Chalkhills Digest Volume 7, Issue 18
Date: Friday, 16 March 2001
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 7, Number 18
Friday, 16 March 2001
Topics:
A meade for me, two for my horse...
good enough for us
2nd Favourite?
Hmmmm....
...and all crossword puzzles, well I just shun
Swindon calling...
Lost in Zappa Land?
Put to the Comfy Chair for heresy
Barry Andrew's organ
Alright, I confess!
more salmagundie
You Won't Engage Me
Better than the Zombies and the Pretty Things, too
Hats off
Zappa
Zappa Crappa, Harrison in Wonderland?
Re: Japanese Imports
Re: Kiss my aura, Dora
Purposely Un-accessible Songs...blah!
Moe, Larry and Curlian Photography and ZAPPA
Boingo Replacement (not XTC)
Exhumed
Re: Zappa for President
Re: Dirtsurfer
Bubblegum album vs. "That Thing You Do"
RE: Zap me vitals . . .
XtC reissue news
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 13 Mar 2001 08:42:36 -0800 From: unna@worldmailer.com Subject: A meade for me, two for my horse... Message-ID: <20010313164236.12450.cpmta@c001.zsm.cp.net> Dear Chalkmasters, All this talk of tights and tunics makes my throat dry. Barkeep, a meade for me and my dwarf friend, two for my horse. You there, in the moss green tights, have the time to hear a tale of double crossing elves and foul smelling orcs? Eh? Dragon got your tongue? Not too kind to strangers are ye! Perhaps the Sword of Zanthar (*zing* as I unsheath the mighty and magical blade) will bring out your hospitality. Come my dwarf brother, there be limbs to sever and blood to let flow! Yikes, I was having a D&D flashback. xtc content: I would argue that there are no xtc songs that are not entirely perfect in their presentation on the albums. And I would also put forth that each album is in itself a different type of perfect. My current favorite xtc song is still That Wave, beating TWATM by a nose, which beats Love On A Farmboys Wages by another nose. Now playing: A World Party B-Sides cd. Fav Song: No More Crying.
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 14:16:28 EST From: Saints3Den@aol.com Subject: good enough for us Message-ID: <9b.121724e8.27dfcc0c@aol.com> > From: "pop boy" <powerpopboy67@hotmail.com> > > If even the worse tracks that xtc have written are better than any other > band has ever produced (as is often tediously commented upon on this list) > why dont people put all their most disliked tracks onto one cd and listen > to it? ...because I don't have a cd burner. Also, it would be more of an e.p. thingie than a full cd. eddie
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 20:18:08 -0000 From: "Rory Wilsher" <rory.wilsher@lineone.net> Subject: 2nd Favourite? Message-ID: <003701c0ac04$6670f7a0$b73b7bd5@oemcomputer> Hillians Ryan Anthony asked: <<Finally: What is Chalkhills Nation's SECOND-favorite band? >> Probably no surprise here, but I'll tell you anyway: Midnight Oil The best thing to come out of Australia since...since...the last good thing that came out of Australia. Which was probably Penfolds Grange. Or their cricket team. Or their rugby team. Or...Okay, OKAY! A LOT of good things come out of Australia! Rory Wilsher
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 13:35:00 -0800 (PST) From: Jon Rosenberger <wile1coyote@yahoo.com> Subject: Hmmmm.... Message-ID: <20010313213500.27054.qmail@web120.yahoomail.com> Hello Just a quickie. I find it to be an interesting comment on Apple Venus and Wasp Star that the current level of debate rages around an album from 1983 and another from 1992. Perhaps the honeymoon is over for the latest XTC offerings? Cheers Mole
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 14:02:02 -0800 (PST) From: Vernon Hickle <vernonhickle@yahoo.com> Subject: ...and all crossword puzzles, well I just shun Message-ID: <20010313220202.73349.qmail@web13111.mail.yahoo.com> Workers, Queens and Drones: >To me, it's possibly the best collection of great songs since Abbey Road. WIG, TSAHD, TUU, DMB and others are simply gorgeous pieces of music.< D.Y.F.H.I.W.P.U.T.D.T.S.A.F.K? I.D.W.T.W.T.T.T.F.O.W.S.I.B.R. P.J.S.I.O.F.U.R.O.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . (Don't you f#$%^ng hate it when people use this device to save a few keystrokes? I don't want to waste time trying to figure out which song is being referenced. Just spell it out for us residents of Simpleton.) --V--
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 22:35:38 -0000 From: "Debra Edmonds" <debra.edmonds@dial.pipex.com> Subject: Swindon calling... Message-ID: <EBECLIDBLCLIEKGAHMHMCEFFCAAA.debra.edmonds@dial.pipex.com> Hi y'all Well, I read my first Chalkhills of 2001 tonight. I haven't actually read one since about last June - shame on me! Have I missed much? I've been busy keeping Guitargonauts afloat though, along with the help of Mr Strijbos. I also did a Swindon XTC tour a few weeks ago for a visitor, and managed to sneak him in a pleasant evening meal with Dave and Ian Gregory. He also snuck down the alleyway behind Andy's house and touched "the shed". Did you all know that the shed is green? Thought I'd just mention it. Not all visitors get these special additions to the tour - it helps if you are male and good looking though! Oh yeah - in Holmes Music in Swindon there is a second-hand drum kit for sale (the make escapes me, sorry) that used to belong to Andy's Dad. Ian Gregory informed me of this, so I went and checked it out. Do you fancy buying it to add to your musical instrument collection, Mr Strijbos? My main reason for this message is to reply to Jon Rosenberger, and also to let you all know that yes, Shigemasa has moved to Canada - his Canadian wife was offered her old job back, so they decided to go for it. He will let me know his new, permanent email address soon, and I will post it on Guitargonauts when ready. I've still got Oranges and Lemons in the CD player! I think I've only removed it once or twice in four months, and that was just for a burst of Skylarking and "Summer's Cauldron". Bye'ee from rainy Swindon. luv Debie Visit www.guitargonauts.com - the "official" Dave Gregory website
