Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 260
Date: Monday, 4 September 2000
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 260
Monday, 4 September 2000
Topics:
In from the storm ...
Is This Pop?
Dancing for Mental Health
Crenshaw
Nonsuch promo cards
stupidly Happy
Review for amazon.co.uk
XTC ringing in my ears
Sad songs...
Re: The Magic Circle
The Andy Partridge Quote Archive.
Hats off to Larry and Marshall and Andy and....Kevin
haste makes waste
Sad songs say so much...
Keeping up with the Joneses
XTC interview in a Finnish music mag
Cycles Per Second
Administrivia:
To UNSUBSCRIBE from the Chalkhills mailing list, send a message to
<chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org> with the following command:
unsubscribe
For all other administrative issues, send a message to:
<chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org>
Please remember to send your Chalkhills postings to:
<chalkhills@chalkhills.org>
World Wide Web: <http://chalkhills.org/>
The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors.
Chalkhills is compiled with Digest 3.7b (John Relph <relph@tmbg.org>).
A blend in the crowd man.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2000 16:00:04 GMT
From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com>
Subject: In from the storm ...
Message-ID: <F293fzk76oJDEIXq2gE000010d4@hotmail.com>
Chalkers,
Ullo, me little lovelies! Long time, no see. What a long strange trip it's
been ... I have some catching up to do, so bear with me...
* * *
Concerts ... ("Strange ... I've seen his face before ...")
First concert (and strong contender for the "What was I thinking?" award)
- Rick Wakeman, Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, 1975
Worst - U2, Zoo TV tour (Sydney Football Stadium 199?)
Terrible acoustics, zero atmosphere, boring show - a total letdown.
"What was I thinking?"
- not going to Paul McCartney either time he's been here (I just have no
excuse...)
- forgetting to go to the Stevie Wonder concert on the "Hotter Than July"
tour
- not finding out that Oregon were playing Sydney until the night after the
show
Best (big) concerts:
- Peter Gabriel, Sydney Entertainment Centre, 2/3/94. Front row. Life
doesn't get much better.
- Easybeats reunion, 1986. One that actually worked -- and deserved to
- Prince, 1990 - the wildest atmosphere of any concert I ever attended. The
moment he appeared, people just went BERSERK...
Best smaller shows (lots, but here's a sample)
- Herb Ellis & Barney Kessel, lunchtime show, Sydney Uni, 1977. A few dozen
people, having a lovely afternoon with two of the best jazz guitarists in
the world. Magic. Shame to hear that Barney is now unable to play
- Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit (w/ Paul Carrack). Intimate, friendly, great
songs, great voices. Almost made up for missing Squeeze. Also a happy memory
as my first major concert date with my wife-to-be.
- Elvis Costello/Steve Nieve - "Painted From Memory" tour 1999.
Transcendent.
Worst conditions:
- Bob Dylan, Sydney Showground, 1978. Brilliant scheduling -- days after our
annual state agricultural show, and weeks of rain. It stopped pissing down
abut an hour before the show. We were literally knee-deep in a fetid mixture
of mud and manure. Oddly though, despite this, it was a good show.
Memorable moments:
- Joe Jackson on the "Body & Soul" tour, stopping the band during the intro
to 'Heart of Ice' and telling those in the audience who were clapping along
to shut up
- Elvis Costello, Sydney Entertainment Centre, late 80s (I think). It was on
the tour with the Confederates, if I recall correctly. Despite major gear
problems (truck turned over on the Hume highway en route from Melbourne to
Sydney, smashing almost everything) they pulled one out of the hat. James
Burton's solos were like gems. Later on the show, Elvis came out solo and
played "I Want You". It was absolutely gripping - perhaps the most intense,
rivetting performance I've ever witnessed. He had the whole place in the
palm of his hand.
