Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 254
Date: Saturday, 26 August 2000
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 254
Saturday, 26 August 2000
Topics:
Threadbare...
Appearing tonight ... the Weird Al Experience!
XTC: lyrical and musical harmony
NOT SO FAST MR CORLESS!!!!
Concerts--The Thread that Refuses to Die
Yes, that, well...sorry.
Re: Thin Lizzy
My Father's Place Jan. 1980
Phil's Shirt goes over big...
And now for something completely different...
Remoulds, I Lovett
Standing in for Jean
slime rhymes/Colin's BEST/assorted
That One About The Lone Ranger
Stupidly Confused
Short Sweet Computer Question
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 16:10:07 -0400 From: Gary McBride <garym@usa.com> Subject: Threadbare... Message-ID: <p04330101b5cb2a2e0b6f@[209.118.255.115]> Threads... *** Two great concerts I'd somehow overlooked... Frank Sinatra, around 1993... he still knew how to do it better than anyone... James Brown, about the same time... again, an astounding performance from a legend. He had the moves, he sounded great, did all the hits, backup dancers, horns, three drummers, encores, encores, and a spontaneous "soul mosh pit" in front of the stage (security just couldn't fight the power of "Cold Sweat"). Got to shake his hand from the edge of the stage. After the show, I got to talk to one of his horn players, and he was amazed! "We never play that long, and I've not seen him that 'on' in a long time!" ...he poured his heart out despite the venue being maybe 15% filled. The hardest working man in show bidniz indeed! *** Saddest song: I've long held that it's "Have You Forgotten?" by the Del Fuegos. Dan Zanes sings it with a heartbroken crackle that would make Hank Williams break down and cry. (Sadder still, this song is from their first album, which was never released on CD.) *** Regarding Rap Samples: Anyone who reintroduces the horrific shrill of "Hard Knock Life" (from the "musical" Annie) to the pop culture mainstream deserves the harshest punishement the law allows. (Yes, you Jay-Z.) *** A Favorite Couplet: Touring's a breeze since you became our sponsor, It's those corporate dollars that help us to get it on, sir! -- Young Fresh Fellows "Beer Money" *** Anyone else out there love The Beautiful South as much as I do? They are just so damn outstanding... *** XTC content: Nominations for favorite and least favorite XTC album art? Fave: I love the simplicity of English Settlement, esp. the original vinyl. Also like the notch on "Go 2" where the cover art's continued on the inner envelope. Not Fave: Rag and Bone Buffet, or Upsy Daisy Assortment. Of the non-compilations, I'm not a fan of White Music. -G
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 16:02:42 -0500 From: "Wiencek, Dan" <Dan_Wiencek@mcgraw-hill.com> Subject: Appearing tonight ... the Weird Al Experience! Message-ID: <200008242102.OAA05865@sgiblab.sgi.com> The concert thread, which I guess I started (who knew?), takes an interesting turn with Derek's post (pardon the lengthy quoting): > Roger Fuller wrote: > > >The upshot of all this is, as Mr P has told us, and I concur: despite > >everyone's best hopes and wishes, concerts are a bare > approximation of what > >you hear on record. <snip> Some may say > XTC's best music was > >back when Andy and Colin wrote their tunes to be easily > reproducible live, > >but I dunno... w/ all the overdubbing, I agree that it is > better to create > >an aural sculpture. And stay home and lead semi-normal lives. > > This is somewhat true. I have had my share of abysmal moments > listening to crappy performances by seemingly "competent" bands > (Everclear comes to mind... I couldn't even tell what they were > playing). The concerts I have enjoyed the most, however, are the ones > where you get an experience you can't get listening to the record at > home. Ben Folds Five, They Might Be Giants and some others I've seen > will make up stuff or do songs you can't buy. And some people are > just full of showmanship. This is why I considered "Weird Al" > Yankovic to have such an entertaining show. There were costume > changes, short films and improvised bits in the show. With due respect to what is, on its own merits, a worthy response, I feel this misses the point, both of