Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 240
Date: Wednesday, 16 August 2000

         Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 240

                Wednesday, 16 August 2000

Topics:

                      Face the Music
               RE: Greetings from Singapore
                        A 12" CD?
                    Endless Skylarking
          So, you've never heard XTC, eh? He he!
                      Dale Fairbrass
                     Inviting Ecstacy
                  Flying Green Tomatoes
                       Older women
                           Low
                  Damn Fine Tube Advice
                        Emo & Andy
                     hands to heaven
             Who *is* Colin Moulding really?
                Eel Mail Out of Date Post
                    Lounging in Austin
              old threads that will not die

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Some people are dying for the right to say.

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

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 22:29:03 EDT
From: Stroo@aol.com
Subject: Face the Music
Message-ID: <76.220e01f.26ca04ef@aol.com>

David Seddon wrote:

>>I also have a weakness for ELO's song Can't Get It Out of My Head (it's
aptly titled) and parts of Face the Music.

I thought Face the Music was a great album, with Poker being a classic.  And
I agree with Can't Get It Out of My Head.  I'll also toss in Night in the
City from Out of the Blue.

Bob

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 04:32:58 +0100
From: "Smith, David" <David.Smith@tfeurope.com>
Subject: RE: Greetings from Singapore
Message-ID: <4BBE67B71C1DD411A23600508B65F71E51AF3D@tfsecmsg04.tfseur.co.uk>

Hey!

It's Tuesday, therefore it must be Singapore. Spent a jetlagged
Monday evening going through a bunch of Chalkhills and found
some respones I wanted to make. Like I say, I'm jetlagged, so
these will make even less sense than usual . . .

Wes . . ."How 'bout hittin' me with a couple of songs or albums
that you like but are embarrassed to admit to liking"

Oh . . . like thanks . . . A LOT! Well, here goes, how 'bout:

Going For The One - Yes (har har, prog head!)
War of The Worlds - Jeff Wayne (and his cast of idiots)
Kings of the Wild Frontier - Adam & The Ants (what does Dirk wear?)

and, on the singles front:

Lorraine - Bad Manners (when I find her, I'm gonna kill 'er)

***
Harrison asked "what exactly was it again that distinguishes Moby
from a contemptible little sack of shit?"

Errrrm, you can't move shit with a pitchfork?

***

Keith Walker informed us all about his failure to secure a copy
of the Gormenghast trilogy. Keith, have you tried Amazon or
one of the other online book stores?

If no luck, mail me offline and we'll work on a different solution,
maybe even a "transatlantic lend". Unless someone else stateside
has copies at their disposal?

***

Amy N mentioned Peter Gabriel's melting face album. Agreed Amy,
a true classic. At the wrong time and in the right light, the ending
to Family Snapshot has been known to leave me all a-blub. (It's me
feminine side, know what I mean?)

Also on this thread, Jeff Eason said: "If you listen closely to the album
you'll notice that it uses all manner of percussion except very little
cymbals"

That's cos there weren't any on the album. Our old mate Phil Collins hit
the skins on a few of the tracks on the album, and has said in many an
interview that the hardest part of it was walking into the studio as PG was
removing every cymbal from his kit.

It worked though - and if you listen to subsequent early PC stuff, he
carried on with the same trick. There's no coincidence in the similarity
between "Intruder" and "No Self Control" and "In The Air Tonight"

***
Ryan Anthony . . . Kate Jackson . . . phwoooar!

****

I'll add my (considerable) wieght to the support of World Party. Karl
Wallinger is another "great lost songwriter" - although he's patchier
than Andy IMO.

Loved Bang - and he even scored a minor chart placing in the UK with
"All I Gave". Surprising then that he now seems to be marginalised.
Probably because a lot of his songs require the listener to THINK - and
we all know how unfashionable that is right?

****

Warren Butson said of "Mummer":

"I'd be interested to know others opinions who had bought this album when it
came out and how they reacted."

Well, as I've said before, it was Mummer that turned me on to XTC - the
first XTC album I got. As ever, it was a "grower" (maybe it was the
pastoral lyrics?)  but I came to love it very quickly.

Therefore, Mummer shaped my subsequent appreciation of the boys - I have a
massive fondness for the songs often described as "mediaeval, pastoral and
quintessentially English".

I still look upon Mummer like a first kiss - nothing quite matches it.

