Chalkhills Digest Volume 8, Issue 51
Date: Wednesday, 11 September 2002
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 8, Number 51
Wednesday, 11 September 2002
Topics:
Zaireeka
Re: Fuzzy Warbles
Jellyfish etc
Guitars, Warbles, File Sharing
Another benefit of file sharing
Lost in Aimee's SPACE and Becky's GOD
sarcasm alert
THE END OF XTC?
bootlegs and stuff
the Chambers of your mind
Hugh Padgham +
Re. Library
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Most of all, I remember the sun.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2002 16:50:06 -0400 From: Keith Hanlon <keith@orchestraville.com> Subject: Zaireeka Message-ID: <a05101000b99d73bfa8ff@[66.166.164.162]> FYI... The Flaming Lips' classic "Zaireeka" is back in print. Please don't buy it from those lying folks on Ebay who charge $50 and say "out of print." Give the Lips their royalties, please. Later, Keith
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2002 22:07:13 +0000 From: "Neil Oliver" <squealyneily@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Fuzzy Warbles Message-ID: <F1511FmOJ4IXol3TUHo0000e2bc@hotmail.com> Dom wrote: "Why is he not participating??? Is it purely financial??? Does it mean, God forbid, the end of XTC as we know it????" I think it means exactly what it says. Colin doesn't want to put any money into it. Which seems sensible to me, I mean, how many of these things is Andy going to sell? (as many as there are Chalkhills subscribers I would say). Plus I seem to recall reading that Colin hasn't kept the masters to most of his demos. I wouldn't get all worked up about it.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 14:53:34 +0530 From: Sughosh Varadarajan <aqualung@hotpop.com> Subject: Jellyfish etc Message-ID: <20020906145334.634a5e49.aqualung@hotpop.com> > Sughosh Varadarajan talked about purchasing Jellyfish's' Bellybutton in > 8-45... did you buy it yet? Yeah Thomas I did..and I like it a lot! "King is half undressed" and "She still loves him" are my current faves, though I'llprolly get to love the entire album with a few more listenings. I don't know if this is anything great, but my CD claims to be a "limited edition" issue with 5 bonus live tracks feat covers of McCartney & Badfinger. Got it a great price though..$5 or thereabouts..at the same price, picked up "Wonderful" and "Absolutely"by Madness..loved 'em both..and got piles of other stuff too..been taking great advantage of a 50% off sale that happened recently. Other stuff I bought: The Beautiful South - Quench Paul Weller - Heavy Soul Grant Lee Buffalo - Mighty Joe Moon Don McLean - American pie Patti Smith - Dream of life Tori Amos - From the choirgirl hotel Starsailor - Love is here Traffic - Low spark of high-heeled boys/ Mr.Fantasy Crash Test Dummies - A worm's life / The ghosts that haunt me James - Pleased to meet you / Millionaires The Byrds -Dr.Byrds and Mr.Hyde The Velvet Underground -VU (unreleased) David Bowie - Hours Fairport Convention - Live Blur - Modern life is rubbish Prefab Sprout - Two wheels good Quite a biggish haul, huh? Still getting into a lot of this stuff..having a ball, all in all! > Oh, current faves: > > stone roses / stone roses Awww..that's an amazing album..wish I had it on CD..my tape is totally screwed! Cheers all Sughosh
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 04:38:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Todd Bernhardt <beat_town@yahoo.com> Subject: Guitars, Warbles, File Sharing Message-ID: <20020906113819.64166.qmail@web14608.mail.yahoo.com> Hi: David Lake wrote about his trip to Ikea to follow up on John Morrish's heads-up about a Chinese Spanish guitar ... having made the same trek myself, I can confirm David's info -- it is indeed $30 here in the U.S., but I gotta say, after stringing it properly, it plays up a right treat. Very cool sound, and very decent quality considering the price. I christened mine (yes, Daddy's been playing it more than the kids, I admit it) with "Your Dictionary" -- now I've just got to learn "Church of Women" and "Dame Fortune" (among others). Dominic Van Abbe wrote about the Fuzzy Warbles news, Colin's non-involvement in the project, etc., asking: > Can someone "in the know" tell us what the hell it all means??? I can > understand Colin not wanting to sink his hard-earned into another out-takes > collection pitched at a small target audience, but effectively this reduces > it to an AP collection, and not an XTC release at all. The beauty of an XTC > release for mine has always been the way CM's tracks balance AP's- a > mutually symbiotic relationship if you will. > > Why is he not participating??? Is it purely financial??? Does it mean, God > forbid, the end of XTC as we know it???? I probably won't be the only one answering this, but I talked w/Andy last week and basically Dom is right about Colin's motivation on this -- it's a matter of money, and the time it would take to clean up demos (which costs money), etc. And I agree with Dom that Colin's tunes balance Andy's nicely. They've always made good foils for each other. BUT ... I was quite surprised to find out that the tunes on Fuzzy Warbles will not be the Jules Verne/Bull-type demos that I'd thought they'd be. Apparently many of the demos are Andy, Colin and Dave playing together (so, even though the tunes are Andy's, it's XTC playing them), and the quality is quite good, especially since Andy's devoted a lot of time (and money) to remixing and mastering them. I'm really looking forward to this set -- it's going to contain a lot of things that even rabid collectors haven't heard before, and the known tracks that it will contain will be much better than what's out there. And no, it doesn't mean the end of XTC. Andy assured me that the band, and Idea Records, are alive and well. "Bert Millichip" wrote: > It's very gracious of you to post links to so many > articles and reports that are diametrically opposed to > your own position. <nasty bit snipped> > You deserve a bit of support here. The > boss of the RIAA offers some evidence to back up your > assertion that file sharing harms record sales. You > can read the article here: > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2218860.stm Er, thanks I guess, but I don't know why you think I'm "diametrically opposed" to file sharing -- yeah, several issues ago I wrote how I believe that file sharing, *in conjuction with other issues* (demographic shifts, not touring, etc.), probably contributed to lower record sales in the U.S. for XTC, and I believe there is a dark side to the issue (as in most things in life), but overall I'm for it, which is why I passed along the link to the Janis Ian piece in the first place. I sure as hell ain't no fan of the RIAA (or, as The Register calls them, "the Recording Industry Ass. of America"), so I'll see your link and raise the stakes with this one, which is just one of many that effectively tears apart the RIAA's self-interested arguments: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26815.html Eddie: That is one OLD dawg. -Todd
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 08:47:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Todd Bernhardt <beat_town@yahoo.com> Subject: Another benefit of file sharing Message-ID: <20020906154752.40424.qmail@web14604.mail.yahoo.com> A story in the L.A. Times about music-industry pricing, and how file sharing on the Internet has forced discounts: http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-et-boucher31aug31.story
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 13:54:56 -0400 From: KEVIN.WOLLENWEBER@jpmorgan.com Subject: Lost in Aimee's SPACE and Becky's GOD Message-ID: <OF8B8C6147.F659F310-ON85256C2C.005A09B3@chase.com> Hello again. I have not been able to pull myself away from Aimee Mann's new disk, LOST IN SPACE, and I naturally ordered it complete with its extra CD single with two B-sides, one of which features background vocals by Glen Tilbrook. If there is any noteworthy performers playing the instruments, I'm sorry for not having acknowledged them; I can't read the liners! The songs are terrific as usual and I like the space age synthesizer "fun" in between songs to kind of link the tracks together and accentuate the album's title and basic theme. It almost seems as if, lyrically, this album does what Joni Mitchell's album of standards had done--follow a relationship through its early stages of interest through its inevitable stages of reluctant compromise or bust, but I don't really want to lend any meanings to the lyrics that was not intended. The main focus here is the music, a bit more contemplative than her earlier work on the major label, but you'd expect a kind of "settling in" to her emotions since she has now found her nest with Michael Penn. You often wish they would actually work together on an album, especially if you'd been lucky enough, as I was, to had seen their tour together, and their songs have that Beatle-esque quality to them, both seeming more passionate about John Lennon over Paul McCartney, like the best work of Sam Phillips, wife of T-Bone Burnett. tvtwo@hotmail.com asked about this specific album and I just wanted to answer him and give this terrific album the raves it so deserves. Hey, I honor almost any musician who has the wherewithall to promote his or her own music so it is released to its eager fans exactly