what Roger was saying and of why live concerts can be such great experiences. A couple of points first: 1) Roger points out that live performances are a "bare approximation" of what you hear on record. Well, that certainly wasn't true of Brian Wilson's live Pet Sounds tour. With a 10-piece core band and a 40-or-so-piece orchestra, they had every note of Pet Sounds licked, sealed, and stamped (huh?), right down to the ringing bicycle bells in You Still Believe in Me; in fact, the only part of the show that consistently *didn't* match the recording was Brian's wobbly vocals. Musically, the show was stunning--to hear those songs performed live was an amazing treat. However, I am being disingenuous in citing that example. The truth is, concerts don't usually sound anything like the original records, and in 99 cases out of a hundred, the response is: why the hell would you WANT them to? Why shell out anywhere from $30 to $100 and up (not to mention service fees, parking, drinks, etc.) for the experience of hearing something identical to what you've already heard dozens of times, played far beyond any sentient being's aural comfort threshold? And in a room full of drunk, shouting, sweating, ill-behaved semi-thugs too? If those are the expectations you take to concerts, no wonder you're so often disappointed. 2) The real appeal of a good concert--and this is what I thought Derek could have gone into a little more--is the sense of an artist connecting with a song and, through the song, with you in the audience. This is *partly* a matter of charisma, and explains why wallflowers like Andy P. think of concerts solely as tasteless ego displays (see below) with no real musical merit. But charisma entails a lot of things, and Britney Spears parading around with her breasts and wireless microphone is the least of them. To pick an example from my own concert-going career: Alejandro Escovedo returns for an encore after a gig at the Old Town School of Folk Music here in Chicago (the *old* Old Town School, for you locals). Rather than bring his band to the stage, he and the musicians set up in the audience--guitars, violin, cello, the whole works. Without amplification, he sings a ballad called The Last to Know: "The party's over and we won't go/No one to laugh at our jokes anymore ..." The room is frozen in wonder, gratitude, delight, astonishment. The barrier between performer and audience is forgotten. The audience waits to applaud until the last soft note has died away, leaving a respectful hush--and then pandemonium. It remains one of the most amazing moments I've ever had at a concert. How was it musically? OK, I guess; I suppose you probably couldn't hear the cello too well, and naturally the vocal wouldn't be quite as clear as on a record. Do I give a fuck? No. This is just one example of many I could have picked, and doubtless you all have yours. The short of it is that a good concert is far more than the technical quality of the music or the sound, and it's also far more than how superficially attractive the performer is or of how many bells and whistles the show has. When I saw Fleetwood Mac sans Lindsey Buckingham in the late eighties (yes, that was my "What was I thinking?" concert), Stevie Nicks changed outfits several times. Her singing was dull and her once-legendary stage presence reduced to a few desultory twirls in front of the mike stand, but, um ... she changed clothes! Not to take anything away from Weird Al or his ilk--I've always liked Al and I'm sure his shows are a lot of fun--but that alone is not enough to entice me out of my lonely garret to see a show. I want a performer with the passion and the courage to share part of himself with the audience. That's as simple as it gets. 3) I've been nursing a tiny grievance against Andy and the way he dismisses live performance as the refuge of either the greedy or the chronically insecure. He is in a position where any remark he makes on the subject will be sifted for hints that he might tour with XTC again, so what his true-in-his-heart feelings are, I don't know. I suspect maybe he doesn't entirely know. But it is insulting for him to imply that musicians who tour--well, let's say *adult* musicians who tour. People with spouses and families who long ago lived