Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 223
Date: Friday, 4 August 2000
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 223
Friday, 4 August 2000
Topics:
Mad Skillz, Influences & A Twat
Overrated and Misheard
Hate and Love
catching up
tying up loose threads
Turn it Down!!!!
Opinions vs Facts
Turn that music down!
Yeaaaaah Boyeeeee
the final curtain
In My Roooooooom....
Elvis Costello & The Kinks
Where'd ya get them groovy threads?
Who did Boarded Up & Standing in for Joe??
I Like Them Apples
Mind's Eye
Waaaaaa!
HMV, Napster and Weird XTC Hearing (instead of sighting)
All right now! Won't you listen?!
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 11:01:19 +0100 From: Lawson Dominic <LawsonD@parliament.uk> Subject: Mad Skillz, Influences & A Twat Message-ID: <4782AD6ADDBDD2119B570008C75DD5C1BD51F3@mgmtm02.parliament.uk> Oh yes, terribly funny. >>Sure that's not Deborah Brown-Nose?! Yes, quite sure. Not only is my anus nose-free, but Ms Brown is a friend of mine. Is that OK? Honestly, you really must get out more, you ghastly oaf. Too many idiots, not enough cheese, that's what I say. >>I would have thought that both were contempories and therefore unlikely to have XTC as serious influences. Agreed. Since Wire were operating at almost exactly the same time, and released their debut album before "White Music" hit the shops, the likelihood that XTC influenced Newman & Co is negligible. Likewise Buzzcocks. Of course, the bands certainly share common influences, most notably Captain Beefheart, covered by both XTC & Buzzcocks and obviously a factor in Wire's generally obtuse approach to "punk". And finally...for those who would be willing to donate a rat's ass for the hip hop cause, here's a few I recommend... Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus (Rawkus Records) Company Flow - Little Jonny From The Hospitul: Instrumental Breaks & Beats (Rawkus Records) Kool Keith - Lost In Space/Black Elvis (Sony) (NB - anything by Kool Keith is worth checking out...the man's a genius!) Various Artists - The Lyricist Lounge Vol.1 (Rawkus Records) RZA - Bobby Digital In Stereo (Loud Records) Gravediggaz - Niggamortis (Gee Street Records) And, of course, everyone knows how good the first DJ Shadow album is. Or do they? Hail Satan! Dom.
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 15:44:08 EST From: "Iain Murray" <halfmanhalflager@hotmail.com> Subject: Overrated and Misheard Message-ID: <F143F8HGmCvoXM7e0C900006000@hotmail.com> >From: "John Boudreau" <aso1@mocha.ocn.ne.jp> >Subject: Overrated Beatles ? > >Somebody on this list v. recently said that The Beatles were overrated >...From 1964-1967 name me ONE rock/pop band who were more prolific ; >innovative ; and influenced more people ! The Seekers. >From: NickJeri Santangelo <calenduh@yahoo.com> >Subject: Misheard lyrics > >Misheard lyrics ARE fun to do, I've got a few of my >own: When I sat down to post a few misheard lyrics, I could only think of one. Australian Crawl released a song in the late '70s called "Beautiful People", but singer James Reyne's vocals were so garbled (caused by the fact that the man simply can't sing) that the line "Beautiful People, they got a Robert Palmer t-shirt in their travel bag" came out sounding (at least, to me) like "Booby dooby dong, you got a rubber politician in your travel bag". I freely admit to preferring my own interpretation. (Hotmail has been doing strange things this afternoon - my apologies if this message appears more than once). Iain "I believe there is a commonality to humanity. We all suck." -- Bill Hicks
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 14:22:12 +0100 From: "Davies, Huw (TPE)" <Huw.Davies3@Wales.GSI.Gov.UK> Subject: Hate and Love Message-ID: <7209B69A281BD4119EE50001FA7EA975AEAE99@WOMAIL2> There's been a lot of slagging off of other artists going on this list recently and even people dismissing entire genres of music (rap? - it's not all that bad. I would have hoped that XTC fans, at least, would be bit more open minded). Although criticising artists (including XTC) is perfectly valid, I think it's time we chilled out a bit and talked more about the music we love. I think it's great when people recommend music on this list that some of us may go and follow up and discover. I did this recently with Richard Thompson and I would just like to say thank you to the people on this list who recommended him. Regarding the question "What pop/rock artist, that you like (almost?) as much as XTC, sounds the most different from XTC?" I would suggest Billy Bragg and Tom Waits, although considering that a lot of other people on this list like those two artists, perhaps they are not as different from XTC as you might think. Perhaps Stevie Wonder? But I don't like him as much as he has been extremely inconsistent over his career. I have to say I agree with Dunks' comments about Napster. Huw Davies
