web.mit.edu/synesthesia/www/synesthesia.html. It looks dry as dust, but believe me, folks: *Fascinating* topic. >>From the real quotes, however, Andy makes it clear that he >associates sounds with colors. As a painter, I find this a compelling >concept. Of course you do! As a painter, your task is to edge us--by whatever means you have at your disposal--closer to understanding the very depth and scope of our narrow, delusional perception. It's your *job*, Jill! Hop to! Synesthesia is an observable neurological phenomenon, like deja vu or amnesia. While Andy Partridge may not exhibit it in a clinical sort of way, there are plenty of examples of synesthesia in his lyrics, and the whole of his later lyrical output is suffused with the sort of thinking that obsesses on it: the same mystical spirit that leads him to write of fertility symbols and pottery wheels and rivers of orchids also gives birth to such lines as "How colored the flowers all smelled!" Of course, we could hardly expect anything else from a band led by Captain Astrophobia himself, whose best-known song goes something like.... (now everybody.....!) And I've got one-two-three-four-five Senses working ooooo-verrr-time! Harrison "Trying to take this all in" Sherwood
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