out whatever wild rock n' roll fantasies they had and now just do it as a job. OK. It's insulting for him to imply that these folks are motivated only by greed or ego. First of all, 95% of touring musicians don't make anything like the money he seems to think they make (or the kind of money--let's face it--he's undoubtedly been offered to take XTC on the road again). As for the ego thing ... well, I'm sure David Lee Roth really needs to hear the roar of the crowd and the screams of the girls. But most musicians play live BECAUSE THEY ENJOY IT. Because, as exhausting and boring a lifestyle as it is, there's nothing better than to earn a living doing what you love: connecting to people through your music, directly and personally, where the response (good or bad) is immediate and sincere. I think this is even true of acts like the Stones or the Who. It's fashionable to dismiss these bands as nostalgia acts looking for an easy buck, but really, once you're in your fifties, with enough money to last you several lifetimes over, why go through all that pain and hassle unless you really DO enjoy it? (And I say this as a man who, having got hold of free Stones or Who tickets, would most likely give them away.) I think the core issue with Andy is what it's always been: he doesn't like performing. It frightens him, he finds it exhausting, and he wants to be with his kids. Fine. He has every right to those feelings and I don't begrudge him them. But why not leave it at that? Why paint all jobbing musicians with the same broad, sloppy brush? Or maintain the fiction that XTC's music is too complex to be recreated live? (I would've said the same for Pet Sounds, and now I know better.) Like I say, if he doesn't want to tour that's his decision, and as a fan I want him to do whatever he finds fulfilling. But he needn't cast aspersions at others in the process. One more tiny thing, off-topic: > From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com> > Subject: eat my dust, bad song fans! > > You want a BAD song? how about this: > > The Rappin' Duke > > Yes, it's as horrid as you're thinking. God help us, yes it is. -- Dan the Particularly Verbose
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 18:09:09 -0400 From: Richard Hamilton <shepham@frontiernet.net> Subject: XTC: lyrical and musical harmony Message-ID: <B5CB1545.6EA4%shepham@frontiernet.net> Ed Kedzierski states in CHD #6-249 > > Mummer and BE are latter period albums; ES is kind of a cusp > between the two periods. You can argue that Mummer and BE are less than > successful (many have; I personally don't feel that way, but that's a > separate argument), or that you personally don't care for them, but I still > don't feel that that makes them "early" or "immature". As a general trend, I > think that the process you describe of "the narrative aspect of the songs > becoming more and more important" (paraphrasing you here) is well in > progress by Skylarking, rather than beginning with it, if you see what I'm > saying. I see the argument you gave as coming closer to proving that many of > the signature qualities of the later period first came into full flower with > that album, rather than proving that they started there. Good show, I forgot all about those two pesky bastards. And I agree with you: if you're going to pin the tail on the turd, you've got to go back to "love on a farmboy's wages", and "great fire" (two excellent songs that sit very comfortably with the newer material). I suspect that Mummer is probably one of the first albums where a majority of the songs developed with and _through_ the words; prior to Mummer it seems to me that the musical ideas came first, followed by the development of the lyrical content. That's why, then, (following my theory) those earlier albums had a lot of vocal filler...the musical ideas were more mature than the lyrical ideas, which left a lot of space in the song where you had sing oh-oh-oh to fill up the extra musical space. (Of course in actuality I have no proof of this, this is only my sense and opinion of XTC's music, if anyone knows the facts on the evolution of their songwriting styles I'd love to hear it). In any event, in my opinion, the lyrics didn't catch up to the music completely until...Skylarking. But you're