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 08:44:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Ginchy Hotpants <jemiah@q7.com> Subject: catching up Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.10.10008030835230.6268-100000@q7.q7.com> I notice I only ever post anything when I get to talk about something that's not necessarily XTC... (perhaps I've run out of things to say about them, I'd rather just stand there and smile) Artist I like as much as XTC that sounds least like them -- probably the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Or, to make it even more dissimilar, Boss Hog, because they have a female vocalist. However, there are a couple of new bands I like because their XTC influence is so transparent, in particular Sunset Valley (whose lead guitarist plays in his "English Settlement" T-shirt, bless'm). There are a couple of other local Portland bands for whom XTC is a primary influence; it's kind of cool, and makes for a very rich and interesting local music scene. Other bands I collect (besides XTC, and I've been naughty about getting demos and B-sides lately): Beck (one can never own all the Beck material) The Dandy Warhols (friends of friends) 808 State (difficult) Brian Eno (a full time job, let me tell you) Artist consuming my soul at the moment: Cornelius That is all... --------------------- jemiah@q7.com http://www.jemiah.com
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 09:04:23 -0700 (PDT) From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com> Subject: tying up loose threads Message-ID: <20000803160423.12268.qmail@web2106.mail.yahoo.com> Jumping headfirst into a couple of new threads: List the artists whose work you collect the most extensively. I have the complete works of: XTC REM Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Mrs. Miller Los Lobos and a few others I wont be able to think of until the caffeine hits I have nearly complete works of: Elvis Costello Tom Waits Can Crowded House Miles Davis (post-Bitches Brew thru 1980) John Coltrane (on Impulse records) Joni Mitchell David Bowie Los Negresses Vertes The Kronos Quartet Sonic Youth ------------ Music I used to annoy my parents when I was a teenager: In Jr. High, it was a couple of old Ravi Shankar lps I bought at a garage sale. In High School, it was the Ramones. Visiting on weekends from college, it was Sonic Youth. Actually, the only time I remember my mom bitching about the music I listened to was while cranking Sonic Youth at top volume. Her comment: You're going to go deaf listening to that!
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 11:48:39 +0000 From: chris vreeland <vreecave@realtime.com> Subject: Turn it Down!!!! Message-ID: <39895BFE.4911E6D2@realtime.com> Todd writes: YEAH, baby! Okay, new-thread suggestion from yours truly: What song did YOU pick in this situation? (And please don't be so pathetic as to suggest that you didn't have a favorite "piss off the parents/old folks" song.) Lovely thread idea! For me, in the early days, it had to be side 2 of Rocks by Aerosmith. I loved to put it on at 7:30 in the morning, as I dressed for "school." (read skateboarding) By 1978, when I found out that they couldn't stand Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, or XtC, anything by the three of them did quite nicely. No particular song, although it was their original "I can't stand that Nigel song they're playing on the radio." statement that helped nudge me towards xtC fandom. God bless Colin's q****y voice! What's your story? Chris "sick as a dog" Vreeland
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 16:35:18 GMT From: "Ralph Simpson DeMarco" <sawpit@hotmail.com> Subject: Opinions vs Facts Message-ID: <LAW-F17243S3Iouk4RF00000dec@hotmail.com> Dear Affiliated Members: So some of you hate Graceland. OK. Can we phrase our likes and dislikes in non-combative (this 'sucks', this is 'over-rated', etc...) language? It's only our personal opinions, not fact. When I first discovered Chalkhills, my favorite XTC album was Mummer. Most folks on the list ranked it very poorly. We all have different tastes, that's what makes us individuals. Wonderful. But, do people have to be so damn nasty about it? You shouldn't say, 'it sucks' when 'I don't care for it' will do. Instead of 'over-rated', you can say 'don't understand why it's so praised'. Seems to me very childish attitude when someone is forced to 'defend' Neil Young or Rap music. This is not a court of law, it is a forum for expressing ideas and opinions. We should explain why we personally like something or the other, and leave it at that. Some folks get a kick out of provoking people: 'Nonsuch is the worst album since their first few...blah blah' for example. What the hell is the point of that post? Like someone said, 'why are you here if you don't like XTC?'. So, even if 95% of those who've heard XTC don't like them - does that mean they suck regardless of whether 5% do like them? The whole tit for tat posts are silly. It makes me want to unsubscribe. We should not try to prove how clever we are by torpedo attacks. It's only our opinions - make it clear when you destroy something in your posts. Can't we all just get along? Ralph
