Chalkhills Digest Volume 8, Issue 19
Date: Friday, 15 March 2002
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 8, Number 19
Friday, 15 March 2002
Topics:
Jellyfish, The Posies and notlame records
Star Park
I hope you enjoy my new box set
Kate/Kirsty/XTC :)
While we're on this Testimonial Dinner thing...
Jackbooted Fascist Taskmaster
Rocklopedia Fakebandica
The Future of XTC
Total wages
The Mime CDs
Bowlermen gig
THE NINES :WONDERWORLD OF COLORFUL
Trainspotting on The Onion
TD 2, would we really want that?
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 08 Mar 2002 19:02:32 -0600 From: "Jim S." <quint_75@swbell.net> Subject: Jellyfish, The Posies and notlame records Message-ID: <3C895F28.C0FDF8CD@swbell.net> > Check out the site below for the upcoming 4 CD Jellyfish rarities > box, FAN CLUB, plus a ton of other great powerpop stuff. The > Jellyfish is a limited edition, so don't wait to get your order in. > > http://www.notlame.com/ And while you are there, put in a pre-order for The Posies box set, "At Least At Last." This too was a limited edition and the first pressing is sold out. Used copies of this go for as much as $200 on some web sites (which is admittedly quite silly). It is an amazing box set, and if enough pre-orders are taken, a second pressing will be done for $50 a copy. It's a great deal, and The Posies are one of the great under-appreciated bands of the 90's, much like our beloved XTC. If you are not familiar with The Posies, get acquainted! -- Jim S.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 22:33:02 EST From: WTDK@aol.com Subject: Star Park Message-ID: <6.2536e599.29badc6e@aol.com> I finally decided to trade in some old CDs and pick up A School Guide To XTC in trade. Yikes! This can be best described as Xtc in zygote form. It's pretty bad stuff. In fact, it falls into that so bad it's good category. Good thing they didn't get signed based on this stuff as they would have quickly fallen off the face of the planet. We would have been robbed of the great music that came later. I noticed that the John Relph's discography is included--was this done with John's permission? It's an interesting package but definitely not worth the $20.00 I would have paid if I had purchased it. I also noticed that all the songs are credited to Partridge-Moulding. I was under the impression that Andy wrote most of this early stuff. Coat of Cupboards---it looks like most of the material hasn't appeared on CD before (or only on CD singles). I noticed that Down A Peg (one of my favorite songs by Colin) didn't make the cut. Hopefully it will be included on Fuzzy Warbles. I'd suggest looking at the track listing at the Chalkhills website before jumping to any conclusions. It appears that most of this stuff doesn't come from the albums. There are a couple of album tracks thrown in (although I personally found this kind of odd. It would have made better sense to cut it down to a 3 Cd set to me). Wayne
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Mar 2002 04:04:58 +0000 From: "Nathan Mulac DeHoff" <xornom@hotmail.com> Subject: I hope you enjoy my new box set Message-ID: <F42SWEr9rAkQ1HSmFBy0000ac0f@hotmail.com> John Relph: >On Mon, 25 Feb, riserius1@netscape.net (Chris Wisniewski) kvetched: > > > >Elizabeth Setler <elizabeth@fringehead.com> wrote: > >>- 41 tracks (70% of the contents of the box set) have never been > >>released before in any form > > > >This should be reworded, perhaps, to read "...in any format",meaning > >cd,lp,cassette. I personally only found 11 tracks that I do not have > >in my collection "in any form" i.e. live, studio, demo. Actually, I do > >have them in demo, but I got them off Morpheus so they don't count as > >an "Official Release". Saying that these tracks have never been > >released in any form is misleading and at worst, disingenuous. > >I disagree, but while I disagree, I will agree it is a matter of >interpretation. Yes, 30 or so of those 41 tracks have been released >in some form. For example, "Yacht Dance" was previously released on >"English Settlement". However, and this is where I disagree, *this >version* of "Yacht Dance", a live version recorded on "Ye Olde Greye >Whistle Teste" in 1982, has never been released. That's true. I think the important issue here, though, is how different these other versions are from the ones on the studio albums. Sure, the live versions haven't been released, but is there a REASON for them to released? I think there is, if they're significantly different. This doesn't mean BETTER; if there's a recording where Andy forgets the words, bring it on. That can be interesting (although Andy might think otherwise). On the other hand, if it sounds practically identical to the versions already available, with maybe some clapping or something, then it isn't really something