absolutely right, you have to go back to Mummmer to find the origin of the musical/lyrical harmony, and that harmony is by in large invested in the "narrative" type song, where the singer takes on a persona (e.g. love on a farboy's wages, seaguls screaming..., mayor of simpleton, peter pumpkinhead, dear madame barnum, harvest festival, etc.). And... I know you don't really trust this argument, but...there's not a single superfluous oy-oy or oh-oh-oh on the whole of Mummer. So I guess a statement that is perhaps agreeable on this topic would be: ES is the fruition (and end) of XTC's early period, Skylarking is the first "substantial" fruit of the mature period, which has also included Oranges & Lemons, Nonsuch, and (IMHO) reaches a pinnacle with AV1. The question I'm knocking around in brain now is: where does Wasp Star fit in? Look, I know that the AV1 and AV2 material was all pretty much written around the same time, but Wasp Star certainly represents a bit of break from what had been developed over the Mummer to AV1 stretch. In some respects, it actually fits in better with the earlier material (think "playground",as the middle-aged retread of "respectable street", "standing in for joe" as an echo of "making plans for nigel"). Are Andy and Colin here trying to reinvent their youth? Can we expect the new album to be filled with oy-oys and oh-oh-ohs? Or has XTC entered a new "post-xtc" stage? Ultimately, WHO CARES, as longs as they continue to provide us with those precious turds (and I'll chew them to death as long as I can listen). Rich
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 19:15:45 EDT From: WESnLES@aol.com Subject: NOT SO FAST MR CORLESS!!!! Message-ID: <57.a5f2ba5.26d706a1@aol.com> Two out of three Chalkgeeks agree: (Rory & Todd) "SHUT YOUR WRETCHED PIE TRAP YOU RIDICULOUS PRICK!" the T-shirt! Good thing I own the copyright to that phrase. The moment it appeared on the screen before me, brought to life by my drunken fingers, I realized that the world would soon be quoting it. If you want to create some shirts with my, yes MY, saying emblazoned across the front (or back or sides for that matter) then feel free to contact me, but make it fast. I'm seriously considering selling the rights to Michael Jackson, or at the very least swapping them for one of the Elephant Man's ribs. What the hell?!?!? I just saw my phrase on a freakin' Volkswagen commercial! Hey Tito, get my lawyer on the phone...pronto! Won't you bastards ever be satisfied? Hell, I___GAVE___you the idea for the "We're All Light" bumper sticker! You bloodsuckers. wesLONG Optimism's Flames: http://members.tripod.com/~The_Last_Balloon/
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 17:10:43 -0700 From: "rmjenn" <rmjenn@email.msn.com> Subject: Concerts--The Thread that Refuses to Die Message-ID: <004b01c00e28$fdc068e0$3ce4fea9@rjenness220462> I've been avoiding this thread, but after Dane mentioned a couple of concerts that I was at, I felt inspired to inflict my own concert memories on the list. Concerts that both Dane and I were at: --The Cure with Pixies & Love and Rockets at Dodger Stadium. --Monty Python at the Hollywod Bowl (no that's not a typo - Hollywod!) 1982. My first concert: --George Thorogood and the Destroyers, San Clemente, Calif., circa 1980, touring his second album on Rounder (More George Thorogood and the Destroyers). That 18 year-old was impressed (his ears rang for days afterward). Most recent concert: --Stereolab, Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, May 2000. I was pleasantly surprised at how well their show translated to a larger venue than I've seen them at. My favorite concert: --Blue Aeroplanes/Jazz Butcher, co-headline tour, Long Beach, Calif., circa 1988. Both bands were excellent, playing in a small club with a good sound system. When they joined forces for the last song, I counted seven guitarists on that small stage. Other concert highlights: --Several shows at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles during the 1980s: King Crimson (Beat tour), REM (Reckoning tour), Talking Heads (Stop Making Sense Tour), Rickie Lee Jones/Lyle Lovett (co-headline tour). The shows at the Greek these days always feel rushed--you know it will end at 11:00 PM no matter what. --Any of the