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 09:24:13 -0700 (PDT) From: brown <mb2@deltanet.com> Subject: Turn that music down! Message-ID: <200008031624.JAA28135@mail2.deltanet.com> >From the creative, yet non-storyboarding Todd - <<YEAH, baby! Okay, new-thread suggestion from yours truly: What song did YOU pick in this situation? (And please don't be so pathetic as to suggest that you didn't have a favorite "piss off the parents/old folks" song.)>> I think my 'in yer ear, mommy!' choice may have been Queen's, Stone Cold Crazy.. something about the machine gunning gee-tars and the overall manic pace.. when I had the volume at the appropriate level my dear mom would get this red spot on her forehead, just above her right eye .. of course, it aided my cause greatly to be torturing her via the quad stereo system in the den, which was right across from the kitchen.. (remember those? quadrophonic.. ha!) -also effective- Tie Your Mother Down (Queen), anything by Alice Cooper, and The Sails Of Charon by The Scorpions..yeah, you heard me! The Scorpions.. Taken By Force and Virgin Killer were serious metal albums... (Dom's probably sportin' a red spot of his own right about now!) Deb 'you're not the boss of me!' Brown -I think I'll send mumsy some flowers.. no particular reason-
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 11:18:35 -0600 From: KirK.Gill@equifax.com Subject: Yeaaaaah Boyeeeee Message-ID: <85256930.005F1724.00@noteswetc15.fin.equifax.com> Ed K asks: "Just that I liked songs like "Channel Zero" etc. (who did that, anyway?)" That's Public Enemy, from their album "It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back." One of the great rap records, IMHO. For me, a decidedly suburban white boy (white goy?), that era of rap (mid-80's, I guess) was the only time I've ever been able to get into it. PE, NWA (particularly "Straight Outta Compton"), and the Geto Boys were punky, angry, and sometimes (Geto Boys) cartoonish in their blatant misogyny and violence. It always amazed me that people got so upset about these groups' lyrics, when you could see far worse in almost any action picture. Whatever. It was all about rebellion, expression, and pissing off the powers that be. And it worked. But just like any other bit of youthful rebellion, it became commonplace and entrenched, and now I don't care any more. Maybe that's my loss. Listened to Big Express this morning, and loved it, again. But y'all are right, the cd sounds like shite. "This World Over" barely makes the meters move. Who can I browbeat or intimidate into doing another re-master that actually sounds good? k A "Oh Well"
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 10:26:36 -0700 From: Natalie Jacobs <jacobsn@careoregon.org> Subject: the final curtain Message-ID: <C1463800B2EFD311A84B00A0C9E9318B2D4073@NT1> Well, I guess it's about time for me to take off. I wish I could stay, but this list and I have obviously grown too far apart for me to feel comfortable posting here. I still love XTC, but they're not the center of my musical universe anymore; Nick Drake, Neutral Milk Hotel, and many others have joined them. I also have to wonder how much this list is really about XTC, and how much it's about idolatry and obsessiveness for their own sake. As Robyn Hitchcock says: "Idolizing musicians is like trying to patch a black hole with a band-aid." Any forum where people get flamed or chastised for unpopular opinions is not a forum where free expression flourishes. I don't dare repeat some of the opinions in my "Wasp Star" and "AV1" reviews on the list, because I know you'd all come down on me like a ton of bricks. Flaming is a form of censorship: it silences people. I see some of my old pals are still around: hi, Todd Bernhardt, the folks I met at the 1997 convention, the inimitable Mark Strijbos, Cheryl McGregor, etc. Maybe I'll come back and stay longer some other time. n. p.s. One more plug for my reviews: http://seshat.homepage.com/spleen.html (I had to do it! :P )
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 13:33:02 -0400 From: "Duncan Watt" <dwatt@fastestmanintheworld.com> Subject: In My Roooooooom.... Message-ID: <200008031733.NAA24260@gilgamesh.nh.ultra.net> Songs to piss off the parents(now this is *my* kinda thread!): I might be showin' my age here, but the 7th-grader me chose a solid "Running With The Devil", by the very, very American Van Halen. The full-blast car horns, four big bass notes, classic "chuck-a-rauuuu" guitar-slide intro, then the Rock shows up... And yeah, Queen did the trick as well, esp. "Tie Your Mother Down". Kind of direct, but effective. Duncan "...and "Big Balls" by AC/DC" Watt ps I wish I was that age when The Cult's "Love Removal Machine" came along, that woulda did it, I'm pretty sure. -- email me: dwatt@fastestmanintheworld.com surf me: http://www.fastestmanintheworld.com