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 21:08:43 EST From: KINGSTUNES@aol.com Subject: Lost in Zappa Land? Message-ID: <f2.83d1e68.27e02cab@aol.com> David Smith begs, >Help me please . . . Zappa. Never got into him, never >really tried. Always got the impression he was >deliberately kooky and weird, which ain't necessarily >my thang. However, enough of youse guys rave about him >to whet my appetite. What's the best point of entry? You have a mighty and daunting task in front of you, Grasshopper, tackling the endless archives of Frank Zappa. Remember the journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step! My personal recommendation would be......(dumroll, please!) Overnight Sensation. It is the one album that could be considered his most accessable and flawless from a pop perspective, and it carries with it the distilled essence of most of what he was about. Not to mention that it puts you squarely in the middle of his catalogue, where your options are open to work your way back to the early Bizarre and Verve works, or forward in to the late seventies & eighties. I still get more consistent listening enjoyment from that album than any other. Not one weak, lengthy or overly challenging track or moment. And his humor is in top form! The trick to accessing his music is to realize that he was constantly moving through phases; periods where he would have a certain basic lineup in the band, be on certain labels, so on. Get one key album from each period to get a taste, and you'll have an easier time deciding where to go next. Contact me offline for some ideas. And he was sooooo prolific! We'll be getting stuff from his vaults for years to come. So you have your work cut out for you! Salud, Francis Z! TK
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 19:58:46 -0800 (PST) From: Ryan Anthony <hamsterranch@yahoo.com> Subject: Put to the Comfy Chair for heresy Message-ID: <20010314035846.21042.qmail@web10106.mail.yahoo.com> Typo! For "Wells," as in Orson, read WELLES. How hoomiliatin', as they say in Dogpatch. Not a typo! The fifth book in Piers Anthony's Kirlian "trilogy" (again, it's a fun and science-fictional treatment of Kirlian auras, not a True Believer's Tract) is indeed titled *Viscous Circle*. Piers is quite the punster. Todd Bernhardt, in Digest #7-16, counters my hypothesis that Chalkhills Nation's second-favorite band is Genesis -- that is, if one counts former and potential members such as Peter Gabriel and Kevin Gilbert: "Much as I love PG-era Genesis (and any Kevin Gilbert), I've got to part ways with you, Ryan. I think the answer to your question lies in the outcome of a free-for-all mud-wrasslin tourney between fans of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Kinks." Will that be the undercard of the Partridge vs. Moulding bout? Todd, now that I think about it a little more, it may be that Chalkhills Nation's FAVORITE band is the Beatles, followed by XTC and then, competing for the bronze medal, the Messrs. Becker & Fagen, Mr. Fripp, Mr. Davies, Mr. Zappa, Mr. Wilson, and every other maker of music in the history of the world, going back to when "Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom" ruled the charts. Will I be put to the Comfy Chair for this heresy? The Comfy Chair? The Comfy Chair? While they're all saying "the Comfy Chair," Brian Matthews, also in Digest #7-16, writes: "I'll throw about an unconfirmed statistic: 95% of the people in the U.S. are scientifically illiterate." But the remaining one-third is just fine. Ryan Anthony An independent Internet content provider
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 07:49:07 +0100 From: Bergmaier Klaus <klaus.bergmaier@maxonline.at> Subject: Barry Andrew's organ Message-ID: <41E0B760C85AD3119BE200E0291B6EE5089678@NTSRV> Dear all! I just found out that I play the very same organ as Barry Andrews did, while he was in XTC. Egon von Bark writes in www.synthmuseum.com: footnote: The Yamaha YC-20 Electric Organ was like Yamaha's interpretation of the Farfisa. It was a heavy, portable stage instrument with simple easy to use controls and usually one keyboard, though I've seen a version with dual keyboards. The model we had was a bright, glossy red. One really clever and unique feature of this instrument was a peculiar touch tremolo you could get by gently rocking your fingers sideways on the keys when pressed! Brain Eno mentioned that Yamaha applied this feature to the CS-80. It was pretty subtle for the listener, but lots of fun for the performer. Aside from (I think) Philip Glass and possibly (?) Miles Davis. One performer who really set off this beast was young Barry Andrews (later of Shriekback) who toured with the early XTC and displayed the YC-20 on stage tilted backwards at an odd angle with the top case removed and all the electronic guts of the instrument exposed to the elements...it looked really cool and must have been sheer hell for the roadies. If anyone has photographs of this tour I would be curious to see them again, as I lost my old Creem magazines a long time ago. Barry's distinctive charming screeching grating style on this keyboard can be heard only on XTC's first two albums. There is another interesting link to detailled information and even pictures on my personal homepage www.thedoors.at/klaus.html I use this instrument asa replacement for the Vox organ Ray Manzarek used to play while he was in the Doors. BTW, the link www.thedoors.at/klaus.html may also be interesting for you, because XTC is listed there either. Please visit me! See you Klaus from Austria www.thedoors.at/klaus.html