American Music Club shows I saw (probably 3 or 4). It's a shame that a band that good can't stay together. --Lloyd Cole, Wadsworth Theatre, Los Angeles, circa 1990. Right after his first solo album. The Go-Betweens opened the show, not too long before they split up for most of the 1990s. Concert lowpoints: --Van Halen, The Forum, Los Angeles, circa 1983. We tried to sell an extra ticket in the parking lot before the show, but were ripped off. Then, we went in an found that our seats were in the upper rafters of that sports arena. --The Cars, The Forum, Los Angeles, circa 1983 (Shake It Up tour). Another band whose studio prowess didn't translate to the large concert venue. Concert where the opening act blew away the headliner: --Nine Inch Nails opening for The Jesus and Mary Chain at the Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles. This was right before NIN's "Pretty Hate Machine" album took off. Even though I wasn't a big fan of NIN, I was impressed by the energy and drive of their show. The Mary Chain were never a great live act, but they did get better over time (saw them again a couple years later on their Rollercoaster tour). Concerts that I'm glad I went to: --Pretenders, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, circa 1981. My roommate and I had put deposits down with a ticket broker for tickets to Led Zep (the rumored In Through The Out Door tour). Bonzo's death cancelled that tour, so we used the deposit to get tickets for the Pretenders, who were touring their imaginatively titled Pretenders II album. It was, of course, the last tour before the deaths of 1/2 of the original line-up. --Johnny Cash, Greek Theatre, circa 1997. I think this was his last tour before stopping due to ill health. Concerts that I wished I'd went to (besides XTC): --Elvis Costello and the Attractions, early 1980s. --Pink Floyd, The Wall Tour. Yeah, I was into that album in high school. --Bruce Springsteen, The River Tour. Yeah, I was into that album in college. Whew. Glad I got that off my chest. Bob J.
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 20:29:31 -0400 From: "Lee Lovingood" <leelovingood@earthlink.net> Subject: Yes, that, well...sorry. Message-ID: <002701c00e2b$8a05ea80$d075b23f@8urfc> Hello again all. I am so out of touch with the digest. I sent my first post to Chalkhills in an eon and John sends me a response telling me to turn off the rich text. D'oh! I just got this new laptop last week and did not know it was on! So, thinking the previous post was rejected for this reason, I resent it with minor alterations. Crap! The post shows up in two different digests. And then I am told that the 'Standing In For Joe/Barry Town' analogy is not an original observation. I am so ashamed. My deepest and most sincere aplogies for the rhetoric. I throw myself on you tender mercies. Lee Lovingood
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 07:00:12 -0500 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: Re: Thin Lizzy Message-ID: <l03130301b5cabd240097@[208.13.202.110]> >Wish I could have been there: Queen/Thin Lizzy, 1976. My brother gave me a >ticket but Mum said no. Fuck. > >Finally, I would like to assure Roger Fuller that Bono's messianic >tendencies were not limited to Europe in the late '80's. I saw more or less >the same gimmick here in the colonies in '85. > >S. You missed a great show. Thin Lizzy was one of the best opening acts I've seen, and Queen were in their prime, before Fred started looking like a gay biker from the cover of Drummer magazine.(I had a housemate who used to subscribe- not for the faint of heart; hint- it's nothing to do with people who play drums)I assume we're referring, of course, to their '76 appearance at the MOntreal Forum. Christopher R. Coolidge Homepage at http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 08:27:40 +0900 From: "John Boudreau" <aso1@mocha.ocn.ne.jp> Subject: My Father's Place Jan. 1980 Message-ID: <00ca01c00e44$ded15680$715791d2@oemcomputer> All , Anybody else out there in cyberspace attend the Jan. 1980 XTC gig at My Father's Place in Roslyn , Long Island ? What a show , and what a crowd ! When they came back on for their encore , Andy , obviously elated ( it was their first gig on US soil with Dave Gregory ) , said " You people DESERVE an encore ! " ... The best gig I ever attended ( and I have a mile long list my dear friends ) bar none . That show converted two friends I had dragged along with me . Saw many great other great shows at the fairly intimate My Father's Place inc. The Gang Of Four ( first tour ) ; The League Of Gentleman ( with Barry Andrews ) ; and The Members ( remember them anyone ? ) . Sushiman