****
Dorothy Spirito said of Al Stewart: "Music to relax on the sofa by, when
the rain is pouring or the winter wind is howling."

Errr, sorry, Mummer again for me!

****
Randy Hiatt . . . .Bjork . . . hot . . . is it just me . . . ?

Errrr, if you were in my house, yes! Can't stand the pretentious little
shrew.
Bjeeeuurkkk!

Still, each to their wotsits and all that.

Oh . . . and that Mac problem? Get a bloody PC! That's a joke, look, lot's
of smiley faces to prove it:

:-)  :-)  :-)   :-)

****

Tyler Hewitt said of Squeeze:

"I kind of lost interest after that god-awful Difford &
Tilbrook lp back in the early '80's"

D'oh, I love that album! I also think "Cosi fan Tutti Frutti" is an absolute
peach.

Oh and "disappointing Nonsuch". Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Oh well, opinions, tastes and all that . . .

****
Wes (again!): "a concert you attended primarily to please another and
was an evening of deeeep hurting."

Easy, Simply Red, Hammersmith Odeon, 1987. Was dragged along by a
girl I was mad about at the time. Talk about holding back the tears!

****
David Seddon said re ELO: "I've always had a feeling that they might come
back into fashion a bit like Abba"

Always been my fervent wish David, but with those haircuts????

***
Worst rhyme (with apologies to Michael Versaci):

"It's no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabakov"

Oh look, Sting, again, already!

****

You can let go of the Page Down button now. Laters . . .

Smudge  "You may not like us now but you will" boy
E-Mail: david.smith@tfeurope.com

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 05:21:11 +0100
From: "Smith, David" <David.Smith@tfeurope.com>
Subject: A 12" CD?
Message-ID: <4BBE67B71C1DD411A23600508B65F71E51AF3E@tfsecmsg04.tfseur.co.uk>

Errrrrm, just how much artistic licence can I take with this
"making a cassette of XTC stuff to introduce a friend"
thingy? Lots? Lovely, thanks . . .

How 'bout a special 2-CD disk? Good, thanks, here goes:

Disk One
1.	Garden of Earthly Delights
2.	Playground
3.	Great Fire
4.	Making Plans for Nigel
5.	Peter Pumpkinhead
6.	Knights In Shining Karma
7.	Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her
8.	Jump
9.	Then She Appeared
10.	Books Are Burning

(Special section entitled "Construction and Demolition"):
11.	Statue of Liberty
12.	Towers of London
13.	Ball & Chain
14.	Across This Antheap
15.	Bungalow

Disk Two
1.	Respectable Street
2.	Scarecrow People
3.	Senses Working Overtime
4.	Funk Pop a Roll
5.	No Thugs In Our House
6.	No Language In Our Lungs
7.	Burning With Optimisms Flames
8.	Rocket From a Bottle

(Special section entitled "Life in The Country"):
9.	Love on a Farmboy's Wages
10.	Greenman
11.	Harvest Festival
12.	Easter Theatre
13.	Wheel & Maypole
14.	Rook
15.	Me & The Wind
16.	Chalkhills & Children

Oh, and did I mention the "special bonus mini CD", entitled
"Up Up and Away"?
1.	Bike Ride To The Moon
2.	My Love Explodes
3.	What In The World
4.	Your Gold Dress
5.	Vanishing Girl
6.	Collideascope
7.	You're My Drug

Yes, yes, yes, I know, alright?

Smudge "that WAS the narrowed down list" Boy
E-Mail: david.smith@tfeurope.com

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

Date: 14 Aug 00 23:46:56 CDT
From: C C Baxter <cutterccbaxter@netscape.net>
Subject: Endless Skylarking
Message-ID: <20000815044656.3115.qmail@www0f.netaddress.usa.net>

>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.

I've been listening to it a lot lately too.  The other night we had a big
midwestern thunderstorm.  Most of the time I enjoy the sound of rain and
thunder on it's own, but I had the urge to listen to "Ballet for a Rainy Day"
and "1000 Umbrellas" with thunder rumbling in the background (and sometimes
foreground), so I put on "Skylarking."

Definitely a summer album.

Todd "no bummer in my summer" Johnson

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 00:53:42 EDT
From: KINGSTUNES@aol.com
Subject: So, you've never heard XTC, eh? He he!
Message-ID: <b6.9498883.26ca26d6@aol.com>

Chalky types,

Here's my introductory CD for the virgin listener.  This should fit on a 74
min. CD.
The final cuts were excrutiating!  I'm going to try it on some folks.  Let's
see if we get some recruits!

