Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 193
Date: Tuesday, 18 July 2000

         Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 193

                  Tuesday, 18 July 2000

Topics:

                   the Geography of XTC
                        Yes? YES!
                Or The Ale Inside My Head?
                       Ad Infinitum
                    good band gone bad
                   Ready made SH video?
          You Know, I have One Simple Request...
                       salmagundie
                      cursin' Kasem
                ExCUUUUZZZZEEEE MEEE!!!!!
                     Another grab bag
                 Fossil Fuel! (Hi! Mark!)
         All 20 Somethings on This List Unite!!!!
                      Space Truckin'
                     Stupidly Absent
           Five albums working a sense overtime
                 Re: America Chose Cheese
                     Re: Sheet Music

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Ambition gets stronger, I can't satisfy the hunger.

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 15:18:52 -0400
From: erik schlichting <eriks@ci.conover.nc.us>
Subject: the Geography of XTC
Message-ID: <39735C1C.9A0F8ECB@ci.conover.nc.us>

Chalkos,

The unexpected result of a recent post, wherein I mentioned
my current city of residence (lovely Hickory, NC, pronounced
locally as HIK-ry), is that my neighbors are e-mailing me.
There seems to some surprise as our proximity to one
another, and my discussions with wesLONG (yes, THAT Wes)
have prompted the following two questions:

1.) How many Chalkers live in the North Carolina/South
Carolina/Virginia area? Please email me off list at THIS
ADDRESS: eschlichting@xtremeol.com to take a look at the
possibility of a Chalkhills gathering, or just to say hello.

2.) My job is composed largely of making maps, and I thought
it would be cool to create a map of the locations of the
subscribers of this list. If everyone gave me their
location, I could create a map showing the distribution of
subscribers, which I believe would show some obvious trends.
I have some good base information, but only really detailed
info for the U.S. Therefore, if you would like to
participate, email your location to me as follows: City,
Country, Latitude (degrees north or south of the equator)
and Longitude (degrees east or west of Greenwich, England).
The following sites can help you to determine your latitude
& longitude:

http://www.astro.com/atlas/aq_e.htm   (this ones the best)
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001769.html
http://www.bcca.org/misc/qiblih/latlong.html

BTW, anyone catch "Longitude" on A&E this past week? Good
movie, great book.
Mr. Harrison was a true genius.

I already have coordinates for most of the world's larger
cities; if you live close enough to one to say you live
there, go ahead. The coordinates don't need to be incredibly
accurate; on a world-scale map you just need to get close.

I will NOT share your e-mail address with anyone, or compile
& maintain a list of your addresses (including adding your
address to my address book). I will NOT send you spam,
electronic coupons, chain letters, pyramid scheme
opportunities, religious tracts or links to pornographic
websites. I will NOT associate your name or e-mail address
with your location on the map.

PLEASE SEND LOCATION INFO TO: eschlichting@xtremeol.com

I seem to remember someone trying to do this a couple years
back, but don't remember seeing any results. It might have
been another list, though. I will try to have a finished
product by mid-August, if there are enough responses.

If you think I'm wasting my time, or just plain out of my
mind, email me off-list, please.

Erik

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 17:09:52 -0400 (EDT)
From: Dorothy Spirito <spiritod@techmail.gdc.com>
Subject: Yes? YES!
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.4.00.10007171618300.9784-100000@esun2028>

Dunks inclued Yes in his list of "Bands That Were Once Great But Now
Suck".  Chacun a son gout, says I.

Their newest album, "The Ladder", is fan-freaking-tastic.
Full of crescendoes, climaxes, and a soupcon of bass.  Visceral stuff.

I swear, Dunks, the *only* thing you & I have in common is a deep-abiding
appreciation for XTC.  We lock horns everywhere else.  <g>

Regards,
--Dorothy.

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

Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 00:19:30 +0200
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Subject: Or The Ale Inside My Head?
Message-ID: <20000717221400.4B043A6CF0@mail.knoware.nl>

Dear Chalkers,

Abducted by aliens and forced to pick just 5 discs (an extremely
cruel and unusual punishment IMHO) i guess this would be my list:

English Settlement
Nonsuch
Black Sea
Chips From The Chocolate Fireball
Wasp Star

All other artists can piss off, life's too short and next to XTC
everything else pales into insignificance anyway.

yours in xtc,

Mark S. @ the Little Lighthouse  www.come.to/xtc

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

Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 00:19:30 +0200
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Subject: Ad Infinitum
Message-ID: <20000717221351.825E2A6CE6@mail.knoware.nl>

Dear Chalkers,

> 1. Coca Cola or Pepsi - "This is Pop"
No, no, no way.
That should be Life Begins At The Hop (obviously!)

