Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 236
Date: Sunday, 13 August 2000
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 236
Sunday, 13 August 2000
Topics:
Cooking Vinyl CD Single
Stupidly Happy is a bad song.
Parental Revenge
Re: Scary Music Thread
A judgement made can never bend
Destroyer; that damned 'send' button
Be vewwy, vewwy qwiet! I'm hunting wifts!
welcome back molly
Nonsuch No Bueno is Nonsense
Ape Alchemy
uncle dave gregory
Oops
ALL OF A SUDDEN
My, you people are so superstitious
Re: MP3.com & Chalkheads
I Don't Remember
Re: The Spector of Lynne
Give it up for the drummers!
Just popping in....
baby, we've got a date...
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 20:11:07 +0100 (BST) From: Rory Wilsher <rory_wilsher@yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Cooking Vinyl CD Single Message-ID: <20000811191107.24561.qmail@web1502.mail.yahoo.com> Hillians Keith Walker enquired about this: This CD single (which snuck out in the UK whilst Chalkhills was off the air in early July) contains: 1. I'm The Man Who Murdered Love 2. I'm The Man Who Murdered Love (the home demo) 3. Didn't Hurt A Bit (the home demo) Following its release it received heavy airplay on Radios one, two, three and four, frequently twice an hour. GLR, Virgin, Kiss, and all the local stations picked it up immediately and started playing it. Having entered the charts at number one, it has stayed there ever since. Britney Spears vowed to give up recording after hearing it, saying "I just can't compete". The Queen has offered AP and CM a knighthood, and Tony Blair now regularly consults AP before formulating policy. God has also called to discuss some of their previous work to find out where He's been going wrong. Some of the above is untrue. Rory "Wake Up!" Wilsher
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 16:12:09 -0400 (EDT) From: Radios In Motion <radiosinmotion@iwon.com> Subject: Stupidly Happy is a bad song. Message-ID: <383948160.966024734476.JavaMail.root@web190-iw> Supidly Happy is a bad song! I mean bad in the 70's sense of the word. Its a "cool" song. I would have to agree with those of you who feel it would be a great single. I will put it this way; my 11 month old daughter jumps out of here car seat (well, she kind of bounces in the seat belt) when the song comes on. She loves all the music I play, but 2 songs for some reason make her go nuts. Those songs are "Peaches en Regalia" by Frank Zappa and "Stupidly Happy" by XTC. Now, I don't know what methods artists use to study the effect of their music on the population, but I would suggest using babies to determine if their songs "ROCK" would be the best methodology! Oh, thanks to Mr. Coolidge for the comment about politics!
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 20:51:16 +0100 (BST) From: Rory Wilsher <rory_wilsher@yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Parental Revenge Message-ID: <20000811195116.17785.qmail@web1506.mail.yahoo.com> Hillians Mothers, eh? Who'd 'ave em? (Apart from everyone, obviously) My dear mother now suffixes everything she says with "Whaddya think to that?" It's beginning to get annoying. Serves me right for playing XTC to her, I s'pose. Rory "The song has a TITLE! And a POINT!" Wilsher
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 12:56:14 -0700 From: "Victor Rocha" <wstsidela@mediaone.net> Subject: Re: Scary Music Thread Message-ID: <004901c003ce$347c94e0$45548218@we.mediaone.net> Dearest Chalksters, my music never scared my mother. hell, she saw Sam Cooke and Little Richard in concert when she was a teen. Now looking at the people who made my music was another story. My mom hated going into room in 1975. It was covered from carpet to ceiling with posters of Kiss, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Elton John, Beatles, Slade, Eno and lots of comic book heroes. I think the androgynous look scared my mom more than the music. (MOM: Victor, what are you doing with that glitter star on your forehead? 13y/o VICTOR: what glitter star?) XTC content: I became a XTC fan during the Black Sea/ES years. I became an XTC junkie after hearing the Dukes of Stratosphere. which one did for you? Victor Rocha (Pechanga Band of Luiseoo Indians) California Indian Gaming News Los Angeles, California www.pechanga.net