In this order:

Wake Up
Mayor of Simpleton
Respectable Street
Generals & Majors (gotta do those two together!)
I'd Like That
Easter Theater
The Disappointed
Making Plans for Nigel
Church of Women
Love on a Farmboy's Wages
Playground
King for a Day
Senses Working Overtime
Towers of London
Wrapped in Grey
Earn Enough for Us
Sacrificial Bonfire
Chalkhills and Children

And batting leadoff, No. 17, Colin Moulding.....

It's tough to edit something like this!  Try it!  I had to cut stuff like No
Language in our Lungs, Greenman, We're all Light, Great Fire, Jason ATA,
Grass, The Man Who Sailed Around his Soul, the Dukes and so on.  I was going
for catchy, obviously, but trying to keep some 'edge' and coveras much ground
as possible.   Anyone else trying this?  Curious to see.
BTW, about half of the CD's have no track times.  The trick I used was to que
up the next cut, then scan back to the end of the tune I wanted to get the
readout of the time.

Also, as I was scanning through O & L, I was remembering what a great f***ing
album that is!!  I may be in a minority here, but I think that O & L and
Nonsuch are really companion records.  I think you could interchange a fair
number of the tunes between them, and it would work.  But then again, I like
the Iron Butterfly.......

Tom "This better work, dammit!" Kingston

"90% of the game is half-mental" - Casey Stengel

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

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 23:11:37 -0600
From: Phil Corless <philco@micron.net>
Subject: Dale Fairbrass
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20000814231137.00a65560@pophost.micron.net>

Sorry to use Chalkhills for this, but.... If anyone knows
fellow Chalkhiller Dale Fairbrass, please ask him to email
me about his Chalk Horse hat order.

Thanks!

- Phil

http://netnow.micron.net/~philco/chalk.htm

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

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 23:22:07 -0600
From: "Joseph Easter" <easter2000@earthlink.net>
Subject: Inviting Ecstacy
Message-ID: <003101c00678$c298a640$bf730a3f@default>

OK, just a couple of notes before I get back to my normal venue of
nonsuch...

I'm shocked to see so many Kate Bush fans here. Noone has dogged her yet so
I'm assuming there's quite a few more. I think she's had a great career but
that the Red Shoes thing was massively overproduced. Seemed sort of
corporate. Only 3 tracks that do it for me. Anxiously awaiting something new
but will be content with bjork and suzanne vega in the meantime...

More importantly...

So, I'm one of the jerks that likes Mummer much more than ES or BE. And I've
got a question of those of you who swear by ES. If this is your favorite
album (ES), then what do you find compelling in the current work? What
similiarities still float your proverbial boats? Personally, I tend to
seperate xtc's work into pre-skylarking and post-skylarking material.
(Post-S being far more inspirational to me) And so I find it interesting
that so many of you old timers are hooked on the vintage stuff. (no offense
intended) Don't get me wrong, I like the albums, but they don't just hammer
me the way, say, Oranges and Lemons does, or how AV1 still just does it for
me. I wonder if you guys are ever in any way, dissapointed?

By the by, Can anyone say for certain if we will ever see the Dukes again?
Are they gone for good, or merely planning another attack? Someone help, I
need more Dukes!

Back to the show (grab yo' Cracker Jacks, stretch!)...

Joseph Easter

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

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 07:35:53 -0500
From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net>
Subject: Flying Green Tomatoes
Message-ID: <l03130302b5bd96ef1493@[208.13.202.14]>

>Kate Bush (I hope she releases more stuff soon, been waiting for about eight
>years for her next release)
>Squeeze (I think I might the only Squeeze fan who actually LIKED Domino)
>Duran Duran (ducks the flying tomatoes)
>XTC (of course)
>Suzanne Vega (she's a great artist)
>The Bangles (again ducking the flying tomatoes)
>
>Molly

  The Bangles first EP and album were great, and most of the songs that
weren't hits from the subsequent two albums were only slightly less great.
Don't sell the Bangles too short just because they visited the hairdresser
and began relying too much on Susanna Hoffs.(who was and still is
babilicious, but there were three other talented people in the band who all
wrote and sang)As for Duran Duran, their last album was actually somewhat
experimental and rather interesting. It also had no obvious singles and
didn't sell squat, even my wife the serious Duran Duran fan didn't get it.
I liked it more than she did.