T.I.P. however could be used for milk :)

yours in xtc,

Mark S. @ the Little Lighthouse  www.come.to/xtc

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 15:32:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Brown <mb2@deltanet.com>
Subject: good band gone bad
Message-ID: <200007172232.PAA19793@mail2.deltanet.com>

Here is one for the 'Bands That Were Once Great But Now Suck' thread-

Aerosmith, did anyone mention these Beantown babies?

In the early to mid-seventies, Aerosmith was one of the best of the
testosterone-driven guitar bands (were there any other kind?).  Their music
was raucous and dirty.. just the way hard rock should be.  They were one of
several bands that tapped into the collective teenage libido..  Lots of
'exploring new worlds' went on while an Aerosmith album played in the
background.  Get Your Wings, Toys In The Attic, Rocks.. these were and still
are great albums..

Then you fast forward to the 90's..  The swaggering pose remained, including
the wardrobe (please put a shirt on, Steve!), but there was no music to back
it up.. just tired rock ballads that somehow managed to chart well..(except
'Pink', I love that one)

The last straw, the one that broke Aerosmith's arthritic back, was when they
released 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing'.  I suppose it was no worse than
'Angel' or any of their other throw-aways, it's just that it was SO
pervasive it was hard to avoid.  (At the movie theater, at the mall,
floating out from the car next to you at the stoplight, etc..)

Aerosmith is a sterling example of a once great band turned decaying rock
carcass (and boy does it reek!)

I'll dig the grave, you wrap the body-

Debora Brown

 "Sell when you can, you are not for all markets."- William Shakespeare

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 18:59:40 EDT
From: Saints3Den@aol.com
Subject: Ready made SH video?
Message-ID: <34.807cc1b.26a4e9dc@aol.com>

hey folks...     regarding stupidly happy video

<<  So whaddya think?

    -Jani from the Arctic Circle
  >>
  good idea!    But I think a video already exists for this song!    just use
what was taped for the soccer telecast!  uh-oh! THEY CUT OUT THE "DEVIL"
PARTS. So what! we add-here is the neat part... "And if the devil walks up
dressed in any disguise"...show a clip of Richard Branson in his wedding
gown.   "And should the Devil drive up with his business card out"... a
closeup of a business card    worded   IAN REID    this shows a couple of the
bands personal "devils"

also cut in a few shots of the 2 xtc guys   thats a print!   what do we think
to that?

 eddie st.martin

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 19:14:21 -0400
From: "Michael Versaci" <stormymonday@sprintmail.com>
Subject: You Know, I have One Simple Request...
Message-ID: <000001bff044$be05b270$6bb1f6d1@mtwe50004>

and that's to have sharks with FRICKIN' LASER BEAMS ATTACHED TO THEIR HEADS!

Folxtc,

Seriously, does any one have a CD copy of the famous, "The Great Lost Kinks
Album?"  I would love to trade for one.  Please e-mail me privately.

Michael Versaci

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 23:13:38 +0000
From: Jayne Myrone <myrone@tesco.net>
Subject: salmagundie
Message-ID: <397392FF.88D9170F@tesco.net>

because it's a nice word and it describes the following.

I've got to stop letting Chalkhills pile up.  If this has been discussed
& buried then ignore.

Band names:
played around for a while & came up with these:
Amazing Bacon
You, Ewe & Yew
The Shit Also Rises

Also possible autobiography titles (if I ever do something that demands
an autobiography)
Too Short to be a Model, Too Tall to be an Ewok (does that mean
virtual Chinese cookery?) &
Who Put the Wallaby in my Verb Bag?

Wes - how are you feeling?  Did you think being that ill influenced your
choices? And what was it that caused the problem?  Not too much detail
please - I'm squeamish.