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 00:40:17 EDT From: IMSUNBAKE@aol.com Subject: Phil's Shirt goes over big... Message-ID: <73.6539fbb.26d752b1@aol.com> Greetings, troops. I will put the Aug. 24, 2000 Jimmy Buffett concert as among my favorites of all time (I hear so many of you hurling out there ... ) But doggone it, he sang "Island" like an angel, and he covers "Southern Cross" in a way that blows CSNY OUT OF THE BALLPARK. My "Stupidly Happy" T-shirt (have I thanked you a million times yet, Phil?) went over in a HUGE way. People loved it, wanted to know what it meant (duh-uh), and asked me where I got it. (Sorry, Phil, I didn't have your website address handy.) Parrotheads, like Chalkheads, can relate to being "Stupidly Happy." A guy two rows in front of me (and I was in the third row, thankyouverrymuch) looked so much like AP I did a damn double take. Then he took off his Margaritaville baseball cap and, well, he had a mop of hair. Oh WELL, I can dream, can't I? Now, THAT would be a sighting: Andy Partridge at a Buffett concert, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, a lei, and a grass skirt. The summer touring season ends next week, so I will shut up about JB and return to XTC. See ya, dahlings. Good night. Annamarie
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 01:11:23 -0500
From: "Joe Funk" <twosheds@mindspring.com>
Subject: And now for something completely different...
Message-ID: <003401c00e5b$4c424c40$7721fea9@user>
...a man with 3 buttocks....
'IT'S THE ARTS'
Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Panties...
..I'm sorry.......Schumann, Schubert, Mendelssohn,
Partridge and Bach. Names that will live forever. But
there is one composer whose name is never included
with the greats.
Why is it the world never remembered the name of
Johann Gambulputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-
crascrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle-dongle-dungle-
burstien-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz-
ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemyer-
spelterwasser-kurtlisch-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenaben-
bitte-ein-nurnburger-bratwusle-gerspurten-mitz-weimache-
luber-hundsfut-gumberaber-shonendanker-kabfleisch-mittler-
aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.
Sorry... Happens every time I eat Albatross...
Joe "Gambulputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-
crascrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle-dongle-dungle-
burstien-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz-
ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemyer-
spelterwasser-kurtlisch-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenaben-
bitte-ein-nurnburger-bratwusle-gerspurten-mitz-weimache-
luber-hundsfut-gumberaber-shonendanker-kabfleisch-mittler-
aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm" Funk
_____________________________________________
Two Sheds Website:
http://www.eshelps.com/web/personal/twosheds/index.html
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 03:14:05 EDT From: WTDK@aol.com Subject: Remoulds, I Lovett Message-ID: <74.2773938.26d776bd@aol.com> Simon says- > Anyone have the live album and recommend it?? Lyle's live album is a delight. One of the top 10 concerts I've been to. What's curious is why it took so long to release (it was recorded years ago...) Chris discussing two of my fav folks-- > I love his talent for arranging voices, though- I'd buy Remoulds for the > overdubbed choir of Daves version of The Beatles' "Because" alone. So far > Remoulds reminds me of side 1 of Todd Rundgren's Faithful album, though > Dave's lead vocals aren't as spot-on as Todd's. I wish someone could convince Dave to release a 10 or 12 track version of Remoulds on CD. Yeah, they are spot on remakes but the subtle differences plus the