Christopher R. Coolidge

Homepage at
http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html

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

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 06:56:45 -0500
From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net>
Subject: Older women
Message-ID: <l03130300b5bd8978eabd@[208.13.202.14]>

>Someone else mentioned older women one lusts after.
>Okay, I guess I'm in. We're all anonymous here, right?
>(Oops, I'm not.) Senior to Emmylou are Diana Rigg and
>Lauren Bacall -- can I get an A-men? Junior names on
>the list include Kate Jackson and Sela Ward, who
>barely beat me out of the womb.
>
>They're all aging like fine cheeeeeze, Gromit.

  My uncle just married a major babe in her mid-forties(after losing the
aunt I knew growing up to brain cancer a few years ago; like most of us
emotionally fragile guys, he got lonely), but considering his first wife
got to be ogled by Henry Fonda(a story in itself), I got to admire his
taste in women in general. As for aging female musicians, I wouldn't kick
Lucinda Williams out of bed, myself. I definitely agree about Emmylou, my
cousin Angelica is about the same age and dispensed with the hair dye, but
she still looks great. Eventually when we're all eighty we get old and
wrinkled, but I'm all for natural beauty and aging interestingly on the
way. And I wish someone would tell the fat and unhappy Linda Ronstadt that
she's still got her voice.(I heard something recently about her chickening
out on a performance with Emmylou because she didn't like the way she
looked. Please. Patti Smith has never been about her looks, and I think she
looks better in her fifties than she ever did. Qitcher bitching, Linda, and
go out there and sing.)

Christopher R. Coolidge

"A Great law protects me from the government. The Bill of rights has
10 GREAT laws.  A Good law protects me from you.  Laws against murder,
theft, assault and the like are good laws.  A Poor law attempts to
protect me from myself."  - Unknown

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 07:40:24 -0400
From: "Brian" <mattone@bhip.infi.net>
Subject: Low
Message-ID: <009001c006ad$9d1e6e60$3d0affd1@Brian>

Tschalkgerz!

Lyric quote from the latest Chalkhills Digest:

> Is the airplane sweeping low?<

WEIRD!!

On the same day - heck, the same e-mail reading session - I get a message
from a friend with a couple of photos (that are purported to be genuine) of
Air France 747s flying in on low approaches to Juliana Airport (St. Martin
Island), and they are so low over the beach that the end of the runway butts
up against that you could probably chuck seashells at the things as you
sunbathe...

Is the airplane sweeping low?

If these are real pictures, they are.
Wish I could include them.

Personally, I think the pictures stand a good chance of being bogus, but
they're a pretty good hoax if so.

That's as close to on-topic as I can get for now. Just an interesting
juxtaposition of events...

Ciao for niao!

-Brian Matthews

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 06:41:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jon Rosenberger <wile1coyote@yahoo.com>
Subject: Damn Fine Tube Advice
Message-ID: <20000815134148.15536.qmail@web125.yahoomail.com>

Hey, Todd's recent post got me thinking and I was curious and I figured
someone here would know....

Has there ever been a band called "Mind The Gap"?

Cheers

Mole

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 10:33:05 EDT
From: MFanton00@cs.com
Subject: Emo & Andy
Message-ID: <48.99bb9d1.26caaea1@cs.com>

Christopher R. Coolidge wrote:
<< some of which he undoubtedly had
 something to do with inviting on the show(Emo Philips has a role on UHF,
 his late 80's cult movie). Something tells me he and Andy would be a better
 mix than that idiot who was hosting the week that Andy was on >>

Yeah, Emo Phillips and Andy would be great.  Andy would be sing and Emo could
be the stand up.  :)

Molly

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 08:39:51 -0600
From: "Joseph Easter" <easter2000@earthlink.net>
Subject: hands to heaven
Message-ID: <000501c006c6$c97bd100$a6821c3f@default>

Part Deux:

Colin Moulding: Hand me that Molotov Cocktail, Joseph! I've got a good shot
of Tipper! Censor this, skank!

Joseph Easter: Colin, remember what we talked about, channeling your hate?

CM: Just one more, this is so much fun...

JE OK, but save it for the minority whip.