Still filling in missing XTC CDs - I have to keeping doing that
eating, rent paying kinda thing - so no list for a track off every
album.  One of my friends is seriously considering TW&TM for his
funeral service; me, I want Under the Bunker by REM & the bit right at
the end of Woodface.  A bit morbid, but solves any future problems in
that respect.

I'm not playing the quotation game, but can anyone help identify these
lyrics:

"River, river, river jungle dugout canoe.
Floating, river jungle, river jungle dugout canoe".

It's probably from about 1980 to 1984, probably UK, and as it's still
buzzing around in my head after 15 years I'd like to know what it
actually is.

Chicken Run is brilliant in spite of no there being Shaun Sheep - stay
& see Julie's name and get something worth seeing.  (the cheque's in
the post John. I'm just off to lie in a darken room while I check
through your system for picking tracks off CDs).

While I'm a bit pissed off by the Sting/Jaguar ad, it's not because
he's sold out, but because here's someone who has campaigned on behalf
of the rain forests & native peoples, & is endorsing a car that you
can ask how many gallons to the mile?  Also every time I watch cricket
it seems that this ad is played at every commercial break.

  And, for a bonus, I'll give you a list of impossibly cheesy 70's one
hit wonders that are guaranteed to send you running screaming from
your room.  Do you know how cruel that is?  I'd suppressed all
memories of these "delights" and now they've resurfaced and they
aren't happyO

>Ok, here's the scenario. You're being abducted by kindly
>aliens from a galaxy far, far, away. You are told to bring 5
>music CD's with you .  What are they?

They are metallic, circular discs that hold digitized sound.

Thanks for making me giggle on a bad day Tyler.
I can't do it, I just can't do it.  The list would change from day to
day, and
even hour to hour.  If you held a gun to my head I'd go with
Split Enz - Time & Tide
James - Laid
Muttonbirds - Envy of Angels
Crowded House - Woodface and
XTC - Nonsuch
but ask me tomorrow & who knows?

The Wonder Stuff are reforming?
Brilliant.
(Brilliant is my overused word of the week)

XTC content:
Having just got an chair that spins round & round & ooh I feel O it
works brilliantly with TW&TM.  Just don't do it holding your arms out.
Believe me it's painful.

At the moment XTC are looming large in my life:
watch the cricket - hear In Another Life
read Neil Gaimen's Smoke & Mirrors (a damn fine read) and there's a
story about gender fluidity which includes a character called Jackie -
you're way ahead of me here.
A book on Victorian children's literature brought an attack of
Playground
and listening to Waterloo Sunset got me to Then She Appeared.
The list is getting too big.

Jayne the Worrier Queen

please take a minute & visit the site below.  By clicking on the donate
button money is given to the UN's World Food Programme.
http://www.thehungersite.com/index.html

"Nothing is meaningless if one likes to do it"
Gertrude Stein

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 17:19:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com>
Subject: cursin' Kasem
Message-ID: <20000718001926.29905.qmail@web2101.mail.yahoo.com>

Wes "this is poop" LONG asks:

Ever hear the famous bit of Kasem freakin' out in the
studio while the tape
was still rolling?  He completely wigs out, cusses out
everyone within earshot 'cause he has to do a death
dedication right after an up-tempo number, THE HORROR!
If you haven't heard it you should poke around on
some of the WAV sites, it's not hard to find and it's
hilarious to hear Shaggy  cuss.
(he's good at it)

This is probably the same recording that Negativland
uses in the infamous U2 single that's been discussed
here recently (or else there's lots of recordings of
cursin' Kasem out there). The death dedication, by the
way, is for someone's dog dying.

If you're into this sort of stuff, (the Kasem swearing
stuff, that is), allow me to plug my trade list one
more time
http://www.mindspring.com/~t.hewitt/tradelist.html
look under Various Artists at the end of the list to
find a collection called 'Demos, Concerts, Sessions
from Hell'. It's full of celebrities at their worst,
among other things. Hear Linda McCartney wailing
completely out of tune during a Wings concert! Freddie
Hubbard curse out an audience! A VERY drunk Frank
Sinatra! Orson Welles blowing his lines for a radio
voice over! It also has the infamous Troggs tapes (one
of the inspirations for Spinal Tap). Not everyone on
this is famous, but it's all funny and excruciating.
Tyler

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 20:54:45 EDT
From: KINGSTUNES@aol.com
Subject: ExCUUUUZZZZEEEE MEEE!!!!!
Message-ID: <50.83961fb.26a504d5@aol.com>

Chalkites,

HUH?