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 01:52:16 -0800 (PST) From: andrew sneddon <andrew_sneddon@yahoo.com> Subject: Alright, I confess! Message-ID: <20010314095216.26928.qmail@web611.mail.yahoo.com> 1. Jessica Gluckman said: Anyone try to win someone over and send a subtle message by putting "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her" on a mix tape? Er, that would be me then! I think "I can't own her" found it's way onto the same tape too. The girl in question thought it very sad in a Nick Hornby kind of way. BUT IT WORKED!!!!!! We have now been an item for about the last year so here's to the power of XTC! 2. Mummer is definitely my all-time "no 2" album. I always find something fresh there when I go back to it. Fave track probably is "Great Fire". And I for one also love "Bungalow" off Nonsuch too. Er, that's all for now. Be good Andrew ps watch SPACED on channel 4!!
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 20:31:41 +0800 From: The Worrier Queen <myrone@tesco.net> Subject: more salmagundie Message-ID: <3AAF64AD.B4F64912@tesco.net> Look I've only just found a parking space. Now I have the war chariot parked safely, the firey steeds have their asbestos nosebags filled with coal and the hell hounds have a large bowl of brimstone I can catch up with the posts. Blimey you have been busy. So in the interests of keeping it short here goes. Nonsuch is brilliant and I think you grow into liking it. Took me a couple of years & two copies to realise this. That Wave and Then She Appeared should be together IMO. One is the storm, the other the calm. The weakest track for me is Bungalow - yes it's sad, another look into a future that seems to hold little more than this. I do skip it most times - I really don't like the schmaltzy feel it has. Omnibus is *fun* 'Nough said ok? Do what you will with your copy but hands off mine. Humph! Rook should get one of those preservation orders put on it. Music for the long dark nights of the soul. Mummer's brill and if Love on a Farmboy's Wages or Funk Pop a Roll ever stops knocking my socks off, then have a whip round for some flowers cos I'm dead. Count me in on the 'I like Frost Circus and Procession too' list. They're in the wrong place - a second cd would have been just the right place. Well a girl can dream. If I'm accepted into the Crusaders for Mummer, no poncho please and moss green brings me out in a rash. The measurements are in the mail Deb but maybe you should add a few inches here & there ja? Perhaps Harrison would care to try the hold themselves up (NOT) stockings instead of tights? I *do* know you can get these in moss green. Big Express - still thinking about it but Soul Train has to be played at my funeral/memorial and I Remember the Sun is the best Colin song, and I refuse to be swayed on this Washaway? UmmO (It's my newish mantra) No - doesn't work for me. At the end of the day it's all subjective innit? I can't find a font based on the ES type, but if anyone can help me make one - ie has the experience and the software - can you get in touch off list - ta. Ben revealed himself as another Midnight Oil fan: > And, finally: Midnight Oil is, apparently, touring in the U.S. beginning in > May. Does that rock or what? I'm cranking "Diesel and Dust" right now > because I love songs like "Warakurna" and "Sell My Soul." Go! Listen! > Now! I have been for sometime, although I can't claim the in depth knowledge of other Chalkers. All I'll say is it kicks and I *really really really* hope they get to the UK. An idle thought: why isn't chocolate mentioned in Church of Women? this is has been a hand typed production and you should have seen it before it got edited. The "well someone has to like Reign of Blows" Warrior Queen
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 17:21:37 -0700 From: "Steve Johnson" <sjohnson@co.missoula.mt.us> Subject: You Won't Engage Me Message-ID: <saafa8ad.088@mail.co.missoula.mt.us> I will not be dragged into this "Mummer vs. Wasp Star vs. Nonsvch vs. The Big Express vs. Apple Venus vs. Oranges and Lemons" debate. Instead, I will simply issue a challenge: If you don't like "Bungalow" or "Dear God" or "Smartest Monkeys" or whatever, then write something better! As Mr. Partridge says, anybody can do it if they just get off their lazy cheeks. So let's submit our entries in the "Write Something Better Than XTC's Worst Piece of Crap" contest. Okay, I lied. I will engage, but only briefly. "Humble Daisy" is a great song, in the tradition of "Love on a Farmboy's Wages" and "Ladybird." For me, it's right up there with (in no particular order): Chalkhills and Children Mayor of Simpleton Wrapped in Grey Greenman Knights in Shining Karma The Wheel and the Maypole You and the Clouds... Senses Working Overtime We're All Light River of Orchids And so on... Sincerely, Steve (I Found Myself a Liarbird) Johnson