CM (mumbling and seemingly going into a type of trance.) I'll show that
Partridge who's really in control. There wouldn't even be an xtc if not for
me. Who do you think actually wrote Nigel? And he had to go and ruin it by
putting all those howling background moans behind my vocals. I was so angry.
If I hadn't written that, I'd never be in this mess today. All my good work
stolen. Nothing but old age in front of me.

JE: That's nonsense, Colin. You're still a young lad. You're talented and
have years of royalties ahead of you.

CM You don't understand. There's only one way out. The way Andy dealt with
Dave. Murther...

JE Murther? What's that?

CM Same thing as murder but usually involves poison in the ear, on the
sword, et cetera...

JE Are you telling me Andy killed Dave?

CM Yes. And after he got rid of the body, he has been filling in for Dave.
I'm serious, he's a psychopath. He's got so many alter-egos he has to write
down on his arm who he's pretending to be today.

JE I find this hard to believe, Colin. I always thought Andy was kind of a
hippie.

CM A brilliant ruse. He duped you. I told you about LadyBird being about the
First Lady of yesteryear, right? ( I nod) Well, Andy is pathological, I
swear. He's staunchly Republican, very homophobic and extremely irritable if
you don't go along with him. There's only one way, and that's murther.

JE Hey, Andy can be a nice guy too. I think this is really extreme. I mean,
he wrote that song about that Chalker, remember?

CM What are you talking about?

JE He wrote The Mole from the Ministry about that Chalker, right? Uh, right?

CM  (pause) Joseph, why do you think we're here at the Democratic Nat'l
Convention? Who do you think the President really is? Who would have been
stupid enough to get caught doing the unspeakable? This is all a game to
him. I have to stop him. I have to, I have to...Are you recording this? You
bastard-

After that, Colin pummeled me and left me unconscious on the Sunset Strip
wearing an Old Navy halter top. This is just a warning. If he comes to your
house, do not let him in. He's dangerous now and can't be stopped. It may be
too late for him, but there is still hope for us...

Why would I lie? JE

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 09:31:33 -0500
From: Jill Oleson <Jill_Oleson@kurion.com>
Subject: Who *is* Colin Moulding really?
Message-ID: <81CC73FC2FACD311A2D200508B8B88AA1C9058@KURION_EXCH>

Dear Chalkers,

Here's a story that perhaps will surprise
Richard Pedretti-Allen most of all.

I just got back from a cross-country car trip from
Texas to New York (and back!) with my sister and her
kids, plus my mom. Altogether we had three adults
and five children (three of whom are still in diapers).

I took a few CDs with me to relieve the monotony of
traveling over 3,000 miles in a cramped car. The selection
included an XTC rarity featuring Colin Moulding as narrator
for this *promotional use only" disc. As I understand it,
the promotional company that released this treasure,
Progressive Quarterback, sends discs like this to radio
stations to get them to play the music that they promote.

Because I know how you people are, here is the track
listing for the CD:

1.  XTC, "I'd Like That"
2.  Furslide, "Love Song"
3.  Glenn Scott, "Heaven"
4.  Vic Chesnutt, "Until the Led"
5.  Joe Henry, "Skin and Teeth"
6.  Dar Williams, "Play the Greed"
7.  Michelle Lewis, "Homesick"
8.  Tal Bachman, "She's So High"
9.  Ani DiFranco, "Angry Anymore"
10. Love Dogs, "Lock You Up"
11. Kelly Willis, "Take Me Down"
12. Eagle-Eye Cherry, "Falling in Love"

Colin speaks a few words at the beginning of the CD
and after each third track. He also says a few words
at the end of the CD.

Here's what Colin says to introduce the music:

   "This is FMQB's Progressions 41, new music for
   progressive adult radio. I'm Colin Moulding from
   English group XTC. I'm going to be playing you
   some music from various artists, not least of all
   XTC themselves. This is a track from our latest
   album "Apple Venus." It's called "I'd Like That,"
   which incidentally was recorded in my hallway at
   home.  Not bad, eh?"

So, imagine, I'm in this car for a two-week eternity and
because my sister really likes the song "She's So High,"
we listen to this CD over and over again. With each repeat
spin of the disc, more and more people in the car are
singing along. As we neared our destination, every person
in the car knows nearly every word uttered on this small
round platter.