>Yes, Mr. Kingston, but how very clever *you* are. The video that you missed
>is "I Missed Again,"

Yes, your right!

>and there is no song from "Face Value" called "Between
>The Lines;" perhaps you meant "Behind The Lines," Mr. Kingston?

Yes, I did, Mr. prosecutor.

>It would seem, in fact, that *you* missed again, Mr. Kingston. Oh yes, and
>if you ever manage to pull your head out, you might find the air a little
>less stuffy.

Actually, I tired, but yours was there first.

>It's rather easy to dismiss a group or an artist as smarmy pop trash
>if you haven't walked a mile in their platform shoes. Seeing as my love for
>Genesis led me to XTCU4EA, I hardly consider publicly flogging Mr. C of the
>past for his present-day Disneyisms to be just. Or humane treatment of a
>wounded horse (albeit a short, pudgy, balding horse.)

As I matter of fact, I love Face Value.  I'm so sorry that I meesed the names
up, but (as Dom can testify to) I am an old fart, and I've been suffering
more than my share of Senior moments.  Have pity on an old man!

I had no grudge at all with Phil Collins until he started repeating himself
and making himself too ubiquitous in the mid seveties.  He has slipped
musically, like Sting, and many here would feel as I that he deserves a
little poking fun of.  As do we all, for that matter, eh, Your Honor?

No further comments, YH.

ObXTC - I actually heard King For A Day in a Wa Wa (convenience store) today!

Tom (whimper!) Kingston

"Wagner's music is better than it sounds" - Mark Twain

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 18:24:21 -0700
From: Ed Kedzierski <ed.kedzierski@blvdmedia.com>
Subject: Another grab bag
Message-ID: <08B5DDC2BABCD311BFC6005004A884B013B74F@mgcservices.com>

Sorry to do this again, but so many digests came out just before & over the
weekend, that doing a small post for each thing is just too fussy a task...

So, I'm just doing another of my big, fat, overstuffed multi-thread
grab-bag posts, sorry for the inconvenience & the fact that it's getting to
be such a habit.

First of all, I guess I should be just as glad that I didn't see "the
List", it sounds like it was painful to watch.

Mark S. said that "Fossil Fuel" was actually a good purchase for the
remastered tracks, which I have to say I noticed when I got it home; made
me wish that the rest of the albums that some of them are from had been
given similar treatment for their CD editions. So, I'm glad I did, also for
the fact that the "limited" copy I found was a good five bucks cheaper than
what the local Virgin smegastore is charging for the "plain" version.

Someone referred to "Quadrophenia" as the Who's best album. Sorry, but the
correct answer is in fact "Sell Out". "Quadrophenia" may have inspired a
damn good movie, but musically there are just too many things that, for me,
count against this album rating that highly. For one thing, it includes
"Love Reign O'er Me" (sorry, but yech), a song that exemplifies the way
that Daltrey's voice, by this point, had become just unbearable in its
howling bombast. This shift in Daltrey's singing style actually taints my
enjoyment of most of their stuff from "Who's Next" on. In fact, you know
that big famous "Yeah" (or "yeeeeaaaahhh!") from "Who's Next" (I'm sure
it's in "Won't Get Fooled Again", unless it's "Baba O'Reilly") that they're
using in car ads lately? That, my friends, is the sound of the Who starting
to suck.

Any flashy web extras (including "Flash") beyond plain-vanilla HTML should
not only always be optional without fatally impairing anyone's ability to
access basic content, but should be considered "still under development"
(and thus not something that can be used as an unavoidable hurdle to access
to a given site) until available for all platforms. I'm not trying to
attack those of you who hang bells & whistles on websites for a living, but
they shouldn't be unavoidable prerequisites just to access a given site, as
opposed to optional extras. Maybe these companies (Macromedia, etc.) could
do with more feedback from the people who use their tools, asking that more
platforms be supported so that as many people as possible can enjoy the
work you do... (I'm certainly not about to boycott TVT product, but I agree
that they really need to do something about that entry thing with the gas
station and the extra window, at the very least.)