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 20:24:11 -0600 From: JH3 <jh3@winco.net> Subject: Better than the Zombies and the Pretty Things, too Message-ID: <00f301c0acf7$06db2a60$8cf190cf@JH3.alternatech.net> From: "pop boy" <powerpopboy67@hotmail.com>: >If even the worse tracks that xtc have written are >better than any other band has ever produced (as >is often tediously commented upon on this list) why >dont people put all their most disliked tracks onto >one cd and listen to it? Because when you do that, you end up hearing things in these seemingly "less-favored" tracks that you might not have noticed before, or the mere repetition of the various hooks and so forth stick in your head, and you end up liking them MORE as a result, so that they're no longer your most-disliked tracks - and then you have to go and burn ANOTHER CD or dub ANOTHER cassette or whatever containing your NEW most-disliked tracks, so you listen to THOSE and you like THOSE more, and you keep having to do it AGAIN and AGAIN in a bizarre, unending cycle that NEVER ENDS until you've burned EVERY SINGLE XTC TRACK EVER RECORDED onto CD's of your most-disliked tracks, and even THEN it doesn't stop because you just have to go back to the original set of most-disliked tracks because you probably threw the first CD away or gave it to one of your friends, and it goes ON AND ON AND ON AND ON until you just can't stand it anymore, and you start to think "Why the hell am I doing this anyway, why don't I just burn CD's of my FAVORITE XTC tracks and have done with it, or why don't I just listen to the original albums themselves so I don't have to keep burning CD's that cost $1.29 per disk, but NO, you have to KEEP GOING because THAT's WHAT YOUR LIFE HAS NOW BECOME, just an unending cycle of deciding what your most-disliked XTC tracks are, and then changing your mind, etc. etc. Of course, that might not be true for everybody. John H. Hedges III XTCware: http://www.jh3.com/xtc
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 21:30:57 -0500 From: "Chris" <chris@compudrivel.com> Subject: Hats off Message-ID: <003801c0acf7$f74ea580$8e3a0040@compudrivel.com> Wow. I didn't know there were so many talented musicians on this mailing list. I listened to songs on the MP3 station (Chalkhillers, is it?). Many flavors of XTC. I have unbridled compassion for songwriters. The creative process involves long and sometimes acrimonious, seemingly never-ending sessions in the quest to "get it right". And the end more than justifies the means. Break a few eggs, you make a few omelettes. giving credit where credit is dew, i remain, sirs, your most humble obedient servant, Chris compudrivel powers the internet
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 22:31:31 -0500 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: Zappa Message-ID: <l03130300b6d5e592a95f@[206.231.24.71]> >"Smith, David" <David.Smith@tfeurope.com> >Subject: RE: Zap me vitals . . . >Message-ID: <4BBE67B71C1DD411A23600508B65F71E01168D96@tfsecmsg04.tfseur.co.uk> > >Parrots, lemurs and rooks, I greet you. > >Help me please . . . Zappa. Never got into him, never >really tried. Always got the impression he was >deliberately kooky and weird, which ain't necessarily >my thang. However, enough of youse guys rave about him >to whet my appetite. What's the best point of entry? > >C'mon, 'fess up and convert an ignoramus. Check out Freak Out, Absolutely Free and We're Only In It For The Money, the first three Mothers Of Invention albums. Those are the essential Frank Zappa in my opinion, it was after that he began disappearing up his own asshole, though everything of his up until around Hot Rats is worth checking out because the music is wildly experimental and/or jazzy and there aren't too many words. Those there are are either rather cryptic or scatalogical, but the music is interesting enough that it doesn't matter. Hot Rats is particularly notable for a Captain Beefheart vocal cameo and the TV theme that should have been, "Peaches En Regalia." After about 1970 he starts to lose me, I rented the video of 2000 Motels and it's one of the few supposedly hip movies I couldn't sit through. It had nothing to recommend it, at least The Monkees' Head didn't make sense in an interesting way. There's little else post 1970 by Zappa that interests me, though Adrian Belew's Bob Dylan imitation on Sheik Yerbouti gave me a chuckle or two, and "Valley Girl" is a very endearing novelty song. I also noticed a couple of pretty good C&W parodies on You Are What You Is when I gave it one spin. Other than that, Zappa has interested me in the last twenty-five years of his life when he shuts up and plays his guitar, which admittedly he does very well. Christopher R. Coolidge "The bad news is, there is no key to the universe. The good news is, it has been left unlocked." -Swami Beyondananda