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 16:00:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Radios In Motion <radiosinmotion@iwon.com> Subject: Elvis Costello & The Kinks Message-ID: <381496604.965332853928.JavaMail.root@web185-iw> I normally don't like promoting companies but I thought you all should know this. The following company Emusic has a program where you pay for unlimited MP3's. You just pay as little as $9.99 a month and you can download thousands of MP3's. The reason I am mentioning this is because they have about 10 Elvis Costello albums and about 10 Kinks albums. Where else can you get 20 good albums for $10-$20 total! Follow the link below (just copy and paste it into your browser) and click on Elvis or Kinks to see what albums they have. http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=9613914&siteid=32385444&bfpage=homepage
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 16:21:46 -0400 From: Jeff Eason <eason@mountaintimes.com> Subject: Where'd ya get them groovy threads? Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20000803162146.00831360@mountaintimes.com> Evening, Chalkers! It's time for me to weigh in on some of the recent threads: RAP. I thought I hated it but I keep getting entertainment value out of listening to some of the artists. Doctor Octagon AKA Kool Keith is always over the top musically and extremely funny. Maybe if some of the other rap stars could break out of their humourless, misogynistic, materialist personas then I could appreciate their music more. BEATLES. Hey, love 'em or hate 'em. You cannot deny their influence on the music world to this day. They also had the sense to break up the band when it was the right time. I hate it when bands like Fleetwood Mac or the Eagles reunite to make some quick cash on a new album and tour. You can see it in their eyes that they despise each other and are counting the seconds until the whole miserable experience is over. Can you imagine how XTC's music would have suffered if Barry Andrews had stayed on for the sake of keeping the band together? COMEDY ALBUMS: Great to hear somebody mention National Lampoon's "Lemmings" album. The parodies of Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, and the entire Woodstock scene are dead on. Another little comedy gem is "Lenny & the Squigtones" an album by several of the musicians/actors who later formed Spinal Tap. The album was released in the heyday of Laverne & Shirley but the humor on the album is much more adult than on the TV show. Is it just me or was comedy a vinyl thing? NEW ALBUMS: I'm still trying to get my hands on Kevin Gilbert's "Shaming of the True" after all of the Chalkposters' recent rantings. Sounds like a good one. One of my new favorites is "Great Lakes," the debut album by, you guessed it, the band Great Lakes. They are from Athens, Georgia, and are quite trippy in a Dukes of Stratosphear sort of way. My old college chum Rebekah Radisch is now the executive producer for R&D Records. She just sent me an advance copy of "Forever Dusty: Homage to an Icon". It's a Dusty Springfield Tribute album featuring Jill Sobule, Marti Jones, Indigo Girls, Laura Love, and others. It is absolutely fantastic. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION: Hey, I'm no big fan of Al Gore, but George W. Bush is scary. The Republicans are attempting a Trojan Horse campaign of shutting up about their extreme views on free speach, abortion rights, the death penalty, and industrial polluters until they can get their boy in the Oval Office. Then watch out! George W. is an overgrown frat boy with a permanent smirk on his face from years of having his pappy bail him out of cocaine fiascos. There, I've said it. At least Al Gore fought in Viet Nam rather than have his father--who was at that time Governor of Tennessee--pull strings for him. NEW THREAD, ANYONE? I was wondering what OLD XTC song you would most like to hear Colin and Andy remake. I think my choice would have to be "Battery Brides" from GO 2. Any other suggestions? Yours in XTC, Jeff "In a white room with black curtains at the station" Eason
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 21:33:40 +0100 From: "Marc Wickens" <xtc-mailing@brzone.co.uk> Subject: Who did Boarded Up & Standing in for Joe?? Message-ID: <LPBBIGMBOKAGPHECDJEPGEJACAAA.xtc-mailing@brzone.co.uk> I've converted Wasp Star (Apple Venus, Pt. 2) to WMA format and it has connect to the CDDB to get the info about the songs, it says Boarded Up & Standing in for Joe are by Andy Partridge, and all the other songs are by XTC, it doesn't say anything on the album sleeve, any1 know why this is?-- -- Regards Marc Wickens mailto:marc@mwic.co.uk http://www.mwic.co.uk "Vg'f gbb onq fur jba'g yvir! Ohg gura ntnva, jub qbrf?"