- Dylan, Sydney Showground, 1978 - a dancer calling herself "Gypsy Fire"
unexpectedly sashayed her way across the stage in the middle of the show,
in a flaming red dress. "Who was that mystery woman?" Bob said. He found
out. They started a short affair later that night.
- Fleetwood Mac/Santana, Sydney Showground, 1977. Cloudless, balmy, still
Sydney summer afternoon, groovy laid-back crowd. I'm not a huge Mac fan, but
they were great. First, Lindsey Buckingham blew me out by playing "Oh Well"
and paying tribute to Peter Green. When "Rhiannon" started playing, and
Stevie Nicks began wafting around, the breeze came up out of nowhere right
on cue, and Stevie scarves & skirts started flowing in all the appropriate
ways you'd expect from a carefully planned film-clip. I also recall
Christine McVie sauntering back on stage at one point, carrying a spliff the
size of a Polish salami ... heady days ...
- Pretenders, Capitol Theatre, 1982?. My old cobber Matt was wearing an Eno
"Before and After Science" t-shirt; we were near the front of the stage.
While Jim Honeyman-Scott was taking a solo, Chrissy stalked over to our
corner, leaned forward, peered at Matt's shirt and was seen to mouth the
words "Brian Eno?" with a quizzical look on her face. Matt was kind of
chuffed.
_ Prince, 1990 - during the warmup they were projecting slides on the wall.
One came up with the slogan "Wendy & Lisa -- phone home." The place went
mad.
- Larry Coryell, Stanley Clarke & Miroslav Vitous: mostly lots of jazz-rock
"diddly-diddly" stuff, clever but a bit dull. However, Coryell (who played
first, just solo guitar) staggered everyone by whipping out an amazing
rendition of "The Firebird Suite" on 12-string.
Best solo shows:
- Ellen McIlawaine, Regent Theatre, Sydney 1984. A life-changing experience.
- Kevin Coyne, Sydney University, 1977. Knew little about him, but he blew
me out the back wall. Probably the single most extraordinary solo
performance I've ever witnessed
Biggest disappointments:
- Miles Davis, 1990ish?. Apparently he was pretty sick. Barely played at
all. Great band, but that wasn't really the point.
- Van Morrison. Grumpy bastard.
- Devo, 1980s
Other fondly-remembered Sydney concerts (seconding some of Trevor Matthews'
choices):
- Split Enz, The Cure, The Kinks, Simple Minds, The Motels, Iggy Pop, Grace
Jones, Kraftwerk (major highlight), Dead Kennedys, Midnight Oil (lots),
Spectrum '84 reunion, Hoodoo Gurus, The Church, The Black Sorrows, The
Saints, Crowded House, Eric Clapton, Echo & The Bunnymen, Ben Folds Five ...
Biggest Disappointment:
- Donovan, Sydney Opera House, sometime in the 80s. Embarrassingly bad for
someone I idolised (and still do); he seemed desperately nervous and
ill-at-ease, possibly unwell; had to excuse himself and go offstage to use
the toilet at one point. Odd. He came back a couple of years ago and was
wonderful, so I heard. *sigh*
Most seen &/or best value :
LOCAL: Paul Kelly, solo and/or with The Coloured Girls (aka the Messengers)
OVERSEAS: Elvis Costello.
The Wish List:
- Zappa, XTC, Todd, Brian Wilson/Beach Boys, Joni Mitchell, Oregon, Genesis
(PG-era), King Crimson, Bowie & the Spiders, "Country Life"-era Roxy Music
with Eddie jobson, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Graham Parker & The Rumour,
Talking Heads, Jeff Buckley ...
* * *
Pardon me having forgotten who it was who mused (some time ago) about
whether or not they liked the latest Steely Dan album, "Two Against Nature".
Suffice to say, I sure do. Thanks for getting me back to it. The remark
sparked me to have another listen after some time away from it. I was not
sorry.