So when Colin introduces the album for the umpteenth time,
the kids start saying "I'm Colin Moulding from the band XTC"
in their best Texan/British accents. These kids are from
Houston and they tend to pronounce words with an extra
syllable or two, like ho-tay-yell, for hotel, and so on.
So you can just imagine how they sounded imitating Colin.
Very cute!

So they repeat this every time the disc repeats.
"I'm Colin Moulding from the band XTC. I'm Colin Moulding!"

When we take a break for lunch the kids are still saying
"I'm Colin Moulding.  I'm Colin Moulding," except for the
two year old, who says "I'm Coddin Moldin, I'm Coddin Moldin,"
because he's still using a pacifier.

The kids, being somewhat competitive in nature, soon changed
the tone of this simple statement to accentuate the first
word.  " *I'm* Colin Moulding." To which the others would
respond, "No, you're not! *I'm* Colin Moulding!"

Naturally, by the next day, their game had switched to
"I'm *not* Colin Moulding, YOU are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

Ah kids!

Now I'm in a car where nearly everyone is a Texan
Colin Moulding and the eldest kid just keeps repeating:
"Colin Moulding, Colin Moulding, Colin Moulding,
Colin Moulding, Colin Moulding, Colin Moulding..."
just to see how far she can push it.

She asks to see the CD and looks at the familiar picture of
Colin and Andy in front of a blue wall with a faded and torn
American flag in the background.  "Which one is Colin?,"
she asks.

"The one with the great hair," I reply.

"So, the other one is Andy?," she asks.

"Yes," I answer with a nod.

"Is he the potato?"

"Yes, honey," I reply. "He's the potato..."

I'm sure that some of you Chalkers are thinking that
I've made this whole story up, but I assure you it is
entirely true. The reason I said in the beginning that
Richard Pedretti-Allen would be surprised by it, is that
I had just finished telling him it was too hot to visit
him in his new house in the Dallas area (an easy half-day's
drive from Austin), when I made up my mind to drive for
two weeks to New York and back to Texas!

It was a long, long trip, and thankfully Colin Moulding
and his Potato Friend came along for entertainment.
We shall never forget you!  (And now I know what to get
that two year old for Christmas...)

Jill Oleson
Austin, Texas

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 17:39:07 -0500
From: chris vreeland <vreecave@realtime.com>
Subject: Eel Mail Out of Date Post
Message-ID: <3999C68A.57A30F6A@realtime.com>

Some of this is kind-of on topic.
The durn job keeps me from being able to post in a timely fashion,
so if I post at all, it's usually out of date.
Deal, okay?

MISHEARD LYRICS:

I spent years and years trying to make sense at all out of that Pink
Floyd song about small furry animals- until I found out that a Pict is a
person who speaks Pictish, which sounds just like english, only it's
totally unintelligible (unless you're a Pict-duh). At the end of a very
emotional outburst of gibberish, the Pict finally utters something I
think I can make out- "...And the wind, Craig."  Who's Craig?

In the spirit of the mythical Craig, I offer a contest: A free
"surprise" CD-R of some rare something to the first person to correctly
identify all the songs from which the following 11 mis-heard lyrics
originate:
(eel mail me off list)

1.The owl is a boot, has the devil put a sack on me

2.Jupiter and Saturn, overrun your lantern, and to tie you.

3.As if I'd never noticed the way she brushed her hair beneath the
fork-lift

4.Hey whoopie cat

5.When I whispered "inner ear" I lost another friend

6.Some people cry, and some people die from a weekend away from love

7.One Daddy woman, never bargained for you

8.Clean them rocks

9.Don't you know, we'll impale you up on time's pike

10.I've got the big stick if you'll excite its head

11.If I can call you Kitty, Then Kitty when you call me, You can call
"Meow."

Band Names:

The following is a complete list of bands I at least rehearsed with:
(In chronological order, from 7th grade) Like you care.
Phydeaux
Flashing Electric Pumpkin
H-Bomb
Avatar
The Jets
Acme Rock Music
Friction City
Buster Harper and the Law
The Zone
Groovy Planet
Plaster of Houston
The Beat Meters
The Whores
Atomic Energy Commission
Hurlo Thrumbo
She-It
Kathy and the Kilowatts
Fever
Kid Stuff
The Fax

I was actually "responsible" for about 2/3 of those names. Sue me.