I'd really want to get my hands on (although I probably WOULD, if it were cheap enough, which "Coat of Many Cupboards" isn't). I realize there is some disagreement on this point, though. Aaron Pastula: >With response to the following: > > >>Warren.Butson@getty-images.com writes > >>Is anyone confused at the inclusion of some > >>completely normal versions > >>on the new "coat of..." release? > >I can't work out why they should be there. Anyone fan > >enough to buy a > >4 cd set of out-takes has surely got these already. > >Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't most box sets >mainly just repackagings of album tracks anyway, with >a few odd live recordings or perhaps one or two new >tracks thrown in? I'll admit I don't buy them often >(if at all), but it seems to me that they usually >consist of stuff that a completist would have already. Yeah, that's pretty much how it is, which kind of strikes me as a rip-off. Hardcore fans will already have most of the material on it, so will basically end up paying exorbitant prices for a few rare tracks (which is probably what the record companies are counting on in the first place). People who aren't that familiar with the band will find more that they don't have yet, but probably wouldn't be willing to pay for all of it at once, instead choosing to go for either a regular album or a greatest hits collection (in this case, Upsy Daisy Assortment, Fossil Fuel, Waxworks, etc.). So, as it is, these sets tend to be rip-offs no matter how you look at it, but people will buy them anyway, because there's no other (legal) way to get certain songs. Nathan
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 23:45:51 -0500 From: "Molly, the New Wave Queen" <mollyfa0000@worldnet.att.net> Subject: Kate/Kirsty/XTC :) Message-ID: <001301c1c725$4c5a7ac0$3804590c@vogmudet> Organization: AT&T Worldnet DANIEL B. wrote: <<I have always pictured Kate singing alot of parts in In Loving Memory Of A Name>> I totally forgot about this song. Yeah, Kate would be great at doing all the vocals. If she were still alive I could picture Kirsty MacColl singing "Wonderland". I don't know, but she seems like she would be good at that song. Molly
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Mar 2002 18:24:33 -0500 From: "Rich Greenham" <rgreenham@thebear.net> Subject: While we're on this Testimonial Dinner thing... Message-ID: <fc.000f4ca300fbf4fe3b9aca00d2275b8b.fbf523@cfrb.com> Dear All: I was heading into Ottawa on the bus a few nights ago and curiously watched a 15 or 16 year old kid eagerly unwrap a new CD he had just bought or shoplifted or something... No -- it wasn't XTC. But what came out of that crinkled shrink-wrap inspired a completely ludicrous idea for an XTC-cover version for the next Testicular Dinner (if there's ever gonna be another one)... Dear God - Ozzy Osbourne Stop laughing. I know I did when I actually imagined what the Oz-man would sound like covering the song! Throw in some blistering Zakk Wylde guitar and you've git a hit, babe! Dear God - Ozzy Osbourne Needless to say, the kid was happy with his purchase. As he got off the bus, he flashed me the sign of the devil, and went on his merry way. I proceeded into the city and got plastered. When in Ottawa, please visit Paddy Boland's Pub, Clarence Street in the Byward Market. Cheers! Rich
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 12:08:02 EST From: Hbsherwood@aol.com Subject: Jackbooted Fascist Taskmaster Message-ID: <b6.7d7166a.29bcecf2@aol.com> Bongos: Thanks very much for your ideas for t-shirt designs. I forwarded all your suggestions to Partridge. Among your many very creative ideas, the one that predominated was the notion that Andy himself should make a unique design, and that purchasers of the shirt would be able to walk around with a Partridge Original on their chests. He thought that this is a very nice idea, but was temporarily at a loss as to exactly what to draw. I'm sure, however, that the febrile Partridge brain won't stay quiet for long. >From: John Relph <relph@mando.engr.sgi.com> >Subject: Re: misleading box set info >On Mon, 25 Feb, riserius1@netscape.net (Chris Wisniewski) kvetched: >> >>Elizabeth Setler <elizabeth@fringehead.com> wrote: >>>- 41 tracks (70% of the contents of the box set) have never been >>>released before in any form >> >>This should be reworded, perhaps, to read "...in any format",meaning >>cd,lp,cassette. I personally only found 11 tracks that I do not have >>in my collection "in any form" i.e. live, studio, demo. Actually, I do >>have them in demo, but I got them off Morpheus so they don't count as >>an "Official Release". Saying that these tracks have never been >>released in any form is misleading and at worst, disingenuous. [snip] >But my hope is that the quality of the >recordings on "Coat of Many Cupboards" will be superior to any of >those previously available versions. And it is my belief that many of >these specific recordings have never been available in any form. Virgin sent me an advance copy of the CDs (minus the packaging, which is still at the printers'), and I can say unequivocally that Andy and Colin's personally supervised masterings of the tracks that I *have* heard before (i.e., previously bootlegged demos) are vastly, infinitely, squintillionly better than the nth-generation-cassette-quality boots that have circulated. Live tracks have also been mixed carefully, greatly to their benefit. On the matter of the inclusion of album tracks in Coat of Many Cupboards, remember that the original conception for this boxed set planned for four disks: Live, Demos, Outtakes, and Andy and Colin's Favorite Album Tracks. Along the way this idea was scrapped in favor of a chronological approach, so that Disk 1 is very early stuff, Disk 2 covers Go2 to Black Sea, Disk 3 is English Settlement through Skylarking, and Disk 4 covers The Dukes through Nonsuch. Now Andy and Colin's Favorites are interspersed among the many rarities and alternate versions. What holds all this together is the commentary in the booklet (Andy and Colin's, not mine, I hasten to clarify). Not only are we privileged to know what songs Andy and Colin are most proud of (and they're emphatically *not* the ones that sold the most records), but we get their insights into *why* they're proud of them. Not to spoil a surprise in the service of an argument, but Andy's 5 paragraphs on "Chalkhills and Children" are an amazing insight into his mind: unabashedly poetic, funny, brutally honest, and self-ridiculing, in the space of 300 words. Remember, also, that while Andy and Colin had a great deal to say about what tracks were included and excluded, the final say was Virgin's. Apparently this caused at least some friction, which is most evident in Andy's mordant comments on the inclusion of the album version of "Sgt. Rock." I'll let you read his words yourself; suffice to say he didn't want it in this set. >Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2002 18:17:09 -0800 (PST) >From: Aaron Pastula <pastula12@yahoo.com> >I'm looking forward >to getting it, if for no other reason than I'm a >complete sucker for packaging. I mean, the word >"booklet" just makes me gooey. Not that I'm a disinterested party or anything, but I've seen the proofs of the booklet, and it's a peachamaroot. While the box itself is black-and-white, the instant you open the booklet you're bombarded with bright colors and tons of hitherto unseen photos. As something of a graphic designer myself, I can testify that Andrew Swainson, the designer, is a real pro. He tells me that Andy was a "guiding hand" through the design process, which probably won't surprise anybody. Harrison "Guiding Hand or Jackbooted Fascist Taskmaster?" Sherwood
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 12:48:10 -0800 From: "Jamie and Martin Monkman" <monkman@coastnet.com> Subject: Rocklopedia Fakebandica Message-ID: <000501c1c874$e659f060$628cf4cc@new> Here's a fun site wherin you can waste some time. http://www.vgg.com/tp/tp_080700_fakeband.html No Dukes of Stratophear, presumably because they were never on TV or in a movie. Martin Monkman
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 13:27:08 +0800 From: arnold alamon <babynoldsky@yahoo.com> Subject: The Future of XTC Message-ID: <1015824428.3c8c402c4f5d9@mail.up.edu.ph> What you are reading right now is my first long contribution to this mailing list after a long long time. I am as crazy about XTC as most of you and there has been many times that I've been tempted to add my voice to the chorus of praise for our most respected band. I remember the swell of unexplainable happiness I felt when I first heard the soaring chorus of "Easter Theatre." At that time, I wanted to desperately share the experience with someone. But as all things numinous (perhaps all matters spiritual), XTC is meant to be experienced alone (pun intended). None of my friends ever fully understood my fascination with the brand of intelligent pop from Swindon. Thank heavens for venues such as this, our obsession become more than just an eccentrity. Reading anecdotes that tell of how XTC has become the soundtrack of your lives (your nine-year olds even groove to it!), I tell myself that I am not alone. Through this mailing list, we have become a community of sorts. This is my attempt to reaffirm my membership (and perhaps even yours) to our small community. I am sure what I am about to share to you has happened to you as well (no, this is not about alien abductions). These musings are prompted by listening to recently purchased CDs of bands from opposite ends of pop music's short