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 01:52:57 -0500 From: Groove Disques <info@groovedisques.com> Subject: Zappa Crappa, Harrison in Wonderland? Message-ID: <4.1.20010315013238.0099bc20@mail.digiweb.com> "Smith, David" <David.Smith@tfeurope.com> asked: >Help me please . . . Zappa. Never got into him, never >really tried. Always got the impression he was >deliberately kooky and weird, which ain't necessarily >my thang... I'm with you. I had a friend who tried to turn me onto Zappa numerous times in all sorts of "enhanced" states and the best thing I could say about him was that a few of the bits on Uncle Meat were funny and that he could play a good guitar solo if he'd shut up. Of course, he had a series of guitar solo excerpts entitled "Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar," or something like that. He also summed up my opinion of his music with a poster in the '70s of him sitting on the toilet and the title "Zappa Crappa";) My friend made a great effort, but no dice. >In the latest Mojo magazine it's reviewed and summarised as "the >best solo album ever by any of the Beatles". Opinions? In the face of the publicity machine that will henceforth greet any new release related to the Fabs, I would respectfully disagree. It's among the best, but I can only make it through the abundance of long, world-weary songs like "Isn't It a Pity" and "My Sweet Lord" so many times. Then there's the useless jam session album. The first Plastic Ono Band album is a work of art, even Lennon's world-weary songs (eg, "God") are done with style and economy. McCartney's Band on the Run is the most enjoyable. The title track, Jet, 1984 (or whatever year it is), and others make up 50% of the most essential "classic" power pop songs (you can round out the list with "Go All the Way", "Surrender", "White Lies", and another assorted half dozen). My ranking of poor George's solo masterpiece at good old #3 compared with his former, dominant bandmates reminds me of something I don't remember seeing discussed here or elsewhere in the world of XTC literature but that struck me and my friends the first time we listened to Mummer: Does anyone else make a George Harrison/Colin Moulding connection when Colin sings about "no dark horse like me..." in "Wonderland? Jim www.groovedisques.com
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 04:47:01 -0800 From: "Ray Michno" <rmichno@my-deja.com> Subject: Re: Japanese Imports Message-ID: <200103151247.EAA22303@mail10.bigmailbox.com> >> It appears there will be roughly a 50/50 break of the albums >> into two release dates. Older stuff first. What I just realized >> this morning is I don't see the Dukes "Chips" CD here. I am >> suprised it wasn't reissued with these, maybe it will be later. >> Japaneese releases normally predate UK\Worldwide releases by >> about two weeks. So these should be available worldwide starting >> around April 23. I do believe the Miniature LP Sleeve packaging >> will be a Japan only option though. When somebody buys one of the Japanese releases, can you please let us know what the sleeve packaging looks like? I'm wondering if I should just wait for the worldwide releases or if I should spend some extra $$ and get the Japanese copies. And no, I can't afford BOTH. Also, where (online) can I order the Japanese releases? -Ray-
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 08:19:35 -0500 From: "Brian" <mattone@bhip.infi.net> Subject: Re: Kiss my aura, Dora Message-ID: <007f01c0ad52$97762600$ec0bffd1@Brian> Tschalkgerz! >I've had my aura photographed; kirilian photography is as exact a science >as any other, it's just not accepted by all scientists. Don't knock it if >you haven't tried it. Don't knock what if you haven't tried what? Getting a photograph of the ionization effect of the electricity around my body? Whoop-de. It's been explained here what 'Kirlian photography ' is. Why do I want a picture of that? We already understand the science of ionization. >That said, it's not something I take as gospel truth either. Well, which is it? You must have an opinion one way or the other. >The fact that we used to think you couldn't split the atom and now >thanks to Einsteinian physics we know we can isn't something I think about >every day either. And that doesn't mean they don't exist. I didn't think about Pakistan yesterday, but I'm sure it was still over there, next to India. >There are two things in life for me as far as what's true, what I accept >and understand to be true and what I don't understand >yet. At least 90% of what comes out of the so-called New Age movement is >poorly researched crap; >I'm interested in the remaining 10%. Remember: unexplained does not necessarily mean inexplicable. >My problem isn't with Kirilian photography, it's with people taking a >potentially interesting idea for cutting edge research(such as >Kirilian photography) and take it to its illogical lunatic >conclusion; when they start spouting jargon that I don't understand >and I'm not sure they do, that's where they lose me. They spout unintelligible jargon becasue they want to take their hair-brained ideas and foist them on us with some kind of dressing that 'sounds' scientific and legit, when it's not. You want to know more about this? 