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 16:55:34 -0400 From: "Todd Bernhardt" <todd.bernhardt@enterworks.com> Subject: A judgement made can never bend Message-ID: <39946846.ECF16DFB@enterworks.com> Organization: Enterworks, Inc. Hi: Kevin Diamond asked: > Which brings me to another point. I know there are a few Prog-Rockers out > there, so I must ask you: Do you agree with this guy? Are there Prog-Rock > qualities to music that I've never noticed, and is that what attracts you to > XTC? Yes. Prog, at its best, simply means smart music, IMO. Your friend's contention that "Concept Albums = Prog Rock, essentially" shows an ignorance of the genre. Yes, prog at its height (early 70s) imploded because of bloated egos and the overwrought concept albums they begat, but certain people figured out how to sidestep that problem and many are still at it today. King Crimson just released a fine album. Kevin Gilbert, God rest him, loved prog and was expert at creating prog-pop songs (check out Toy Matinee or Thud) and was even working on a compelling concept album (The Shaming of the True) at the time of his death. My favorite music is "intelligent music with balls." That is, music that rocks, and that sticks with you because it has depth. You can find this in all genres, but I think many prog fans are drawn to XTC because they fit this mold rather well. There are other prog-poppers out there, IMO -- meaning they write intelligent, melodic tunes that rock, say something and generally eschew or try to go beyond the three- or four-chord structure and simple boom-whack production values that fill the top 40 charts today -- Yazbek, Jason Falkner, Peter Gabriel immediately spring to mind. If I were at home looking at my CDs (and wasn't supposed to be working), I'm sure I could come up a much longer list. But XTC is at the top of this boy's list. Warren Butson, in a witty, intelligent and insightful post, asked: > A few people have been praising Mummer and wondering why it wasn't fancied > very much by chalkers. In my case being a fan from 1980, you must bare in > mind it followed Black Sea and English Settlement.Both albums excelled in > punch,commerciality and musicianship. <snip> > I'd be interested to know others opinions who had bought this album when it > came out and how they reacted. My love of Mummer might have to do with the fact that it was the first "new" XTC album I bought (I discovered them after ES came out ... and after they stopped touring, dammit!), but I also think the album is brilliant and chock full of progressive pop (see above). Yes, it's pastoral, but I think it's a perfectly logical progression from Black Sea --> ES --> Mummer. When you figure in their return to jangly dissonance with The Big Express, you have a very nice progression indeed. Yeah, I missed Terry on Mummer. But Pete Phipps' drumming is very good and powerful, and he was able to do things on songs like "Love on a Farmboy's Wages" and "Ladybird" that Terry frankly wouldn't have been able to do. I wouldn't call Mummer a wimpy album -- I'd say it's thoughtful. Freed from the constraints of having to reproduce the songs live, the band could come up with songs like "Deliver Us from the Elements," "Human Alchemy," "In Loving Memory of a Name", "Me and the Wind" and "Funk Pop a Roll" -- all of which IMO deliver a powerful punch, lyrically and musically. If I had to choose one XTC album, it would be this one, though I think it works best as a pair with BE, just as AVI and WS work together as a pair. I love the b-sides that were recorded around the time of that album, but hate their placement on the CD. Damn the suits at Virgin for doing that with all the CDs. And, in #233, we were treated to another RiMjob, as he reacted to Jon's post. He defended himself by quoting an earlier RiMshot: > "I don't like getting into politics much because it seems whenever that > comes into play, every hates you for one reason or another. Conservatives > hate you if you say anything that they don't agree with and