Bands that just plain suck:
Glass Tiger
The Hooters
Shitbox 20 (that Rob Thomas guy needs a clumsy larynx-damaging field
tracheotomy to keep him from inflicting that damn voice on anyone ever
again)
Starship (this was suggested for the "bands that used to be good, but came
to suck" category, but in a lot of ways it's a completely different band
from Airplane, for all that some of it included Grace Slick as some sort of
mascot/wacky aunt type figure. It's kind of funny that they actually lost
the right to even use "Jefferson" in their name, having come to suck so
badly that it was embarrasing to the legacy of the previous incarnation...)
Journey (wow, I'm really starting to shoot fish in a barrel here)
Boston (ironic cheese-factor enjoyment notwithstanding)
Loverboy
Toto (don't give me any "but they were made up of respected session players"
crap; the lead vocalist was utterly intolerable - especially the
"oooo-ooo-oooo's" in "Hold the Line", and their songwriting was what we
scientists refer to as "retarded")
One of those damn "three name bands" - either "Third Eye Blind" "Our Lady
Peace" or "I Mother Earth" had a song on the radio last year that just about
made me want to wrench the stereo out of my car's dashboard, but I can't
remember which one, if there's even any way of telling these kinds of
identically goateed and hair-salon-dreadlocked bands apart.
Bush

The Shaggs are too obvious, and are too much of a "so bad it's hilarious"
phenomenon to count as the kind of "worst" band that one can actually get
pissed off about.

Bands that I personally dislike, but don't feel like getting into a big
argument over if you happen to like them and you're someone whose opinion I
respect in other areas:
Pearl Jam
Yes
Most "jam bands"
The Doors
Elvis (the dead fat one, not the brilliant living one)
The majority of purist blues-rock.

Once good, came to suck:
"fake" Pink Floyd (the Gilmour-run, post-Waters incarnation. What's the
point of putting out albums, with material by hired songwriters instructed
to be "Floydesque" when you're just there to make use of the warehouse full
of stage props? "Floydomania" would be more honest.)
Someone suggested the Kinks, but I'll just say Dave Davies. From "Death of a
Clown" to "Rock n' Roll Cities" is a long, steep downhill ride (in a rickety
shopping cart).
I've already slagged Clapton and Rod Stewart too recently, but they're
obvious choices.

Shields up,
Ed K.

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 20:13:13 CDT
From: "vee tube" <veetube@hotmail.com>
Subject: Fossil Fuel! (Hi! Mark!)
Message-ID: <20000718011313.63928.qmail@hotmail.com>

     I need to add to Mr.Strijbos's's'eses coments,
    RE: F.F. (where within,Mr.S's's'esse says's's's)

  "the pre-sky stuff ROCKS!!!!! It's been re-mastered!!!!"]

                  V-Say,

           YES!!!!!'S'S'S'ESSES!

                  IT!DO!

   Butt! (and this is a BIG BUTT!) Damn! Lookit Dat,
                  BigAssBass!)

  If you live in the U.S. (please note: I say nothing bad abutt
                     Texas)

     The POST-SKY! stuff sounds "Ger----ate!

     All of that B.S.Geffen 'H-F hash' is GONE!

   I can't speak for all of you foreign 'wierdo's,
But, all of us 'Multi-National, Corporate Crap-Eating'
U.S.'s's's's'essses's's's'ers-er-er-er-ers' should own...

1. Fossil Fuel

2. Skylarking (Mobile Fidelity 'Gold' CD)

3. Oranges and Lemons. (M.F.'Gold' CD)

                   NOW!

  When I told Chalkhills about the sale at Acoustic Sounds,
I received thanx from all around the world! All I asked in
return was that you post your review of the M.F. Gold CDs to
the 'Hill.

               I now ask, politely,

     "DOWHATISAY!DOWHATICOMMAND!OBEYTHEBIGBASSASS!"

             Don't make me ask again.