history. I just bought Manfred Mann's "The Ascent of Mann - The Fontana Years (1966-1969)" and The Sugarplastic's "Bang, the Earth is Round (1996)." Adding to the joy of this experience is the fact that I knew close to nothing of these bands before purchasing. Among the guitar bands of the 60s that I have recently discovered, Manfred Mann represents a sound that can be classified somewhere between the smart bubblegum pop of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys and the progressive rock of groups such as Iron Butterfly. Their sweet harmonies and sophisticated arrangements especially on cuts like "My Name is Jack" anticipate the kind of pop that our boys would master later one. Sugarplastic, on the other hand, sounds like a younger XTC that missed the bus to the pastures and remained angry/punk. One cannot miss the similarities in songwriting style of Ben Eshbach and Andy. Ben, who stands as the lead singer as well, even sounds a lot like Andy. These parallelisms do not make them poor copies. In fact, Sugarplastic's recent happy presence prove the timelessness of intelligent pop. These two albums would definetely be included in my desert island discs. This may not seem so earth shattering to you. However, for guys like me whose happiness is directly related to the size and depth of their record collection, such discoveries matter a lot. XTC has a lot to do with how I define happiness these days. Yes, my discovery of the band has definitely cause the growth of my record collection (which, of course directly translates to the absence of financial savings). In the past years, I believe I have spent equal time on my couch smoking cigarettes while listening to records and working. I knew XTC from way back. I was still in gradeschool when "King for a Day" made it to the play list of our local rock station. I remember buying a cassette of "Oranges and Lemons." It was quirky and even though it was enjoyable, it was not as digestible as U2. It was three years ago, having outgrown my fascination for the Irish band (and becoming smarter in the process), when I chanced upon a previously-owned copy of XTC's "Fossil Fuel" in my favorite CD store. I was introduced to the genius of Andy Partridge's songwriting over the years. But it was "Apple Venus Vol. 1." which floored me. I began completing the band's catalog. Except for the first two albums and the "Wasp Star" demos, I proudly have everything. Every couple of months or so, I have my XTC binge period. I would listen to the whole catalog and I am still swept by the genius of their work. I still get unexplainably dizzy (and this is a very good thing!) following Colin's bass lines in "Mayor of Simpleton." Every so often, I would play "Black Sea" in my CD player and I can't help but grin. I rank "You're the Wish" as one of the best pop songs ever written. However, the power of XTC's music extends beyond its vast catalog. Listening to XTC has sensitized me to intelligent music. I have worked backward, checking out bands that influenced them. Discovering the music of the Hollies and Manfred Mann has been a great joy. Of course, I am most grateful for the band's music for introducing me to the genius of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. The inventiveness and pleasant adventurism in pop songwriting that I crave for began with "Good Vibrations" (any objections?). I am currently working my way back to the Beatles catalog as well. Listening to these great artists have resulted to many hours of solitary joy. One can just imagine the deights I still have to discover. Take note that I still have to move my way up XTC's influences in the 70s. My discovery of The Sugarplastic has convinced me that XTC's music, indeed, has a future. We all know the special place the band occupies among the community of intelligent musicians. With important works like "Bang, the Earth is Round," and Ben Eshbach's and many other musician's admission of their membership to our cult, I am assured of my future doses of smart pop even if Andy and Colin decide not to record anymore (God forbid!). XTC's music has provided me with a comprehensive vocabulary to understand the adventure inherent in every intelligent musical experience. This vocabulary is self-referential, full of irony and at times refreshingly political. This may be a stretching it a bit too far but I liken XTC's music to Salman Rushdie's novels. I admit that it is highly possible for a regular music listener to miss the intelligence in the band's work within a few spins. Like Rushdie's hyper-real novels, one must learn how to deal with the vocabulary. But what joy once you have learn the rules of playing their games! And all of us in this discussion list are happy participants of the games on the playground that Andy and Colin create with their music.