Names I never got around to using:

Felonious Monk
Tibetan Monkey
The Phlegmatics
Agnes of Wood Rosin
Dust Bunnies
White Grape Elephants
Harmonica Virgins
Other

Some of those may have been used by other bands, although I'm unaware of
any such instances.

Oh, and while browsing the used bins, I recently came across the two
words most likely to strike terror into the hearts of music fans....

JUICE NEWTON!

If you've made it this far, Welcome To The XTC Content!  Who knows the
story behind the "instrumental" version of Didn't Hurt a Bit that
surfaced a while back on a collection of Andy's demos? Did Andy
embellish on Colin's work, or was that all Colin's idea? Is it an actual
COLLABORATION between Andy and Colin?  I must know!!!

Chris "Playing the John Relph surprise-post-name game" Vreeland

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 16:03:53 -0500
From: Parrish_Wilkinson@Dell.com
Subject: Lounging in Austin
Message-ID: <EBF7E22D95B2D211A39500A0C9D1C3A8061F7220@ausxmrr802.aus.amer.dell.com>

Thank God I live in Austin. There's a great new band playing around now that
you must check out, The Recliners! The Recliners are as hip as whatever,
they mix great pop songs with the hottest
Latin-Sinatra-Lounge-Samba-Swing-Cheese to come up with a sound so original
and cool. Super musicians having a lot of fun with their music! Their new CD
"Raw Fish" is an instant classic. You are digging this great tune and then
it hits you, this is __________ (fill in blank-Prince, Sex Pistols, etc..)
...-XTC tie in, the drummer met the former trio in Austin during their O&L
Radio Tour and he asked Colin about trying out as drummer, to which Colin
quipped "Fancy your chances, do you?" Check them out at
http://www.therecliners.com you can get the CD there or at CDStreet.com
(also a great spot for indie music)

Later,
Parrish

Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still. Chinese Proverb
"I hate quotations."  Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1849

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

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 13:36:36 -0400
From: Richard Hamilton <shepham@frontiernet.net>
Subject: old threads that will not die
Message-ID: <B5BEF7E4.6CE7%shepham@frontiernet.net>

Chalkhillers Unite!

THE OLD THREAD THAT WILL NOT DIE

Okay, here's my besty best popular music album list (at this moment) in no
particular orde (was I in space??? Was I only supposed to pick 5??? Who
cares!)

A Wizard/A True Star: Todd Rundgren
Funhouse: The Stooges
Black Sea: XTC
Last Rites: Skinny Puppy (!)
Check Your Head: Beastie Boys
Red: King Crimson
London Calling: The Clash
The Wall: Pink Floyd (I was young and foolish...)

You may be able to discern from this smattering that A) I'm a big fan of
musicians who are willing to TAKE RISKS and not just please the record
company (any Todd fan knows what torture he put Bearsville through when he
followed up the top 40 pop laden "Something/Anything" with the acid infested
chaos of "A wizard...") B)I'm into what others on the list have called
"prog" rock (hey, I like concept albums, and you can't beat the wall for
concept, even if it was pretty void of higher purpose) C)I like edgy stuff
(can't get any more edgy than the heroine soaked Puppy or the near-insane
Iggy and the Stooges) D) I like rap (I'm into postmodern critical theory and
from New York, AFAIK the B-boys still do old-school rhymes better than
anyone) and E) I'm into snotty nosed upstart english bands like the Clash
and XTC (couldn't think of anything else to say here...)

PURE XTC CONTENT

It's interesting that the majority of this list likes English Settlement the
best (I still can't get into it, it's my least favorite, what's wrong with
me?). For my own tastes, I'm in love with XTC's more mature (later) albums,
starting with Skylarking up through AV2, with the exception of Black Sea,
which I think ranks as their best. I think I can summarize my feelings on
this in the following manner: those earlier XTC albums had a lot of Oh-oh-oh
and Oy-oy-oy and hay-oh, hay-oh, hay-oh, and ooo-ooo-ooo  and hay-UH,
hay-UH, hay-UH (get my drift?). You'll notice that the vocals in the later
albums are MUCH more sedate and (IMHO) appealing. Don't get me wrong, I love
those earlier albums too (and I own most of the XTC catalog) but I prefer
the "grown up" XTC sound as opposed to its "pubescent" sound. What do OTHERS
think?

Rich

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

End of Chalkhills Digest #6-240
*******************************

Go back to Volume 6.

16 August 2000 / Feedback