I'm afraid that "Two Against Nature" now has me in its relentless grip, and
I am powerless to resist. (Son Lucas is pretty heavily into it). Having at
last aquired the ablility to play CDs in the car, I've been listening to the
album about twice a day everyday since Monday of last week ... and I'm more
than well into it. (I love coming back to an album like that and getting
more into it with each listen). I cannot praise it highly enough. After so
long, one inevitably wonders if they will still have "it". And they do ...
in spades. It's vintage Dan -- cool, elegant, cynical, melancholy, detached,
with some monster grooves. It hits you as perhaps rather too slick at first,
but there's some real sinister undercurrents there. Some supremely cool
guitar from Becker , and while I'm not bagging the great Chuck Rainey, I
raise extra huzzahs to hear Walter back on bass, too. Damn but he's a good
-- and sorely underrated -- player IMHO). The snare sounds ....right in yr
face ... and the bass ....mmmmm, choclatey...And there are some *really*
clever things going on in the lyrics. It's got a really twisted side to some
of the songs. I'm reminded of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".
BTW Forgive me for stating the obvious to those already converted, but ... I
*really* recommend having a look at the Steely Dan website
(www.steelydan.com). It's exemplary. Becker and Fagan have written a lot of
the pages themselves; it's a fine adjunct to their recorded work. There's a
lot of really funny stuff - these guys are dryer than the Mojave Desert. I
love Don & Walt's caustic swipes at the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame, and Don's
marvellous articles for "Preview" magazine in the late 80s, some of which
are reproduced on the site -- his essay about Henry Mancini is hip, clever
and quite hilarious. It's just a shame that Andy & Colin don't put in a
little bit of this kind of stuff for Chalkhills (it's the only possible way
the site could be improved, really). I certainly can't think of many other
music sites where one would come across terms like "colloquy" and
"post-prandial".
For the cryptographically inclined, I also strongly recommend this fan site:
<http://home.earthlink.net/~oleander1/2AN/>
which collects posts from punters discussing the meanings and references in
their songs. And you think some of us pepople on Chalkhills are obsessive??
Dan Fans take it to a whole 'nother level. Some speculations are rather off
beam, but others are incredibly insightful -- and for those of us not in
America it's a real eye opener, chock-a-block with info that would otherwise
be hard to ferret out, and which helps to navigate the noir-wonderland that
is Steely Don & Walt World.
* * *
Tom K. - superb answer to the whole "George & The Spanish Guitar" conundrum.
No wonder I love this list.
* * *
Michael Versaci - I wrote a big windy response to Chris Coolidge about the
gun thing, but there you go pulling
the rug out from under my feet. Bless you (Am I also on that list?) Anyway I
guess John would just castigate me now.
* * *
>Would there be any way to start a "CD duplication tree" of the Jules
>Verne and Golden Guts CDs?
What is WRONG with Andy & Colin?? Has it still not occurred to them yet that
they could have a rather tidy little earner by putting all that stuff onto
CD and selling to the via Chalkhills (or Chaos) or whatever? You can't tell
me there's not money in it. *I* want one, and frankly I'll be buggered if
I'm going to pay good money for a crappy 3rd generation cassette dub. I
mean, it IS the 21st century now, isn't it?
* * *
Simon Curtiss - I envy your peripatetic concert CV, but duty obliges me to
leap to the defence of The Wiggles. I'll admit my bias -- Murray (the red
one) is one of my oldest and dearest friends. I guess they're not
everybody's cup of tea, and like all children's entertainment, it's easy to
poke fun ... but the kids adore them, they're great at what they do, and
they do it with care, commitment and great good humour. They are hugely
successful for a good reason - they're the best in their field, and I can
honestly say that I can't think of anyone who deserves it more.
* * *
Todd Bernhardt: thanks again from the bottom of my heart (or is that the
heart of my bottom?) for putting me onto "Upright Citizens Brigade". We just
saw the episode from Series 2 about the Spritual Expo. I almost wet myself
laughing.