'Why People Believe Weird Things', by Michael Shermer. Try Amazon.com. >But by all means, check out some of the 10%; I've been doing Hatha >Yoga off and on for all my adult life(20 years), and if it weren't for the >chiropractors I've seen(both network and traditional) I'd be walking around >like a bent old man from multiple broken ribs in a car accident a number of >years ago. Yikes! It's starting to sound like a veritable New Age dictionary in here...yoga... chiropractic... >There's also some very interesting research being done by various >Spiritualist churches and organisations around the world that >offers ways you can verify with your physical five senses that the human >personality continues to exist beyond the change called death and can >communicate with its loved ones left behind if they pay attention in the >correct way. In the correct way? Bullshit. How does one discern between really doing such a thing and the 'voices-in-the-head' syndrome (i.e., mental illness ormalfunctioning of some sort)? >The question is, what burden of proof is required for true science? Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. >If you mean in a laboratory, can't help you there, which is why some sciences reject parapsychology as a true science.< What we skeptics want is verifiable, repeatable evidence that can be acquired by others doing the same tests or having the same experience. If a giant burning wooden cross appeared over the 7-11 and a LOT of people saw it and brought home some chunks of burnt wood that fell from it and even had to be treated for smoke inhalation or burns, then I'd start believing. Maybe. Until then... >The point being, keep an open mind, but by all means be cynical about >human nature. Not cynical. Skeptical. Demand proof. Everything we experience in our daily lives has some real world application. Physical reality dominates. Anything that we want to have happen needs to operate within the same physical laws that we have to deal with everyday. You cannot escape this. Any supposed phenomenon that behaves in a manner that violates these physical laws likely does not exist except in the minds of those wishing to hell (to coin a phrase) that it did. >Leave it to human beings to take a good idea and take it to some weird >place which makes no sense. For those who are skeptics and atheists, take >heart, Buddhists are effectively atheists too. You don't need to believe >in a SkyGod to believe in a guiding scientific principle to human >existence, and you don't even need to understand it. I'm sure Andy >understands that, as a skeptic who greatly reveres the natural world. >There is such a thing as natural law, including the laws of physics and >other laws that are somewhat more esoteric. It's a good thing to be >skeptical and incredulous, skeptics tend to understand better once they >do accept something. You still seem to be flip-flopping here... are you or aren't you? And everyone is an atheist. I'm pretty sure the devout here don't believe in more than one 'god', and there have been many gods humans have worshipped throughout history. You have certainly rejected all of those other gods, you atheists, you. -Brian Matthews http://www.stonetrek.com XTC still rules. [ Although I admit I find this topic somewhat amusing, I hereby request that it be taken off-list. Thanks. -- John ]
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 05:31:30 -0800 (PST) From: Ira Lieman <ilieman@yahoo.com> Subject: Purposely Un-accessible Songs...blah! Message-ID: <20010315133130.17671.qmail@web215.mail.yahoo.com> Chalkers, I'm delurking for a brief shining moment. Who was the guy/gal that wanted to shoot the one who mixed "Lucky One," the first song on Michael Penn's MP4 album? This was a little while ago and I initially took offense to the remark because I naively thought, "He should be able to mix the song the way he wants, if it's OK with the artist." I've been listening to that album a little more in recent days and I finally agree with you. The song is a great piece of radio-friendly "adult contemporary" that even you under-16s might enjoy. The music is catchy, the lyrics are subversive enough that you Britney Spears fans wouldn't be able to tell, and I would think it could have been a minor hit for Mr. Penn...until the end of the song...which makes it completely unsatisfactory because it changes into a dirge. Why would any artist PURPOSEFULLY do something like that? If I had the talent to write something like "Lucky One" why wouldn't I polish it (or have it polished) just enough to make sure the radio guys would listen to it... What XTC songs do you think might fit into this perception? Off the top of my head, most of the "hit-friendly" songs haven't been bastardized like "Lucky One" has. And Andy & Colin have created songs that fit into the "friendly" mold but haven't been sent to the tops of the charts. Michael Penn had one BIG hit about 12 years ago or so, so he's at least tasted success on that level. Why would he piss me off to this extent? Who knows. But even if this indie artist mentality skews your musical vision, it's not bad to have a hit. </soapbox> Thanks for your kindly faked attention. -ira "stuck in the '80s" lieman
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 08:58:05 -0600 From: Jason Phelan <jphelan@ICGCopyright.com> Subject: Moe, Larry and Curlian Photography and ZAPPA Message-ID: <CBE4754489E8D211816000500416EAE00E7174@w162.z064002150.bna-tn.dsl.cnc.net> Loyal Subjects of Chalky surroundings and elevated spaces! I heard there is a cool Kirlian Photography mailing list that isn't the same one as the XTC list hint hint - get the Kirlian picture!!!????!!!!! To the poster of questions on ZAPPA, I was in the same boat as you. I don't know what the best way to get into him is, but I will tell you how I did. Somehow I got a hold of the live album, JUST ANOTHER BAND FROM L.A. That of "Billy The Mountain" and "Call Any Vegetable" fame. That's what eased me into wanting to know more. Then I got SHIEK YERBOUTI. Once again, does anyone know about the release dates in the US for the re-issues and/or any of the box sets for XTC? Currently deciding on be-heading the jester, THE SKYLAR KING
