Chalkhills Digest Volume 8, Issue 20
Date: Friday, 22 March 2002
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 8, Number 20
Friday, 22 March 2002
Topics:
Re: Jackbooted Fascist Taskmaster
XTC front page of magazine shock!
* ISO XTC artwork
out of a coat of many cupboards in shameless self-interest
The X-sTatiC
Testomonial Dinner
Feeling down? Try a Bluetonic
Ah well....
Cupboards and peaches
Remaster THIS!
musings on the muse
Free Money Chocolate Sex
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See a squirrel / In homage making ribbons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 16:39:59 -0800 (PST) From: John Relph <relph@mando.engr.sgi.com> Subject: Re: Jackbooted Fascist Taskmaster Message-ID: <10203151639.ZM50797@mando.engr.sgi.com> On Sun, 10 Mar 2002 12:08:02 EST Hbsherwood@aol.com wrote: > > 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. Well, that's not exactly true. The box is *mostly* black-and-white. The key, importantly, is gold. -- John
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 02:26:58 -0000 From: "Pledge" <Pledge7@btinternet.com> Subject: XTC front page of magazine shock! Message-ID: <00c301c1cc92$0cf419a0$92297bd5@oemcomputer> Just quick line to say the lates issue (April 2002) UK magazine Record Buyer and Music Collector has XTC on their front cover and as the main feature within the pages. The feature is over 6 pages and there is also a separate, fairly glowing review of Coat later on. Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but I'm alkways several digests behind with Chalkhills. Cheers Pledge
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 00:53:24 -0600 From: "MusicIsSpecial" <musicisspecial@hotmail.com> Subject: * ISO XTC artwork Message-ID: <OE14qI35zTBy9prp7bK00010b18@hotmail.com> By any chance does anybody have the artwork they could email me for any of the following CDRs: XTC ??-??-?? Jules Verne's Sketchbook XTC ??-??-78 Toronto CAN XTC 01-22-80 Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor MI XTC ??-??-81 Philadelphia PA "Fab foursome in Philly" XTC 02-10-82 Rockpalast, Hamburg GER 62 XTC 03-08-82 Paradiso, Amsterdam NETH 56 please contact me off list. thanks, e
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 12:42:48 From: "don device" <ddevice@hotmail.com> Subject: out of a coat of many cupboards in shameless self-interest Message-ID: <LAW2-F145VgSJPHkrFW000051f7@hotmail.com> hello all and sundries, i'll try and break with the chalkhills tradition of making my first post a band-width eating biographical screed, and cut to the essentials, even if i have been shamefully lurking for over four years now and i've got a good head of steam built up... obligatory niceties: i've truly enjoyes following your threads, manias, jokes and tripping over the occasional solid nugget of true information... i'm glad we're hearing from molly again. i've always thought of her as somewhat the margaret dumont of the group. i mean that in the best sense. picking up the French rock thread. i've been living an paris and participating in the french musical (rock) scene, such as it is, for over eight years now. although i'm american, i at first had the intention to write and sing in french, something which quickly proved an elusive goal. it is my considered opinion that despite a few good songs by pretty good bands, that la langue francaise is not well adapted to the rock meter. i find it wonderfully expressive and elastic for many other musics, notable the rap where i prefer it to english by a wide margin. readers of this list may enjoy L'Affaire Louis Trio, a pop band with strong (too strong?) xtc influences, and with whom our man colin has playes. strong harmonies and tight structures. other than that i would recommend Noir Desir (tostaky, un homme presse) and a very selective assortment of les ritas mitsouko... there are some very good french ahrdcore bands however, and i also believe the success of the 'french touch' music (air, etc...' is do to the lack of vocals.... while i'm recommending music, i'd like to pause for a moment of shameless self-promotion. you can hear my band 'devices' as well as my more recent band 'bends' on www.besonic.com. Be sure and choose the language 'english' in the upper left hand corner if your high-school french is a bit rusty. xtc has been a huge influence on me, especially lyrically, and i'd love to have and comment and reactions you, as fellow xtc fans, might have. feel free to write me at my personal address. kiss, don ps: do you think andy and colin'll autograph the whole cover of the box set? i've ordered mine and the cover art looks so lovely...