K-Tel quality makes it a fun album. I'd rank it up there with Todd's Faithful. I love the Cream tunes and the combo of Our Prayer (the old Beach Boys vocal bit) with Because. Amazon.com has English Settlement and Wasp Star featured prominently on their website (it rotates with a couple of other albums) this week. The review perfectly describes the album as the transition between the old Xtc and then new Xtc (although I would include Mummer as part of that transition...). They also seem to think ES is the band's best album (I'd have to disagree but have a strong fondness for ES as I've mentioned before. Snowman and All of a Sudden turned me from a casual fan into a hard-core one. I still love BS more but those two tunes captured everything I love about the band). >Marillion has raised $150,000 (|100,000) to cover the production costs of its next album by asking fans to pre-order it. The cash was raised after the hard rock veterans emailed 30,000 fans and asked them to pay $24 (|16) in advance for the LP, which will be out in 2001. Interesting...Stewart Copeland was way ahead of his time. He and the other band members of the Police paid for the production of their first three albums. It allowed them to actually collect royalties early on by not taking an advance from A&M. The Mole made some interesting observations about the record industry. Would Andy & Colin be interested in our prebuying their next album of original material? Reading all these posts almost makes up for the lack of new Xtc stuff (I'm a bit impatient...). Wayne
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 08:33:23 EDT From: Jxnsmom@aol.com Subject: Standing in for Jean Message-ID: <25.a09f948.26d7c193@aol.com> Lee Lovingood said: > Has any one else here noticed the similarities between > "Standing In For Joe" and Steely Dan's "Barrytown"? >> Actually, on my very first listen to Wasp Star, I was reminded of David Bowie's Jean Genie at the intro of SIFJ. Seems strange now, but that was my initial reaction. By the way, thanks to all who were discussing a few weeks ago how Skylarking is a summer album. You encouraged me to rediscover it this week. Side A is just so perfect. My 2-year-old loved it...he kept saying "More song!" after each break. Probably better than flailing around to Mission of Burma's "That's When I Reach for My Revolver," which he was doing last week. Oops, but we promised not to carry on that gun control discussion, didn't we? Oh, and thanks to Scott Barnard for the reminder about that ELP lyric. Just when I thought I'd forgotten... Amy N. You're dressed to kill, and guess who's dying.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 09:16:10 -0700 (PDT) From: Brown <mb2@deltanet.com> Subject: slime rhymes/Colin's BEST/assorted Message-ID: <200008251616.JAA00699@mail2.deltanet.com> A few things, cocoa puffs! On the idiotic lyrical rhymes thread, Scott tossed us this- <<Every day a little sadder, A little madder, Someone get me a ladder. (ELP, "Still....You Turn Me On")>> That's all good and well, but how about this? Started out this morning feeling so polite I always thought a fish coud not be caught who wouldn't bite But you've got some bait a waitin' and I think I might try nibbling A little afternoon delight Sky rockets in flight Afternoon delight What the hell?.. The Bass Masters Love Song? (sorry, Vee!) ..now.. let the healing begin. Ed offered up his Colinization list- <<I'll just do my fave Colin songs for now: 1. One of the Millions 2. The Meeting Place 3. Washaway 4. Wake Up 5. Runaways 6. Standing in for Joe 7. Crowded Room 8. Day In, Day Out 9. In Loving Memory of a Name 10. Sacrificial Bonfire>> mmm.. yes, those are all GREAT songs, but I'd like to make a couple of changes to your list, por favor.. 1. Deliver Us From The Elements 2. Deliver Us From The Elements 3. Deliver Us From The Elements 4. Deliver Us From The Elements 5. Deliver Us From The Elements 6. Deliver Us From The Elements 7. Deliver Us From The Elements 8. Deliver Us From The Elements 9. Deliver Us From The Elements 10. Deliver Us From The Elements (please note that songs 1 through 10 can be found on the album, Mummer... that album, again?.. Mummer) Lee said- <<Glad I saw them before they got bad (or big)... REM, 1981, small club in Blacksburg, VA. Michael Stipe had hair down to his ass. 