                      }---:)

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 18:56:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Molly Fanton <mfanton99@yahoo.com>
Subject: All 20 Somethings on This List Unite!!!!
Message-ID: <20000718015645.8073.qmail@web1305.mail.yahoo.com>

Beverly wrote:
<<And to the ones slagging 20 somethings...I KNOW
you were generalizing...but come on now!
and I am a 20 something and I'm sure there are
plenty on this list!And the
people I have given XTC to (chortle) are 20
somethings too...so all hope
couldn't be lost!>>

No, not all hope is lost.  I'm also a 20 something,
and I think the people on The List and most (not all)
20 somethings are brainwashed to buy what's popular.
Yes, I admit I like a few of the popular bands out
now, but I tend to stay clear of Top 40 music.  Give
me The Beatles, The Who, Kinks, Talk Talk, .O.Rang,
Kate Bush, Lene Lovich, or XTC anyday.  It's better
than the little tramp, Brittany Spears or Backstreet
Boys.  I do like N'Sync though.  *ducks* :)
I even converted my 21 year old cousin to XTC.  She
LOVES the whole Skylarking album.  I'm going to make
her a copy of my CD when I get back to Buffalo.  I
think my cousin has good musical tastes.  She LOVES
The Beatles, which is a good thing in my book. :)  She
got me into Smashing Pumpkins and Sarah M(can never
spell her name right).

Molly

=====
AIM Name: MFanton00
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/mn/mollyfa99/index.html
Fave Quote: "If your flight is going rough, your soul will lead you to
the nearest exit" - Jump - XTC (A. Partridge)

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

Date: 17 Jul 00 21:16:48 CDT
From: C C Baxter <cutterccbaxter@netscape.net>
Subject: Space Truckin'
Message-ID: <20000718021648.23735.qmail@www0u.netaddress.usa.net>

5 CD's for outer space.

First off I'd grab-

XTC "Skylarking"
"Abort your mission lets just say you tried.
Before you glimpse I have a darker side."
I like that lyric.  Seems like the appropriate
thing to say to try and dissuade an alien
from abducting you.

Julian Cope "Peggy Suicide"
To conjure up fond memories of dear old
Mother Earth.

Gustav Holst "The Planets"
In space nobody can hear you scream, but I've
always wondered what it would be like to hear
this while floating in the cosmos.

Duke Ellington "Ellington At Newport 1956"
Speaking of screaming, Ellington's orchestra
almost started a riot at Newport.  The crowd
noise on this disc would make me feel less
lonely.

The Who "Quadrophenia"  I could only be gone from our planet for so long
before I eventually would need to hear Keith Moon sing the line, "Carry the
bloody baggage out" on the song "Bellboy."  I can't help it,
I'm a sucker for Moon's singing.

Before the aliens took me off in their craft, I'd distract them for a
moment by saying, "Look, isn't that David Duchovny over there."  And while
their heads were turned looking for Duchovny, I'd grab "Revolver" by The
Beatles, "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" by Pink Floyd, "Penthouse" by Luna,
"Beggar's Banquet" by the Stones, "Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space" by
Leonard Nimoy, and slip them into the jewel cases of my other CDs.
I then would be much better prepared for a journey that would
take me who knows how many light years away from the nearest
record store.

Lost in the stars,
Todd

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 22:26:58 -0400
From: Ben Gott <bgott@bowdoin.edu>
Subject: Stupidly Absent
Message-ID: <B5991FF0.2DDD%bgott@bowdoin.edu>

Chalkers,

Long time, no Ben!  Well, there's a reason, and it doesn't involve prison or
alien abductions...I've been teaching writing, coaching soccer, and doing
dorm duty at a summer school (see the .sig line for more information), so I
haven't had much time to post to ye olde list.  I have, however, been
watching carefully...

"Stupidly Happy" is a superb choice for a single.  Strangely enough, I
didn't like the song as a demo, but think that the "studio magic" that so
many of you abhor actually *helped* this particular song.  So, there.

As for the recent comments about B-sides: doesn't it suck when the B-side
songs are better than the songs "They" put on the album itself?  Last year,
this was the case with Crash Test Dummies (whose "Filter Queen" and "Handy
Candyman" outdid almost everything on their "Give Yourself a Hand"), and
Babybird (whose "In the Country" and "Love Love Love" should've replaced the
last two tracks on his near-perfect recent release, "Bugged.")  Yes, I'll
plug Babybird again!  Thanks for asking!  If you'd like to hear "Wave Your
Hands," "In the Country," or "Love Love Love," write me a note, and I'll
point you to a TOP-SECRET URL.

I just bought Sloan's "One Chord to Another," and I like it.  Can anyone
tell me about other Sloan albums?  I have heard "Between the Bridges," but I
don't like it enough to buy it.  (The reason I bought "One Chord...," by the
way, is that it cost $5.)