liberals and > democrats are not much better because they feel everything they believe is > right." Then why do you insist on constantly bringing up politics in this forum? And if you're going to consistently make such sweeping generalizations about people -- which you've done the whole time you've been here, no matter what subject matter you're on about or what name you've called yourself while on the list -- why are you so sensitive when people call you on it? > Exactly my point, I am an "ASS" according to Mr. Jon here just because he > disagreed with me. No, he said you're an ass for "brazenly oversimplifying the US political culture," not because he disagreed with you. > I also have "distorted views of US politics" because it > differs with his view of politics. No, you have a "distorted view of US politics" because you insist on pigeonholing people into categories of your own choosing, categories based on either ignorance or laziness. The world is not black and white, Brian -- there are a lot of shades of gray out there. People would take you more seriously if you acknowledged the subtle differences between people, music, political parties and approaches, etc., instead of talking about what you hate and about what you assume other people hate. > If I make a general statement > about democrats, republicans, whatever, its based on my opinions and my > beliefs. I don't see how that makes me an "ASS." Having opinions and beliefs is easy. Responsibly airing them in public -- that is, backing them up with facts -- is harder, but helps lend credibility to your opinions and beliefs. If you believe these things, fine, that's your prerogative. But if you want us to take you seriously -- and you post often enough to this list that it sure looks like you want us to! -- then back up what you say. And I defy you to back up a statement like this, from #226: >Liberals are broken up into 2 categories. 1 category of liberals are just people who have a "Green Peace" or "Amnesty International" sticker on their Volvo or gray BMW. That pretty much sums up their feelings. They are just as conservative as George Bush but want to pretend they are the "We Are The World" generation. The other set of liberals believe that everything needs a reaction.< Sorry ... that's bullshit, pure and simple. Jon was guilty only of pointing out the obvious, because only an ass (I'd say "asshole") would seriously make a statement like that. Or perhaps you're not an ass -- maybe you're purposely trying to be inflammatory by persistently pestering us with off-topic generalizations like this. Which is it? > Wonder why I > made generalizations about conservatives and liberals hating someone for > stating their opinion! Me, too. BTW, what do moderates think of people who state their opinion? You haven't blessed us with your informed opinion on this yet. To the rest of the readers, if you've gotten this far: I'm sorry for trying to put out this particular fire with gasoline -- but fire is the devil's only friend, you know. To paraphrase John Goodman in "The Big Lebowski" -- Shut the fuck up, Brian. -Todd "Fuck it, Dude, let's go bowling" Bernhardt
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 16:18:32 CDT From: "Megan Heller" <hellerm@hotmail.com> Subject: Destroyer; that damned 'send' button Message-ID: <F267AilxR1ATr4LhnD500010b95@hotmail.com> Today my best friend read a review on pitchforkkmedia.com of an album called "Thief" by a band called Destroyer. The reviewer said the following: "If you're anything like me, you've probably stayed up late many a night wondering what the bastard offspring of David Bowie and Robyn Hitchcock might sound like. [...] Of course, this particular hybrid isn't perfect. At his best, frontman Daniel Bejar sounds like Robyn Hitchcock singing David Bowie songs with Guided by Voices lyrics. At his worst... well, at his worst he sounds exactly the same, only worse." Has anyone heard them? Any further comment on the review? In other news... I kind of regret a post I sent last night. I was a bit pissy. My apologies to any offended. (Although I don't regret the etiquette bit. I just know that my diction was, well, crap.) m.