* * *
Saddest song: "Pet Sounds" is one of the few records that genuinely makes me
cry. It just gets me that way. With or without chemical enhancement.
I am SOOOO jealous of the people who are getting to see Brian, and Steely
Dan ...
* * *
As I tippy-tap away, I'm bemusedly watching Gus Van Sant's remake of
"Psycho". What was THAT all about? No offence to Ann Heche, but Janet Leigh
she ain't. Vince Vaughan as Norman ... a likekable actor, to be sure, but
just not the right guy for the part. This has to be one of the classic
mistakes of movie history. I mean -- what *were* they thinking?? How the
hell did Gus get THAT through the pitch?
* * *
From: "Chris" <bonyking@sniffout.com>
Subject: Willpower
Queen Jayne pleaded :
>>at the moment something called Kissing >>With Confidence has somehow
>>overpowered the guards in my brain cell >>and is wandering around doing
>>it's worse. The brain cell keeps insisting >>that's it Laurie Anderson,
>>which I think is very very wrong, so if any of you knowlegable folks
>>can put me out of this horror, please I'm begging here.
>Wasn't the artist something like Will to Powers ? I seem to remember this
>hanging around the UK charts briefly sometime like 1982.
"Will" was actually a woman -- well-known female rock photographer (and
songwriter) Lynn Goldsmith. I remember that her voice was digitally
'tweaked' to sound like a man. (Sort of Dolly Parton in reverse). Being a
'friend to the stars' type of person, I recall that it was one of those
all-star things with people like Todd Rundgren, Nile Rogers and Steve
Winwood helping her out; Carly Simon sang on it on the chorus of
"Kissing..." as I recall. It was a sort of satirical, recitation type thing,
sending up all those crappy motivational tapes.
Am I close?
* * *
Finally -- this is old news now, but I can't conclude without noting the
passing of the legendary Jack Nitszche. It's hard to think of anyone who
have been so crucially involved with so many important artists at such
important moments in their career. A great musician, and a great loss.
* * *
May the good lord smile upon you, and not let you pass away until next we
meet
Dunks
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2000 12:36:20 -0400 From: Sylvan <psiogen@mindspring.com> Subject: Is This Pop? Message-ID: <39B12C83.23E4BD16@mindspring.com> Organization: psiogen@mindspring.com I just got White Music, and was shocked, astonished, stunned, and horrified to find that the version of This Is Pop on the album is very different from an mp3 I have of the song, but it sounds like a studio recording. Out of curiosity, anyone know where this file came from? Sylvan
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2000 19:49:52 +1200 From: "Simon Curtiss" <s_curtiss@clear.net.nz> Subject: Dancing for Mental Health Message-ID: <005c01c01522$248f0d00$2d64a8c0@emigre> Jayne the Worrier Queen wrote: <<<Also at the moment something called Kissing With Confidence has somehow overpowered the guards in my brain cell and is wandering around doing it's worse. The brain cell keeps insisting that's it Laurie Anderson, which I think is very very wrong, so if any of you knowlegable folks can put me out of this horror, please I'm begging here.>>> That would be Will Powers and the track was from the Dancing For Mental Health LP, on Island records - don't ask me why I know that! It was some journalist I think who used a voice processor to make her sound male-ish. It was fairly irritating after a while I agree, and the rest of the album was less interesting from what I remember. cheers Simon
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2000 10:33:14 -0700 (PDT) From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com> Subject: Crenshaw Message-ID: <20000902173314.26651.qmail@web2101.mail.yahoo.com> David Smith asked: Wayne mentioned Marshall Crenshaw. I only ever heard "Cynical Girl", which I liked. Any recommendations for a good "starting off" album anyone? They're all good, far as I know (don't have every one), but I would go with his first, eponimously titled cd. Great hook-filled pop, and if you like songs with the word 'girl' in the lyrics, you'll be in heaven!