Speaking of cheap CDs: doesn't it ROCK when you (or I) walk into
Strawberries, peruse the "SALE!SALE!SALE!" bin, and come up with some
goodies?  I bought a Church album (released in 1997, the name of which
escapes me) and two copies of Sugar's "Beaster" for $2.49 each.  That's why
they call me "Bargain Ben!"  Or not!

I was sorry to miss our man AP on the list but, sadly enough, our dorm has
no TV.  Hopefully, if "Stupidly Happy" succeeds, we'll be seeing a lot more
of Andy and Colin!  If I wish it, it will be so.

On an side note: I'm sitting here in the common room, on dorm duty, and I
just had a conversation with 13 year-old Mauricio about why he likes to
write.  (I'm typing this note on my iBook, which I brought downstairs.)  In
Mauricio's home country of Colombia, he is a prize-winning young poet.
Sometimes, teaching just *rocks*.

Delightful!  Delicious!  Delovely!

-Ben

+------------------------------------------------------------+
  Benjamin Gott . The Writing Project . Choate Rosemary Hall
Summer Programs . 333 Christian Street . Wallingford, CT 06492
   Telephone: (203) 697-3186 . http://www.choate.edu/summer
+------------------------------------------------------------+

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 23:41:15 EDT
From: WTDK@aol.com
Subject: Five albums working a sense overtime
Message-ID: <b9.501d07a.26a52bdb@aol.com>

Abducted? These five albums already get a work out.
Fossil Fuel -Xtc (my first choice was Big Express but the sound quality is
so much better on the remastered edition of this 2 CD set).
Revolver-The Beatles (funny how this one keeps showing up)
The Great 28-Chuck Berry
Tried & True-Suzanne Vega
Heyday-The Church

I'd probably change this list tomorrow. Incidentally, the Beach Boys twofer
I mentioned comes out on 7/18.

Wayne

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

Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 13:20:18 EST
From: "Iain Murray" <halfmanhalflager@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: America Chose Cheese
Message-ID: <20000718032018.66026.qmail@hotmail.com>

I feel I should clarify something before anyone asks:

>From: "Iain Murray" <halfmanhalflager@hotmail.com>
>Subject: America Chose Cheese

I know I've thrown in some bizarre and obscure subject headings before, but
I have no idea where this one came from. I didn't put it there. I don't
know what it means, either.

>From: Jeff Eason <eason@mountaintimes.com>
>Subject: On the Road to Suckydom
>
>Had to throw my two centivos into the "Bands That Were Once Great Yet
>(Alas) Now Suck"

Yep, me too. I figure I should probably contribute, seeing how I'm already
here.

Genesis
Jethro Tull (admittedly, I haven't heard their latest album)
John Martyn
Steve Winwood
Yes
Joe Cocker (who now allows his recordings to be used to promote tax reform -
bastard)
Pink Floyd

......and there's probably more, but this list has made me grumpy enough.

Iain

"I believe there is a commonality to humanity. We all suck." -- Bill Hicks

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

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 23:46:45 EDT
From: WTDK@aol.com
Subject: Re: Sheet Music
Message-ID: <b4.8226d7b.26a52d25@aol.com>

> I imagine spruiking this band to XTC fans is a classic case of taking
> coals to Newcastle, but for younger viewers I'll gladly extoll the
> virtues of "Sheet Music" "The Original Soundtrack" and "How Dare You",
> all classic albums (not to mention those brilliant Hipgnosis covers).

Dunks, you're forgiven (Well, I should let Belinda decide that
actually). By the way, Purchase the German import copy of Sheet Music as
it features two b sides (one of which is a classic 10cc track). If you can
find it the Mobile Sound Fidelity version of The Original Soundtrack is
the best sounding version you'll find hands down. I'd also include their
first album despite a couple of weak tracks. Again, the German version has
bonus tracks--5.

For my money the Aussie Godley & Creme greatest hits album captures all
their best moments in one place. It also has a couple of singles/b sides
you can't find elsewhere.

Ten out of 10 and Deceptive Bends almost recapture the original 10cc
magic.  Everything else is a bit spotty (particularly Hear Now).

Wayne

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

End of Chalkhills Digest #6-193
*******************************

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18 July 2000 / Feedback