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 12:46:27 +0000 From: "barrow.uk.com" <dan-barrow@post.mail.areti.net> Subject: The X-sTatiC Message-ID: <1016455587.3c95e1a35b5f1@web.mail.areti.net> Chalkhillians, Many months ago I put out a call to UK musicians who wanted to form a tribute to XTC. It now gives me enormous pleasure to officially announce the birth of the X- sTatiC. Following much line-up wrangling and pub discussions over songs, we have a couple of sets which have recently started sounding something similiar, or at least moving towards, the real thing. Well, almost. Now we need your help. We want to gig, and play the songs which haven't been heard live for nigh on twenty years, and in some cases, never! We are happy to travel the UK to play you these songs. But first we need to know you are out there, and discover where you all are! If you would be interested in seeing the band recreate XTC live, please send your email address and locality to tobaccogiant@hotmail.com. We will calculate where the concentrations are, and start trying work out how we will be able to play there. A possible pilgrimage to and baptism in Swindon is on the cards. We've all worked very hard on this project, but if we don't get a chance to play live, it would be a bit of a waste, so please do give us your support, if it wets your whistle. A note to the Americans - we would be interested in bring this over there, for a mini-tour perhaps, if successful over here. Your thoughts and suggestions on this would be more than welcome. Your X-staTiCally The X-sTatiC
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 09:00:18 -0800 (PST) From: Sean Winkel <seanwinkel@yahoo.com> Subject: Testomonial Dinner Message-ID: <20020318170018.98427.qmail@web14008.mail.yahoo.com> >>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.>> Absolutely BRILLIANT! Can somebody arrange this with or without the bother of another TD? ===== ^^^^^ > < v \@/
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 12:41:16 EST From: JamieCFC1@aol.com Subject: Feeling down? Try a Bluetonic Message-ID: <72.1964fb71.29c780bd@aol.com> Dear Chalkies I havent seen this lot mentioned for a while, or maybe at all, so here goes. Lsst night I had the pleasure (and it was a pleasure) to see the Bluetones for the third time, would've been 4 but for missing a post-Xmas gig with some bug or other. For those unknowing the Bluetones are a 5-piece band from the UK who have released 3 excellent CD's (Learning to Fly (1995), Return to the Last Chance Saloon (1998) and Science & Nature (2000)), and are about to release their 4th shortly-ish, the new single is out on Monday in the UK and is called "After Hours". Why should you care, I hear you asking? The 'tones inflict upon the listener a quality of songwriting not dissimilar to Andy P & cohorts, although the vocal styling is different the songs are all (yes all) at worst listenable and I defy anyone not to have heard Slight Return at some time, even if you didn't know who it was by (yes, even you Americans). So phooey to all those made up bands! Check out the Bluetones.. you will not be disappointed! By the way I am not related at all to any Bluetone past or present, nor do I live next door to anyone who used to know the drummer's girlfriend. If there are any other tones fans on this list feel free to write me direct! Thanks for the non-XTC content allowance Mr Chalkhill :-). Oh by the way my favourire XTC lp is Black Sea.. or the Big Express. Jamie Crampton Northampton, UK.
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 14:20:40 -0600 From: "Steve Oleson" <Steve.Oleson@oag.state.tx.us> Subject: Ah well.... Message-ID: <sc95f7bf.004@smtpgate.oag.state.tx.us> Thanks to Richard Pedretti-Allen for elucidating the concept of the instrumental versions of AV-1 and Wasp Star. I wonder when we will see XTC's complete oeuvre in Kareoke bars throughout the world? Will they call it "This World Oeuvre" ? hehehe... sorry! Steve Ozone Austin, TX
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 15:41:22 +0100 From: art et affiche <art.affiche@wanadoo.fr> Subject: Cupboards and peaches Message-ID: <3C989F8B.849185C3@wanadoo.fr> Don't want to be redundant, but on the last digest, Wayne wrote about ''Coat of many Cupboards'': >> 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 >> I agree. We already have these songs on the original albums. Why Virgin, knowing that mostly fans (or at least people who already have some XTC's albums) are going to buy this box set, has decided to include these tracks here? What's the use? Radios in motion, Ten feet tall, No language, Fly on the wall, Ladybird... 11 songs already on CD or vinyls (12 if you count the ''This is pop'' single version). There are meant to be Partridge and Moulding favourites. OK, but then, why not including their home demo, or rehearsal demo versions instead of the released versions? It would have been more interesting, IMO. Nathan : >>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 agree too. We'll just have to wait a few days now, to know. About the price of the boxed set, I think Virgin is showing its greed here. Here in Europe, VAT included, it's about 55 euros (50 dollars), 36 pounds. They could have done like Idea records, which has released the BBC box set at a very fair price. They have no recording costs, this is already recorded for years! Most parts of the mixing job, as far as I understand, have been done or supervised by Andy and Colin, at least for their demos... I know about printing costs, they are not cheap, but even the booklet can't justify this high price (yes, not even the surely ruinously expensive Prime Minister's kind of wages our dear ''Jackbooted Fascist Taskmaster'' was given for writing the essay...) >>but people will buy them anyway, because there's no other (legal) way to get certain songs.>> Sigh... yes. I'm not a frantic collector of singles, rarities and stuff, and I don't have any bootlegs. So... Harrison : >>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 [...]>> Apparently, the contractual end of their relationship is the perfect image of what it has always been... All is right. >> [...] I've seen the proofs of the booklet, and it's a peachamaroot.>> Peacham... Peachamaroot??? For Zeus's sake, Mr Harrison, what is a pitch a ma route? Marie ''what a peachamaroot girl I am!'' Omnibus.