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 00:20:34 EDT From: KINGSTUNES@aol.com Subject: Be vewwy, vewwy qwiet! I'm hunting wifts! Message-ID: <b0.8ebe650.26c62a92@aol.com> Chalklisters, >The following paragraphs are excerpted from the Chalkhills posting >guidelines: Etc, etc, etc. I CAN'T DRIVE 55!!!!! (sorry for yelling.) *********** Oh, and Hawwison Shewwood is a vewwy, vewwy funny man. Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh! (You bwillliant bastawd!) "I'm stewpwidly happwy...." "Make more laws and and you make more criminals." Woody Guthrie Tom K
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 22:10:51 -0700 (PDT) From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com> Subject: welcome back molly Message-ID: <20000812051051.20100.qmail@web2105.mail.yahoo.com> Molly re-joined and delurked to post: Okay here are some artists I won't give up on: Okay here are some comments on artists you won't give up on: Kate Bush (I hope she releases more stuff soon, been waiting for about eight years for her next release) Me too-she is so great! I discovered her on a sunny spring day when a friend popped Hounds of Love in to his car's tape deck during a 1 1/2 hour ride. That album sill reminds me of sunny Spring days. Squeeze (I think I might the only Squeeze fan who actually LIKED Domino) I kind of lost interest after that god-awful Difford & Tilbrook lp back in the early '80's. Never picked up on them after that. Love all their records up until that point. Duran Duran (ducks the flying tomatoes) Here comes a big juicy overripe one! Make it two-the second is for that album of covers they did a few years ago. 911 is a Joke? what the Hell were they thinking? XTC (of course) of course. I managed to survive the disappointing Nonsuch and a 7 year wait for the brilliant breathtaking AV1, so i figure i'll never give up on 'em. Suzanne Vega (she's a great artist) Love her too! She's supposed to be doing another folky album-moving away from the more rock-oriented music of her last couple records. Apperantly she's been touring Europe trying out new material. The Bangles (again ducking the flying tomatoes) No tomatoes. 'All Over the Place' is fucking GREAT! Don't believe me? Buy it and find out for yourself! I never give up on: Elvis Costello (enen though he's let me down a few times) Tom Waits (Ditto. Contrary to popular opinion, I found 'Mule Variations' disappointing) k.d. lang (Her new one's pretty good, a little fluffy for my taste. 'Drag' is awesome, and sadly is under- appreciated.
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 17:43:01 +0900 From: "John Boudreau" <aso1@mocha.ocn.ne.jp> Subject: Nonsuch No Bueno is Nonsense Message-ID: <000101c00469$cd1bc400$7a5791d2@oemcomputer> all , excuse brevity ... just got back from a 30 km bike ride half of which consisted of uphill mountain road trekking and am now enjoying a cold lager and NONSUCH while the Panasonic fan blows cool air on my hot body ... NONSUCH is my favorite XTC album . THERE - I said it . And it ain't only because Dave Mattacks is on the skins . I dig every song including the often attacked Smartest Monkeys and War Dance . Pure bliss . Sip sip sip ... ahhhh .... Sushiman
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 23:33:31 EDT From: WTDK@aol.com Subject: Ape Alchemy Message-ID: <67.8299b45.26c61f8b@aol.com> > RP (with apologies for inevitably bringing chuck heston's crew into this) Speaking of Chuck--Planet of the Apes just came out on DVD. Now you know at some point someone will want to make this into a musical. In fact I'm seeing a pattern here! It appears as if both guys were inspired by the movie to write some of their most memorable songs! Of course they were altered after the fact. Since they seem to be related I propose Andy and Colin start work right away. This could be the next Le Miz or Phantom! some song title suggestions: 25 O'CLOCK/WE'RE ALL LIGHT WAKE UP WHAT IN THE WORLD? PROCESSION TOWARDS LEARNING LAND RIVER OF ORCHIDS FRUIT NUT APE FROM THE MINISTRY IT'S NEARLY AFRICA NO LANGUAGE IN OUR LUNGS SHINY CAGE BALL & CHAIN SCARECROW SIMIANS MY TAYLOR PERFORMS I'M THE MAN WHO MURDERED LANDON SMARTEST MONKEYS MAKING PLANS FOR TAYLOR APEMAN (ADAPTING BOTH GREENMAN AND THE KINKS CLASSIC INTO ONE) THIS WORLD OVER ACROSS THIS ANTHEAP POOR HUMANOID STATUE OF LIBERTY I REMEMBER THE SUN DEAR GOD ALL OF A SUDDEN Chuck can make a cameo but I'd suggest Dennis Miller for the lead role. Roseanne would embody the role of the mute woman Nova. What a cast! It'll be a show for the ages!...... Reeling from the possibilities Wayne