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 07:30:34 -0800 (PST) From: Queen of Sardines <heather@sylvanfells.net> Subject: Boingo Replacement (not XTC) Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.21.0103150718120.27574-100000@tanqueray.drunk.org> Brian's .sig: (I'm not touching that aura photo stuff): -Brian Matthews http://www.stonetrek.com With Boingo gone, XTC rules the roost. Actually, I've found a pretty good replacement for my beloved Boingo--a local(San Francisco) "swing from Hell" band, Lee Press-on and the Nails. They have that Boingo sensibility (they even cover Goodbye, Goodbye and Pico and Sepulveda) and Dan's wild man act. I recommend you check them out. Due to a tangle with their record company (sound familiar?) their first albums aren't available, Lee Press-on recommends that you download them from Napster. ;) Now, next time I'm at my sister's house on Topanga, I'm going to drive up the road to Elfman's house and pummel him until he agrees to releash another OB album. Score to "A Civil Action" my ass. heather Oh, and I really like XTC, too. *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* "The problem with being a cynic is that you can't really enjoy being right, because being right means somebody is suffering." -- Tora "The best part of being a cynic is that you can only be pleasantly surprised." -- me
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 08:23:50 -0800 (PST) From: Al LaCarte <allacarte@yahoo.com> Subject: Exhumed Message-ID: <20010315162350.7625.qmail@web1610.mail.yahoo.com> All: >Vgly Vnderneath. ELO< shite Al
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 13:20:04 -0500 From: sjacobs <sjacobs@parkgrp.com> Subject: Re: Zappa for President Message-ID: <B6D67204.58C%sjacobs@parkgrp.com> on 3/13/01 12:22 PM, <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> at <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> wrote: > Help me please . . . Zappa. Never got into him, never > really tried. Always got the impression he was > deliberately kooky and weird, which ain't necessarily > my thang. However, enough of youse guys rave about him > to whet my appetite. What's the best point of entry? Ok, for starters...try 1. " Apostrophe" 2. "Overnite (sic) sensation" and maybe 3. "Strictly Commercial" PLEASE try apostrophe first...it's funny, clever and instrumentally awesome. If you are really lucky, Ryko Disc had Apostrophe and Overnite on one disc (serial no. RCD 40025). You may still be able to find it....it was the first CD I ever brought, even before I had anything to play it on! Zappa is going to be weird, believe me...but if you persevere you will conquer. Be warned, he has churned out a lot of unpleasent stuff too. Enjoy my friend Yak
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 13:22:10 -0500 From: sjacobs <sjacobs@parkgrp.com> Subject: Re: Dirtsurfer Message-ID: <B6D67282.58D%sjacobs@parkgrp.com> Has anyone ever ridden/owns an Australian Dirtsurfer? If you have one you will know what it is! Any comments? Yak
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 13:30:09 -0500 From: "Michael D. Myers" <mmyers@telcordia.com> Subject: Bubblegum album vs. "That Thing You Do" Message-ID: <OFFE8291E3.6DEACF8A-ON85256A10.0063636D@cc.telcordia.com> Chalksters and Chalkettes; I was thinking about Andy's concept for the aborted "Bubblegum Album". If I understand it correctly, Andy proposed that the band would record a whole album of material, and each song would be attributed to a different "fake" band, all of which had silly names. I believe the proposal was such that the label (Virgin?) would put out a press announcement indicating that they had reached a licensing arrangement with some little-known record label from the 60's/70's that specialized in bubblegum-styled music. It was to be a fairly elaborate joke and would give XTC another chance to pull-off a Dukes-like hoax. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Well, that led me to think about a pretty clever movie I saw a couple of years back called "That Thing You Do". Tom Hanks wrote and directed the movie. The story line revolves around a young band from Erie, Pennsylvania with a hit single; they're called the Wonders. They come out of nowhere and their recording is picked up by "Play-Tone" records, who begin the process of making them stars. The movie does a great job of depicting how these guys embrace the challenges put before them as they join the "cavalcade of stars" that the record label promotes and sends on tour all over the country. It's set in 1964, and it depicts a 2-month period from when they are discovered until the band flames out because of "creative differences". I particulary liked the scene when they hear their record on the radio for the first time. There is real joy, and you can see that it's a total rush for them. Tom Hanks plays their manager. How are paragraphs 1 and 2 of this message connected? Hanks and others (I believe the guys from "Fountains of Wayne") wrote a whole soundtrack of imaginary hits, all of which sound like things you would have heard on the radio in 1964. In fact, I'm sure that the title song would have been a hit in 1964; it's that good, and sounds as if it really was of that era. Of course, it really was written in 1996. I was listening to the soundtrack in the past few days, and there is a whole roster of "Play-Tone artists" on the CD. There's a Dusty Springfield type, a surf band, a Mitch Miller sing-along-kind-of group, etc. When I thought about it, Tom Hanks and company have taken Andy's concept one step further; they made a movie. They created not only an imaginary record label, but depicted a roster of popular artists who exist only in the movie, and created a really great soundtrack as well. As I mentioned, the songs are as good as some compilations you might buy today of REAL artists from that time frame. It's pretty psychedelic, man.......... Mike