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 13:11:13 -0800 (PST) From: Wes Long <optimismsflames@yahoo.com> Subject: Remaster THIS! Message-ID: <20020320211113.50886.qmail@web14911.mail.yahoo.com> Let me shake you donkeys up - Anyone here familiar with the process known as remastering? I'm curious - having recently acquired the majority of the Virgin remasters - exactly what is being done to the original recording to achieve these results. The highs and lows on these CD's are amazing; I'm constantly noticing things here that were very much hidden on my old CD's. What worries me is the fact that the band had no say in these remastered recordings. The question that begs to be answered - just how much has the engineer altered the recording. Was I meant to hear the things that I'm now hearing? Was I meant to hear them this clearly? Has the sound stage been enhanced, or reinvented? I've spoken with Andy briefly about these remastered discs - and he's, for whatever reason, not been to keen to speak of the subject. What's the opinion here? Bunch of great new things coming to www.optimismsflames.com in the next month - check us out. wesLONG
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 16:37:52 -0800 (PST)
From: Jim Smart <jimsmart1@yahoo.com>
Subject: musings on the muse
Message-ID: <20020321003752.52206.qmail@web13501.mail.yahoo.com>
Mark Twain wrote:
******************
AT THE COURT HOUSE!
for 3 nights only!
The World-Renowned Tragedians
DAVID GARRICK THE YOUNGER!
AND
EDMUND KEAN THE ELDER!
Of the London and Continental Theatres,
In their Thrilling Tragedy of
THE KING'S CAMELEOPARD
or
THE ROYAL NONESUCH!!
Admission 50 cents
LADIES AND CHILDREN NOT ADMITTED
******************
but he couldn't have been an XTC fan, could he? Some
pop rockers remind me of Twain and Dickens. Ray
Davies, for example. Character sketches, the quest
for just the right word, the daily compulsion to make
sentence of the world. Ray is a writer.
Others are just good songwriters, like Colin Moulding,
Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, and the like. Guys who
master the 3 minute pop form, but not really writers,
perhaps.
But the uniquest character on the scene has got to be
our own Andy Partridge. He combines the two attributes
above with a Robin Williams-esque ability to combust
word play endlessly and an ability to bring quirky
catchy melodic ideas to life, the perfect balance.
There is no one like him in rock.
Perhaps in the other arts. Tolkien and Picasso come to
mind. All three have/had strong opinions about the
other work done in their fields, and about what sort
of art work is worth doing. Tolkien scoffed at
Shakespeare, for example, and I can imagine simliar
cuts from Picasso. Andy has his encyclopedic knowledge
of rock, and certainly can cut most of it down with
wit and style.
They all have/had this gigantic imagination that they
regard with mild amazement, as if to say "just how far
can this f*cker run?" As if their imaginations were
companions on their journies, separate from
themselves, leading them to new unexplored areas. So
Picasso invented tons of new styles and forms, Tolkien
did the creative work of a whole civilization by
himself, and Andy gave the world Apple Venus I, which
it paid too little attention to, sadly.
Jim
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 20:07:59 +0000 (GMT) From: oranges and-lemons <spagyric_2002@yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Free Money Chocolate Sex Message-ID: <20020321200759.43566.qmail@web14610.mail.yahoo.com> or Paper and Iron (Notes & Coins), Chips from the Chocolate Fireball and The Wheel and the Maypole to you Squire. This year's 2nd Chalkhills UK Bash in Oxford offers such delights as nude Karaoke, beer, intelligible conversation, beer, an Oxford 2002 T shirt designed by the Worrier Queen, more beer, music from a little know Swindon band and beer. Get to see the faces behind some the nicknames, drink beer, talk, eat, sing and drink beer. If there's no beer chocolate maybe provided subject to confirmation; Nude Karaoke is subject to the granting of a licence. Interested? contact spagyric_2002@yahoo.co.uk Beer anyone?
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #8-20 ******************************
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