as it had been intended to be heard. The studio is toyed with rather well throughout this album, and I know I'll continue to promote Aimee's music wherever it lands. It surely must be a great deal of work to promote one's self in a time when the listening public is so incredibly fickle that you wonder how the musicians themselves muster up the enthusiasm to even bother! Bravo, and long may you run! Ditto for Becky DeGreggorio and GOD'S EMPTY CHAIR. I'm not usually one to promote music so sunny, joyful and content, but this one is a delight. You're reeled in with the opening song, "Find Your Own Way", with bass lines reminiscent of the more recent work of XTC. Even if Dave Gregory were not on board, you could see that she is an erstwhile fan, maybe even a fanatical one. The only other artist I knew of who mentioned XTC as her main influence during a songwriting process was Suzanne Vega during the recording and writing of DAYS OF OPEN HAND. She said that she'd been constantly listening to ORANGES AND LEMONS and couldn't help but let it creep into the recording of that album in some cases. Yet, Becky's own tunes shine brighter than that one stray tune by Andy Partridge, "Susan Revolving", which is no slouch. Becky, too, has managed the studio well on this album, and I strongly recommend this disk. It kinda makes me curious about her other album(s) just to hear how her sound as developed over the years. If it stayed the same, well, so be it. I like where it is now! I'm also anxious to snag this forthcoming package by the reunited Camper Van Beethoven. They've re-invented the old Fleetwood Mac album, TUSK, perhaps my favorite by the band, and this time it is, like the original Mac vinyl, a two-disk set. I'm also hearing that the album's cover puts a new twist of some sort on the original blood-thirsty dog cover. Does anyone know when this set is showing up? As of this writing, I haven't been able to find it! I miss this band; I'd always liked their earlier albums like LET'S TAKE THE SKINHEADS BOWLING and MY WILD REVOLUTIONARY SWEETHEART. To me, the Rolling Stones should have been listening to these albums because the spirit of some of those tunes harkens back to perhaps the finest moments in the Stones' career, from THEIR SATANIC MAJESTY'S REQUEST through EXILE ON MAIN STREET. In fact, Camper Van Beethoven tackling the entire SATANIC MAJESTY'S album would be fascinating! Then again, I'm still waiting for Tom Waits to do a cover of "2,000 Light Years From Home", howling through that megaphone with all the rumbling percussion that he sometimes featured on albums like SWORDFISH TROMBONE and his amazing new collections, BLOOD MONEY and ALICE. "Light Years" needs that chilling gritty guitar and percussive thunder! If Jeff Buckley were still alive, he could have done a blistering version of "Painted Black", a song whose darkness goes far beyond the story of unrequited love and resulting sadness magnified to anger. Buckley was one who could bring that proper darkness out. Jagger almost succeeds in his delivery; his voice was at its peak...or maybe it was the emotion that was at its peak. Jagger's voice was never really at a loss, but it seemed that, in later years, his genuineness had dissolved to going through the motions. Jeff Buckley could sing even the most unassuming songs and bring out emotions that you never considered rising out of the original. Has anyone ever heard his cover of the Genesis tune from THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY, "New York City"? For those not as fond of this prog rock classic as I once was, the main character of this surreal parable is an inner city kid, slashing his way through the streets with a can of spray paint, who is suddenly taken through a series of bizarre and revealing spiritual explorations which the original Genesis version only toys with instead of adding some punch and grit to. When Jeff sings the lyrics, you can feel the rage, even in the campiest part of the song. At the time of the recording and tour around LAMB, I had heard that Peter Gabriel was growing tired of the fantasy aspect of Genesis and wanted to start recording on his own with more sophisticated subject matter. If he has ever heard Jeff Buckley's version of the afore-mentioned, I wonder if he'd ever re-evaluate that entire album and think of how far the premise could have been taken. I'd never seen the staging of the LAMB performances and the last tour that Gabriel embarked upon as part of Genesis, so I don't know whether the images suggested so much more; but Buckley's cover started me thinking of just where a modern-day artist or group, especially a group with a nice racial mix, could take this