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 00:54:51 -0500 From: Virginia Rosenberg <vmr423@earthlink.net> Subject: Total wages Message-ID: <B8B1B0DB.A2D%vmr423@earthlink.net> Hi Ira- I'm sooo glad someone is. In the midst (throes?) of income-tax-return hell, Virginia -ira, earning enough for us.
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 15:58:16 -0600 From: "Richard" <rjpa1@attbi.com> Subject: The Mime CDs Message-ID: <026b01c1c947$d93e8a20$03081fac@verisity.com> re: Ted's query = "So, are the instrumental AV releases totally unchanged from the previous release except that the vocals have been removed?" Yes. There are no instruments approximating the vocal lines, not even a French trom... ah, nevermind... and there has been no remixing. I did mention to Andy that he should leave one vocal bit in... "It's the middle of the song!" He said that both discs were mastered last Friday (08mar02) and that, due to the fact that they haven't had the level of compression employed with vocals, they do sound a bit different and better. He _promised_ me that I would enjoy them and hoped that instrumental Greenman did not stir any unpleasant emotions for me (I had to leave the AVv1 sessions at Abbey Road to fly to Michigan for my dad's funeral). The artwork for the discs is all that left to do but the artist is currently on holiday. Cheers, Richard
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 09:41:08 -0500 From: "john irvine" <jetsetsc@hotmail.com> Subject: Bowlermen gig Message-ID: <F236KZjJzzD8eDuvo6h0000f935@hotmail.com> The Bowlermen, Baltimore's only Dukes of Stratosphear-oriented musical outfit rocked the house at Fraziers last Saturday. Set: 25 O'Clock Bike Ride to The Moon Braniac's Daughter What In the World?? Shape of Things to Come (Max Frost and the Troopers) Mole From the Ministry Sleeping Weather (Jennifers) My love Explodes Your Gold Dress Heart Full of Soul (Yardbirds) Vanishing Girl Cheese and Onions (Rutles) Sorry, no tape available, but we'll keep you posted on future engagements. -John
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 21:43:11 +0000 From: "todd serentz" <tserentz@hotmail.com> Subject: THE NINES :WONDERWORLD OF COLORFUL Message-ID: <F189cASHMZNNA85Ur8Y0000f7d2@hotmail.com> Hi I recently bought the Nines' Properties of Sound album ( Great Canadian XTC, GREYS,JELLYFISH influenced band). I've seen this band mentioned by a number of Chalkhills subscribers. I absolutely love their album but have been searching all over the place to find their first album Wonderworld of Colorful. I tried Not Lame as per John Relph's link but they are sold out. CD Baby only has the second album. Anyone know anywhere else you can buy this album. If so PLEASE PLEASE email me directly. Thanks Tom
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 12:14:35 -0500 From: William Loring <bloring@TIRERACK.COM> Subject: Trainspotting on The Onion Message-ID: <B8B7962B.19FEB%bloring@tirerack.com> Sociology 101 Assignment Stretched To Incorporate '70s Punk Rock http://www.theonion.com/onion3809/sociology_101.html The article makes an offhand reference to XTC, as it covers a freshman's Sociology paper that attempts to link the theories of a 19th-century French sociologist with the 70's British punk scene. The Onion is a satire newspaper published in Madison, WI. If you haven't read The Onion, you should. ...bill loring
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 11:53:52 -0800 (PST) From: Jeff Eby <jeffaeb@yahoo.com> Subject: TD 2, would we really want that? Message-ID: <20020315195352.32700.qmail@web11603.mail.yahoo.com> Ya know, would we really want another Testimonial Dinner? It's nice to pay tribute to the boys, but let's face it, the first TD was underwhelming to say the least. Having said that, I just can't help imagining Tool covering Travels in Nihilon or Complicated Game. I just can't see that coming off badly. ===== "I strongly feel that our conflict with the Axis of Evil should not be settled on the battlefield, but in the pro-wrestling ring"
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #8-19 ******************************
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