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2000 02:47:40 -0400 From: cbisson <cbisson@mediaone.net> Subject: Nonsuch promo cards Message-ID: <39B1F40B.80A662AA@mediaone.net> I have had a 12"x12" promo card for some years now. The front has the Nonsuch castle picture in red with "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead picture and title on the back. Recently I got another of the same cards, the front is the same but the back has a large letter "C". This leads me to believe that there are 2 more cards in existance somewehre, one with a letter "X" and one with a letter "T" Does anyone know anything about this? Does anyone have a "X" or a "T" that they might be willing trade for? Any information would be helpful. Thanks Chuck
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 11:36:23 -0500 From: "Jan C. Harris" <wow@bluemarble.net> Subject: stupidly Happy Message-ID: <03eb01c015c5$50202b40$33a6f5d0@janstrigem> Nick writes: <<<<<<It has not been my experience that really stupid people are happy all the time -- in point of fact, really stupid people are meaner than shit.>>>>>> Ahhhhhhh, but it's far more subtle than that. When happy is the object of the sentance, and stupidly merely an adverb - it is being SSSsssoooooOOOOOO happy that you are stupid. It's a far more refined version of stupidity. JanCarol wow@bluemarble.net www.bluemarble.net/~wow
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2000 19:01:41 +0100 From: Marc Wickens <marc@mwic.co.uk> Subject: Review for amazon.co.uk Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.0.20000903185942.00aa9a20@pop.clara.net> Here's my review of 'the man who murdered love' which I've submitted to amazon.co.uk - thinks it's fair? "A musical masterpiece, and song that will stay on your head all day. Unlike mainstream, predictable 'music' this song makes sense, you can make out the words and they do actually tell a story! If we lived in the perfect world this song would have been number one, unfortunately we (as in the general public) are too busy buying rubbish from the likes of 'Posh Spice' and 'Robbie Williams'. If you enjoy listening to music and don't just turn on the stereo to annoy the neighbors then you'll love this song. If you do like this sing then you'll love the album, the Amazon page for that is http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004GLNE " --- Marc Wickens "Have a better one." Phone: 07092 163811 http://www.mwic.co.uk
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 14:40:54 -0400 From: "Cheryl" <mcgregoc@mindspring.com> Subject: XTC ringing in my ears Message-ID: <001101c015d6$7ec072a0$4d0bf7a5@com> Hey there, Anyone in the Boston area should make sure their radios are tuned to 92.5 The River. They play XTC ALOT. I have been hearing one or two songs a day from them. The other day it was "Earn Enough For Us". That floored me. There must be a big XTC fan running the station. They've just added "Stupidly Happy" to the rotation as well. Yippee! I'm looking forward seeing Travis and David Gray this month. Anyone have any thoughts on David Gray? "Babylon" has managed to lodge itself firmly into my brain. Hope everyone is well. Take care, Cheryl
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 15:09:33 -0400 From: "Derek Christoff" <blindowl@sympatico.ca> Subject: Sad songs... Message-ID: <000e01c015da$7fbfbd60$3db8e2d1@sympatico.ca> Just adding to the sad song thread, two that always do me in 1: "I Come and Stand at Every Door" by the Byrds, 5th Dimension album 2: "Some Mothers Son" by the Kinks, Arthur album
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2000 20:29:13 +0100 From: Marc Wickens <marc@mwic.co.uk> Subject: Re: The Magic Circle Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.0.20000903202813.00a9bea0@pop.clara.net> At 09:52 03/09/00 -0700, you wrote: > >So there you have it: the root of Swindon Magic is the ability to >encapsulate what is right with the world and what is wrong with our brains >all in one little song... er... automobile freakshow. > >- Olof My cousine moved to Swindon, within a year he'd moved back, perhaps he was unlucky in choosing the ruffest area? --- Marc Wickens "Have a better one." http://www.mwic.co.uk
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2000 06:43:57 +1000 From: "Clifford Smith" <dracon@worldreform.net> Subject: The Andy Partridge Quote Archive. Message-ID: <001801c015e7$af4160e0$290ffea9@dracon> I'm accepting submissions of funny/witty/wise Andy Partridge quotes. I have already recieved a large submission from Paul Culnane, but I need more!! dracon@worldreform.net