album. Yet, I digress. This fanzine is, after all, about XTC, right? Well, it was certainly good news to hear that, although it is rumored that Colin Moulding is not going to consider himself part of the "from the vaults" series of XTC disks (and, oh, do I hope that isn't entirely true), the FUZZY WARBLES series will begin rolling out in October. I do hope that many of you Chalkholders keep me posted with accurate information on where we can order these when they are ready! I'm hoping that stuff like "Always Winter, Never Christmas" is on it. It is the only reason, aside from the demo of "My Bird Performs", that I am keeping the CD single of "Peter Pumpkinhead" and "Smartest Monkeys". I'm with many of you folks, though, in hoping that, if Colin is not working with Andy on the WARBLES disks, he would still be amenable to recording new material. I'm sure that, as pop and rock musicians age, they find it difficult or almost impossible to continue re-inventing themselves since they don't feel the link to whatever is being pressed in their faces by radio and television. Just think of the rock stars we know and love who continue to cavort across a stage and on album covers as if they still are well-endowed in every way and devoid of the usual aging process. We're glad to see 'em alive and well, but we find them less and less believable. Andy and Colin have grown up gracefully and found themselves listening to different genres of music, and that is part of the reason why Andy is forming APE. His album with Harold Budd was perhaps just the tip of the iceberg? In an interview, Andy said that he wanted so desperately to stop touring because he felt that the studio material should stand as a testament of his art, much like a painting of a great artist in a gallery. Maybe, some day, an artist's music will be seen in this light, and the music will be peddled to eager consumers differently, apart from major record labels, as Aimee Mann and Becky DeGreggorio are doing and we will look at the musician differently. As he or she grows on in years and becomes tired of the process of proving that their work is still valid, they will just cease the creative effort and, hopefully, remain content for the rest of their life having created this body of work that they can be proud of. Look at the many musicians who no longer really care anything about their younger years because, perhaps, they can see that manipulative hand in what they did show up in all aspects of that early music. As much as we like so much classic rock, it reeks at times of major label promoters and trend-mongers who take credit for "molding" the artist to what he or she eventually became. If Colin's going through some soul-searching now, this is healthy; if he's just tired of the chase after the next big deal that he has to somehow mirror, I can certainly understand this feeling as well. Time will tell, and I will always be eager to snag anything that the boys are willing to do together! Kevin
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 15:39:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Jim Smart <jimsmart1@yahoo.com> Subject: sarcasm alert Message-ID: <20020906223908.87873.qmail@web13509.mail.yahoo.com> "Anybody heard the new Springsteen yet? I have played it a lot since it was out and give it a thumbs up! Rolling Stone gave it 5 stars" Bruce Springsteen? Please. Since when has the number of stars that Ralphing Stone given to an album mattered? Have you forgotten the issue (the last I looked at) that gave Wasp Star less stars that Britney Spears' album? That fact alone tells me all I need to know about that rag. Jim
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Sep 2002 11:19:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Wes Long <optimismsflames@yahoo.com> Subject: THE END OF XTC? Message-ID: <20020907181930.51774.qmail@web14904.mail.yahoo.com> Uh... hardly. As I understand it, Colin was *never* interested in doing Fuzzy Warbles. I spoke with Andy a few days ago and he was just heading out to put the finishing touches on disc 2. I believe the Idea site says they will come out in October - Andy told me they would be out in November - your guess is as good as mine. Dom makes a good point: without Colin "effectively this reduces it to an AP collection, and not an XTC release at all. The beauty of an XTC release for me has always been the way CM's tracks balance AP's- a mutually symbiotic relationship if you will." Andy read the track listings of the new discs to me - and sadly, I cannot recall a Colin-penned song on the lists... (Harrison - do you recall a Colin tune?) so this may very well make the FW's collection a Partridge-only release. I'm going to be recording a lengthy phone interview with Andy on September 12 - which will run, in mp3 form, on the www.optimismsflames.com site soon thereafter. I'll be certain to go into this at depth in that interview... so I'll post what I find out. I can tell you this much - Colin or no Colin, the first two CD's will be amazing. Even for you folks with stacks of bootleg audio - including me - you are about to hear NEW songs. I'm pretty damn excited about it, wesLONG