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 23:50:35 +0100 From: davebancroft@cwctv.net Subject: uncle dave gregory Message-ID: <02a773446220b80DTVMAIL11@smtp.cwctv.net> now can someone shed light on his livegigs with blondie,wherewhen etc.bet he was ace kind regards, DAVE
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 18:49:29 EDT From: MFanton00@cs.com Subject: Oops Message-ID: <c1.5f4493a.26c5dcf9@cs.com> In my post about Parents I said my mom liking Patti Smyth, I meant Patti Smith. I don't even think my mom knows who Patty Smyth is. :) Molly Molly's Pages: http://wMww.angelfire.com/mn/mollyfa99/index.html Please e-mail me at: mfanton99@yahoo.com eVoice #: 88321880
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 23:56:48 +0100 From: davebancroft@cwctv.net Subject: ALL OF A SUDDEN Message-ID: <02bcf4652220b80DTVMAIL11@smtp.cwctv.net> nobody has mentioned this wonderful track.any fans like this? kind regards, DAVE
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 09:58:05 -0500 From: "Joe Funk" <twosheds@mindspring.com> Subject: My, you people are so superstitious Message-ID: <008f01c0046d$bbed2080$7721fea9@user> Greetings! Chalklings!!! I don't have a sure-fire dialog that I use to describe XTC to someone... But the following adjectives would be useful: "Springlike, Trippy, Acerbic, Manic, Tense/Anxious, Quirky, Cerebral, Sophisticated, Elegant, Wry" Harrison, Thanks for your "Fudlian" description of "Stupidly Happy"!!! Masterful!! I laughed till I stopped!! Joe "It's just this little chromium switch here" Funk
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 12:34:06 +1000 From: "Dracon" <cliff@mullum.com.au> Subject: Re: MP3.com & Chalkheads Message-ID: <000a01c00405$c9e74b60$290ffea9@dracon> > Hey great idea to have a section on MP3.com dedicated to Xtc fans music > (Chalkheads). Hehe, we can all do covers of XTC songs. I've been practising 'Books are Burning' on my Acoustic Guitar. Mind you, I can't do the spiffy guitar solo at the end, but I've got the chords nutted out. Or we can do XTC tribute songs, I started writing a song called "Chalkhills and Branson", but I haven't gotten around to putting much effort into it.
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 10:28:04 +0900 From: "John Boudreau" <aso1@mocha.ocn.ne.jp> Subject: I Don't Remember Message-ID: <000801c003fe$9e594180$6b5791d2@oemcomputer> >has anyone heard a pete gabrial track called I >DONT REMEMBER with our >dave in fine form on it? >>NOW we're getting somewhere! And a good one! >>I don't have all of Gabriel's >>albums. I had NO idea Gregory was on any. >>Who's got this one? I bought the album as soon as it came out back in good old 1980 . I have the USA Mercury record ( entitled "Peter Gabriel " , w/ melting face cover ) and there are no credits listed . This is one of Gabe's best albums and I heartily recommend it . Sushiman
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 18:01:19 EDT From: WTDK@aol.com Subject: Re: The Spector of Lynne Message-ID: <31.8bb0daa.26c5d1af@aol.com> Dave said-- > Well, I like 'em too, Wayne and they both received unnecessary slagging > at the time. Lennon may have written better songs, but he wrote worse > too and I don't think that there's been too many songs in the charts > since that are as melodic as either. As for Jeff Lynne, I didn't think > he did that bad a job, perhaps there was a little of the Phil Spector > over-the-top production, but George and John in particular always liked > that, You're right! Lynne's production is very Spectorish. That's probably why it seemed a bit too much when it was first released. I suppose the part that bothered me most was the big production in contrast to John's rough sounding demos. Then again, there was no other way to do it, was there? By the way, Jeff Lynne sings backing vocals on Free. George talked Paul into letting Lynne sing on it (it had always been his fantasy along with millions of other musicians...). I would have been interested in how Martin would have tackled the production. Although there was a characteristic Martin "sound" it's a lot more subtle than Lynne's (and it actually fit the Beatles sound perfectly). Nevertheless, Lynne