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 22:17:08 +0100 From: "Jonny Stephens" <pinkfire@dircon.co.uk> Subject: I Like Them Apples Message-ID: <200008032116.WAA06526@mailhost1.dircon.co.uk> On perusing the archive. For 23 years I've been hearing the following words: "Radios in motion/Apples in the ocean" And now the Chalkhills Lyric archive tells me: "Radios in motion/Atmosphere to ocean" The former always struck me as one of Mr P's most memorable and evocative lines. Jonny
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 16:22:23 -0700 (PDT) From: John Relph <relph@engr.sgi.com> Subject: Mind's Eye Message-ID: <200008032322.QAA35394@mando.engr.sgi.com> To Those better than Cheese, In case you haven't surfed Chalkhills (the website) lately, I thought I'd point out a book you might be interested in. Peter Kuper's book "Mind's Eye - an Eye of the Beholder collection" was just published and he was fortunate enough to have Andy Partridge write the intoduction. It's a collection of wordless comic strips that were first published in The New York Times. The book is available through Amazon.com and other bookstores, and through comic shops. You can read the strip online at http://www.thecomicstore.com/Merchant/eyepage.htm or Mr. Kuper's own website http://www.peterkuper.com/. More information can be had at http://chalkhills.org/product/minds-eye.html Enjoy! -- John
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 19:35:20 EDT From: "Kevin Diamond" <kev_boy@hotmail.com> Subject: Waaaaaa! Message-ID: <LAW-F160NQNXSqVdusF0000ef39@hotmail.com> Yo. >I'd just like to join in with the others to say a big THANKS to Derek Miner >for the fab job he did of transferring "Jules Verne's Sketchbook" to CD for >us rabid bootleg and demo-hunting fans. It's fun to listen to, fun to look >at, and great to own. It's just more proof (as if we needed any) that >Chalkhills is a great place. *Cries* I lost my old e-mail accounyt, and somehow was unable to find any trace of any of the e-mails Derek Miner sent me! So I couldn't send any money for the disc. Is it to late, oh wonderful Miner, to get a copy? >Now will somebody please give Derek "The Bull With the Golden Guts" or >whatever it's called, and hope that he is motivated by all this praise to >give that one the MinerWerks treatement, too! Well.... I *do* happen to have a copy of Bull... so what do you say, Derek? In return for putting this request in so late, a CD-R of Bull that you may or may not give out to other people? Kevin Diamond
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 17:54:58 -0700 (PDT) From: Molly <mfanton99@yahoo.com> Subject: HMV, Napster and Weird XTC Hearing (instead of sighting) Message-ID: <20000804005458.28142.qmail@web1301.mail.yahoo.com> Todd, thank you SO much for your heads up about the HMV sale. I didn't realize they were from Canada. The prices look more expensive than they really are. I got two albums from The Rutles (Archeology and the soundtrack). It was about $35 (CDN), but I don't know how much it is in US. I'll know where to look for stuff I can't find in other places. It's a lot less expensive this way. Thank goodness for exchange rates. :) As I said in an earlier post, I'm also a Napster convert. I'll still buy CDs, but it's fun to look for stuff I haven't heard in years. I've found a few rare things I haven't heard for years. Also, while I was in physical therapy for my ankle today the radio staion they had on played, "Generals & Majors" by XTC. It made me go faster in what I was doing. And this station is the last staion I'd think of for playing XTC. :) Molly ===== AIM Name: MFanton00 Website: http://www.angelfire.com/mn/mollyfa99/index.html eVoice Mailbox #: 88321880)
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 20:59:30 +0000 From: Scott Barnard <gforsche@videotron.ca> Subject: All right now! Won't you listen?! Message-ID: <"000d01bffd8d$b8189ca0$1c1cc918"@oemcomputer.videotron.ca> In #6-220, Todd Bernhardt (which is my name when I have a cold) proposed the nifty "piss-off Ma & Pa" thread. I actually had several such tunes which I would use depending on the circumstances. General use: Anything from "Never Mind the Bollocks", but especially "Bodies" (THAT'LL learn 'em!). In a pinch, Dury's "Plaistow Patricia" would do the trick. To convince my sister that I was an acid head and Going To Hell For Sure: The Floyd's "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict". Well, she was at least half right. To make Mom really, really nervous: Selected torrid, breathy love songs by Queen, featuring a very, erm, *theatrical* Freddie Mercury. La piece de resistance: The Sabs' "Sweet Leaf". Loud, stupid, obnoxious, perfect. And they don't even know what it's about, man, it's *so* cool...giggle, giggle......giggle....uh...hey, I've got wicked munchies, man..... S.
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