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 19:04:17 EDT From: WTDK@aol.com Subject: Hats off to Larry and Marshall and Andy and....Kevin Message-ID: <43.9d3cf33.26e432f1@aol.com> Annamarie commented: > I see no one has mentioned Kevin Gilbert in a while, so I will! > Husband thinks KG is the cat's pajamas. I just put the stuff on and > didn't say a word. Cleaned the kitchen and whistled while I > worked. Finally, Joe says, "I really like this." Go figure. Well, since you brought it up I did see a copy of Thud with the bonus disc. Is this rare at this point? I already have my copy but was interested in picking it up for my brother (he's a fan of Gilbert's old outfit Toy Matinee). So is the Lamb Lies down ever going to see the "official" release it deserves (based on comments I've heard here)? By the way, I don't think I mentioned this...but the reissued Marshall Crewshaw disc has a "secret" bonus track after the last live recording. I won't say what the track is but it was a delight! What's with the hats? Both Marshall and Andy wear some of the goofiest hats. Marshall would look great in a traditional fedora. Andy I'm not so sure about...I think a cowboy hat would suit him pretty well what with Holly up on Poppy and Wounded Horse. To all I've been trading with lately---sorry it's taken a while but all the stuff is finally finished. Between 3 kids, 2 cats, 1 dog and a boss that should be put out of my misery I've been swamped. Tycoon: I need a man who can say "no" when I talk nonsense. Are you that man? Applicant for job: No. Wayne
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2000 18:57:11 -0700 From: "May O'Mahoney" <may5272@gte.net> Subject: haste makes waste Message-ID: <39B30176.311C@gte.net> a correction on my post from whever it was that the concert thread was started: best concert: Frank Black - Coachhouse - 1998 I KNEW I was forgetting something when I hastily sent that last post on its way. I mean, how could I? It's quite reprehensible that I'd leave this brilliant guy off the list. Sting, regardless of what people think of him (I belive one Chalkie thought he was the most pretentious musician ever) is absafuckinglutely amazing in concert. But I'm afraid that he takes back seat to a $20.00 Frank Black show for sheer power and terror. not that anyone gives a rat's ass about the concert list anymore (burnout city) unless you're a Frank Black fan - and then you'll say, "amen!"
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 19:06:42 EDT From: WTDK@aol.com Subject: Sad songs say so much... Message-ID: <97.a3fdeac.26e43382@aol.com> In a message dated 9/3/00 11:08:32 AM Pacific Daylight Time, <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> writes: > Uh-oh, I feel a list coming on . > > Here Comes The Flood - Peter Gabriel > Boxing - Ben Folds Five > Please Don't Ask - Genesis > The Wrong Child - REM > A World Without End - Crowded House > Creep - Radiohead You forgot one that blow most of these out of the water... Julia-The Beatles
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 23:10:35 EDT From: WTDK@aol.com Subject: Keeping up with the Joneses Message-ID: <52.38923c.26e46cab@aol.com> > Mick Jones of Spooky Tooth ( a later incarnation) or Mick Jones of the > Clash? I know, it's a a facetious, rhetorical question, but the latter, > like Colin Moulding and Andy Partridge, was a stone Mott fan, Definitely Jones of the Clash--although Jones of Spooky Tooth/Foreigner wouldn't have necessarily been a bad fit. He's a tasteful player. >Did Luther AKA Ariel Bender still stick around after that? No and from what I recall he was either dismissed or quit (memory is fuzzy on this one). Ronson stepped in and overdubbed his guitar solo on to Saturday Gigs replacing Luther's guitar solo. I think it would be fun to have Andy & Colin feature a guest guitarist on a couple of tracks on their next album (whenever that might be). How about a list of guitarist we think (not that they give a A&C give a rat's ass about it) would be interesting on the next album. I'd include the following: Adrian Belew Mick Jones (of the Clash) Andy Summers Phil Keagy Robert Fripp George Harrison John Fogerty John Lee Hooker Chuck Berry Mark Ribot and, of course, Andy Partridge would guest under a pseudonym. If they could get past their differences I'd love to hear Barry Andrews play a keyboard bit on their next album and Dave Gregory play a guitar bit as well. We can day dream... Wayne
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2000 17:18:20 +0300
From: jari.kostilainen@om.fi
Subject: XTC interview in a Finnish music mag
Message-ID: <C2256950.004DFBB2.00@hkigw01.om.fi>
There is an interview of Andy in the September issue of Finnish music
magazine Soundi. I'm almost certain that there hasn't been any interview
of XTC in any Finnish music mag since the early 80's, so this is quite an
event for Finnish XTC fans (unfortunately there are not many, I guess).