does a good job of combining Martin's approach along with his own. I felt that Lynne's (and still do) production fit Free much better than Real Love. >>Just played Ringo Starr's Blast From the Past. Photograph is an excellent piece of pop. It Don't Come Easy, Back Off Boogalloo and You're Sixteen << Ringo's Ringo album has all of those tracks and the sound quality is quite a bit better (well, Back Off Boogaloo is on the follow up album) Although I quite liked Andy's guitar playing on Wasp Star, I though we should start nominating guest guitarist for the next album. My choice would be the current King of the 12 String Marty Willson-Piper. As for keyboards I'd recommend Ben Folds. >>A few people have been praising Mummer and wondering why it wasn't fancied very much by chalkers. In my case being a fan from 1980, you must bare in mind it followed Black Sea and English Settlement.Both albums excelled in punch,commerciality and musicianship. << As I mentioned I love parts of Mummer. I'd like to see whether or not a remix/remastered job would bring a little more color to the production (which sounds a bit sterile to me. That's my only complaint about parts of Wasp Star as well although the songwriting is a bit more consistent). I'd agree about the b sides being better than a lot of the album tracks. A stronger producer would probably have helped. One more point about Napster that I forgot to put in my little bit in my last post. I agree with alot of Dunk's points in the article that John so kindly put up. I would like to see some form of Napster that is artist friendly and allow artist's to make rare or bootlegged tracks available to fans. Later days & happy trails! Wayne
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 21:56:48 -0400 (EDT) From: Radios In Motion <radiosinmotion@iwon.com> Subject: Give it up for the drummers! Message-ID: <385099323.966045414956.JavaMail.root@web184-iw> Now, I like lots of music. I like Hip-Hop as I stated, I like industrial, rock, new wave, punk, pop and all the other terms people put on music. I love Jazz, blues and reggae, ska, classical, all the music you can think of. I will say this though. When it comes to drums, I like them loud. I mean, I personally use a drum machine, and I like a lot of music that uses drum machines or synths for their drums, but nothing beats a real, live, kick ass drummer. When it comes to people like Martin Chambers, Johnny Vatos, Terry Chambers, David Lovering and drummers that just beat the shit out of the drums, well, to me, that is what really gets the blood flowing. There are so many other drummers I could think of, but these are just a few that come to mind right now. Oh, the drummer(s) on Wasp Star are good, don't get me wrong. But come on, they don't pound the drums like a lunatic hitting the walls in his rubber room. To me, that is the stuff that really makes the music rock.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 20:55:16 -0400 From: "Cheryl" <mcgregoc@mindspring.com> Subject: Just popping in.... Message-ID: <000b01c003f7$fbdf6160$aa02f7a5@com> Hello everyone, I have been trying to keep up with the 'hills but I've been working so much and just plain out of the house... As much as I have been enjoying Wasp Star, suddenly I have had this craving for...Skylarking. And I have been listening to it constantly. Can't seem to get enough of it! I guess because I see it as the ultimate summer album... Just wondered if anyone else has had a craving for this album at this time. Watching as new hairdos crumble, Cheryl
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 16:14:29 -0700 From: "Wes Hanks" <whanks1@earthlink.net> Subject: baby, we've got a date... Message-ID: <000b01c003ea$1c80af40$fbd0bfa8@default> Chirren... As its a beautiful day out, and I'm not at work, how about this glass marble dropped in an empty oil drum: What was the worst 'date' concert you've ever attended? Now, not worst concert, not concert where the artist disappointed you, but a concert you attended primarily to please another and was an evening of deeeep hurting. The concert that still produces PTSD in me is Jackson Browne at the height of his popularity in circa 1979. I did not marry her. Wes "oh cool, this is where the keyboard player sings falsetto during 'Stay'...aaaaahhhhhhh, aaaaahhhh, mother!!" Hanks
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