'Murmur' wasn't even out yet.>> As far as I'm concerned, REM 'got bad' after Out Of Time.. I suspect it had something to do with 'getting big'.. or maybe they just ran out of creative juice.. If you're not overly fond of REM, and as I recall, many of you are not.. check out REM's; Green/Reckoning/Life's Rich Pageant/Fables Of The Reconstruction/Murmer.. There is good music to be found in them thar albums! >From Seth "No Tagline" Frisby- <<If my normal stupid taglines bug anyone just let me know.>> Seth, my pet, your normal stupid taglines have never bothered me.. BUT some of your abnormally stupid taglines have been known to send me into a homicidal rage! <BG> And finally, from Todd 'Man from Nantucket' Bernhardt- <<There once was a writer named Flicky Who found conflicts of interest quite tricky Whilst writing 'bout Holly She fantasized, "Golly, I'd fancy her dad for a quickie!">> You've been reading my journal again, haven't you.. (blush) To the Bumble bee tuna Nova mobile, Phineas! Debora Brown
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 16:48:17 +0100 From: "David & Fiona White" <david.s.white@lineone.net> Subject: That One About The Lone Ranger Message-ID: <000e01c00eab$f36bd220$c9c3fea9@S.White> Hi Chalkists, John Peacock wrote (ages ago now - I'm about twenty Chalkhills behind the rest of you) >Telephone Man, Schmelephone man. Who remembers the Lone Ranger song from >about 1978? Quantum Leap, wasn't it? Yeah I remember it, although I won't spell out the Maori (was it Maori?) stuff in the intro, BUT if you ever listen to it again, check out the wonderful jazz guitar licks in the background. As for X, T and C, "mature" XTC started, for me, when my mate played me Runaways in 1982, from a large black flat plastic disc called a "record". He asked me to guess who the artist was. At a loss, I said, "er, it's not Pink Floyd is it?". When he told me it was XTC I replied, "what - you mean that group that did Sergeant Rock is Going To Help Me?". He said, "Do you always speak in questions?". I said, "Have you only just noticed?" He...etc. etc. Anyway, I've been a fan ever since, doc. David White
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 16:57:38 GMT From: "Ralph Simpson DeMarco" <sawpit@hotmail.com> Subject: Stupidly Confused Message-ID: <LAW-F1196xEfhzL1f6Y000006b6@hotmail.com> Dear Affiliated Members: Seth Frisby conjured: <<*Can you hypnotize a record company? If so i'd like to put TVT under my power...sleep...sleeepp.....you are now relaxed...when you awaken you will release Stupidly Happy as a single...when I snap my fingers you will wake with the urge to give XTC more money.....!SNAP! .....I wonder if it would work on Virgin also?*>> OK - the promo postcards I have for Wasp Star state: "XTC + WASP STAR (Apple Venus Volume 2) The Eclectric New Album Featuring I'm The Man Who Murdered Love Stupidly Happy" WHY oh WHY does it say this if SH is not going to be a single? TVT answer me... if I am wrong, I'm sure you will let us know. I want to hear this song on the radio! People will NOTICE it because it sounds like a Stones song at first and that's the BAIT! AND Virgin should have ALL XTC ALBUMS REMASTERED LIKE THEY DID FOSSIL FUEL! DO YOU HEAR ME OH DEVILS WHO DESTROYED WRAPPED IN GREY SINGLE? (I guess 'devils' ain't so diplomatic) Ralph
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 13:44:38 EDT From: WESnLES@aol.com Subject: Short Sweet Computer Question Message-ID: <17.a3a61c2.26d80a86@aol.com> For the past month my computer has been moving so sluggishly that I cannot download many of the devices I require for placing Real audio or MP3's on my site. I've run ScanDisk, defragmenter, disc cleanup...and a multitude of first aid software and yet I cannot figure out what the problem is. I've even dumped the majority of the programs saved to my hard drive and yet it still lags like a mighty mutha. For the life of me I can't figure out what the problem is and am hoping that a member of my Chalk-family can rescue me from this pit of uncertainty. If you have any suggestions please email me off-list and I'll give 'em a shot. Thanks, wesLONG @ Optimism's Flames http://members.tripod.com/~The_Last_Balloon/
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