I've been on the Chalkhills-list less than two months so I'm not quite
sure if there is any significant information in this interview. Andy
tells that XTC won't release a new album at least for some time and that
actually he hasn't written any new songs since 1997. About Todd Rundgren
Andy tells that he did his job (producing Skylarking) well but Todd is a
very difficult person and was rude to others.
I've been a fan since 1983, it was Mummer that turned me on to XTC and I
still regard it as one of top 5 XTC albums, for me the other four are
Skylarking, Apple Venus Vol 1, Nonsuch and Wasp Star. My other favourites
are The Beatles, Prefab Sprout, Everything But The Girl, The Beautiful
South, Capercaillie, Runrig, Kate Bush (it was nice to read news about
her), Aimee Mann, Suzanne Vega, Neil Young, Richard Thompson, Jackie Leven
and many more. During these two months I haven't noticed anyone mention
Jackie Leven's name, so I'd like to recommend the music of this great
Scotsman at least for those who like Richard Thompson or Van Morrison.
It's incredible how active this list is !
Jari Kostilainen
Oulu, Finland
E-mail: jari.kostilainen@om.fi
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 11:41:21 -0400 From: Jeff Eason <eason@mountaintimes.com> Subject: Cycles Per Second Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20000904114121.0084cce0@mountaintimes.com> Howdy Partners! A big thanks and tip of the ten gallon hat to Harrison for the heads up on the "URGH" broadcasts. Been wantin' to spy that moving picture for ever so long. Stephanie's got my vote for saddest song with her excellent choice of "From a Window to a Screen" by the dB's. Another good sad song from them is "Happenstance", although it might better qualify as "maddest song". Here are a few of my choices for saddest song. "Louise" by Bonnie Raitt "The Dutchman" by Steve Goodman "Molly" by Biff Rose "So Long Maryanne" by Leonard Cohen Speaking of sadness in song, I had a friend who had an abortion around the time that Skylarking came out and she could not bear to hear "Another Satellite". It absolutely tore her up. To this day I can't listen to the song without thinking of her. Ahem (clears throat and wipes eye in the subtle way of men not quite comfortable with their emotions), enough of this sadness! Speaking of ELO, for my 16th birthday I received four tickets to see them in concert at the Warehouse in New Orleans in 1976. They were touring to promote "Face The Music". Horrible show. They were relying way too much on prerecorded orchestra tracks and that--combined with the venue's boxlike acoustics--threw everyone's timing out the window. It was like watching a band in its prime lip-synching on American Bandstand. I still managed to have a good time with my friends in the Crescent City. The opening band, Crack The Sky, played their asses off and I eventually bought their first three albums which are classics of late 70s non-punk cynical rock. Cheers, Jeff "trying hard to avoid any real work on Labor Day" Eason.
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #6-260 *******************************
Go back to Volume 6.
4 September 2000 / Feedback