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 10:44:44 -0800 (PST) From: John Relph <relph@mando.engr.sgi.com> Subject: RE: Zap me vitals . . . Message-ID: <10103151044.ZM20097@mando.engr.sgi.com> On Mon, 12 Mar 2001 18:27:06 -0000, "Smith, David" <David.Smith@tfeurope.com> had the gall to say: > >Help me please . . . Zappa. Never got into him, never >really tried. Always got the impression he was >deliberately kooky and weird, which ain't necessarily >my thang. However, enough of youse guys rave about him >to whet my appetite. What's the best point of entry? I notice that most people seem to be suggesting either mostly somewhat early works by Frank Zappa (my hero!). I admit I got heavily into the works of Mr Zappa later in his career. I never really listened to "Absolutely Free" and "We're Only In It For The Money" until recently. Oh well. My favorites are still his late '70s post-Warner Bros. works. Specifically, "Sheik Yerbouti", "Joe's Garage" and "You Are What You Is". In fact, I think the latter is the Zappa album that gets the most play around my house (although I don't play Zappa as much these days, because he's one of the few musical artists that actively annoys my wife). If you watched "Saturday Night Live" in the late '70s and remember The Coneheads, then "You Are What You Is" is for you. "Sheik Yerbouti" has some of my favorite tracks, but it's a mixed bag, and some of the tracks are downright annoying even to me. "Joe's Garage" should appeal to XTC fans because it's a concept album about the Music Industry (and why "Music is Big Trouble"). But the fact that it's a concept album also forced Frank to stick to the theme, and his songwriting is more concise than in some other works. Not to mention that the album contains some of the funniest and raunchiest songs he ever wrote, including the wonderful "Catholic Girls", "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?" and who can forget the classic "Stick It Out" (most of the German I know comes from this song :-). And it also contains what I consider to be one of Frank's most beautiful pieces of music, "Watermelon in Easter Hay", mostly a guitar instrumental. (Technically, "Joe's Garage" is actually two albums, released as two separate LP packages.) But I could talk about Frank Zappa albums all day. That said, I'm out of here. I remain, yr. obdt. svt., -- John NP: Nina Gordon "Tonight And The Rest Of My Life", Parthenon Huxley "Purgatory Falls", The Blake Babies "God Bless", Buddy Judge "Profiles in Clownhenge", and The Stray Trolleys "Barricades and Angels + Secret Dreams of a Kitchen Porter" (Martin Newell and friends). On shuffle.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 14:47:12 +1100 From: "Culnane, Paul" <Paul.Culnane@DCITA.GOV.AU> Subject: XtC reissue news Message-ID: <17E19E6D5085D41196240000E896881D01584461@g5dccbr0ms01.dcita.gov.au> This comes from www.mojo4music.com: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 15 March 2001 | 04:44 PM XTC Go 2 It Mid Price Re-Release Bonanza Virgin Records are re-releasing all ten XTC albums on their books, in the digitally remastered, bonus-track-attached CD format now familiar to music buffs, on May 28 2001. Coming straight out of Swindon in 1975, Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Terry Chambers and Barry Andrews (later replaced by Dave Gregory) characterised their highly individual brand of pop music by weaving in complex arrangements and quirky lyrics. Their first two albums, White Music and Go 2 were warmly received by the music press, but it was their third album, the Steve Lillywhite-produced Drums And Wires, that achieved initial commercial success through the Top 20 UK single Making Plans For Nigel. XTC never quite achieved the dizzy apex of success their devoted following believed they deserved, the psychological pressures of touring taking a particular toll on frontman Partridge, who also had run-ins with the band's various producers. XTC eventually parted company with Virgin in 1992 after the release of Nonsuch and signed to Cooking Vinyl in 1999. All the Virgin re-releases include original tracks and artwork, plus the usual bonus nuggets, and retail in the wallet-friendly mid-price range. XTC lovers should also seek out the first five albums by the band on Special Edition Japanese Import released on April 9, with the latter five following on May 14. The Virgin albums are: White Music (1977) Go 2 (1978) Drums And Wires (1979) Black Sea (1980) English Settlement (1982) Mummer (1983) The Big Express (1984) Skylarking (1986) Oranges & Lemons (1989) Nonsuch (1992) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ~~p@ul
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