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 08 Sep 2002 21:46:45 -0400 From: "pawnee q ribber" <ribber@lycos.com> Subject: bootlegs and stuff Message-ID: <NOGNPKECBBMMEAAA@mailcity.com> Organization: Lycos Mail (http://www.mail.lycos.com:80) Been a lurker and rare poster for years, here, but am needing to throw down my two cents on the bootleg topic. If the beloved boys want to stop stuff like A-Z, all they need to do is offer the stuff on their site on a pay-per-download basis. They'd make $$ and folks like us would assuredly prefer to give the monet to Andy and Colin. It's just not that difficult to implement. Bootlegs are and will always be a way of life, for good or bad. Far as the Kazaa/Bearshare MP3's... there's no stopping em. I don't believe that this is making a measurable dent in sales, and I've purchased numerous cds after downloading files from bands I wouldn't risk the blood sucking $18 they expect me to pay on a full risk no return basis that is the record industry. It takes hours of time , even with a fast connection to find and compile a complete album of songs and my time is worth more than that. If the recording industry hadnt cheated me constantly, I'd feel less apt to download music, but theyve been charging me too much for a CD that costs pennies to produce. I still am quite miffed about the horribl;e quiality cassetes they foisted on us in the 80s, that were truly substandard products. Remember when CDs first were introduced and they told us they were unscratchable and indestructable? I wish I still had all the vinyl I replaced believeing that lie and spending literally thousands of dollars for cds that now, skip and cannot be fixed. These are the same people who have been screwing us and recording artists for close to a century and I don't believe a word they say. Next thing will be having our doors kicked in and our computers confiscated in the name of their corporate profits. Dont be fooled by the industry hype. Maybe some of these do-nothing,high salaried industry know-it-alls need to get a REAL job. Most artists don't even get a buck of that $18 cd price and a cd costs nothing.... pennies. How do they come off with this pure crap? Sad about Fuzzy Warbles, very sad, indeed. I will purchase whatever does get released, as I have every XTC release, ever, some multiple times. Pity not the billionaire record execs though, and again, don't believe what they say, theyve never told us the truth before, so why should they now? PQ Ribber --- THE RIBBERAMA http://members.fortunecity.com/ribber LIT WRIT SURE FICTION http://www.angelfire.lycos.com/zine/pqribber
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 05:16:18 +0000 From: "Paul Culnane" <paulculnane@hotmail.com> Subject: the Chambers of your mind Message-ID: <F1663A3MQiZij0w4TPn00000daf@hotmail.com> Hi folks Some "housekeeping" to do, if I may... 1) Would like to express my profound regret and sincere apologies for using this public forum to vent a personal attack on somebody, as I foolishly did in my last posting here. Not a good look! And lord knows, I did it to a person for whom I retain the utmost respect, gratitude and affection. Sorry Dunks. I hope you'll let me back in someday. 2) Apologies too, to the likes of Becki di Gregorio, wesLONG and Richard Pedretti-Allen, who are among a handful of people who wrote to me expressing interest in the musical doings of Terry Chambers and his son Kai. Circumstances have prevented me from replying to you, but I trust the following bit of news will suffice... 3) A while back I reported that Kai was enjoying some burgeoning success as drummer with his band Starpark (named, of course, after an early incarnation of XTC). You all will soon be able to hear an example of Kai's thunderous drumming prowess on Richard P-A's forthcoming "Kings For A Day" tribute CD. Starpark's rip-snortin' version of "Complicated Game" also features a certain ex-member of XTC (hey, there's a clue there in the band's name!) on percussion (a cabasa and a chainsaw, I think). Worth the wait, trust me. Thing is, Kai is no longer playing with Starpark. Ah, the vicissitudes of rock & roll! Nowadays he's thumping the tubs for an exciting new band called Tone Orange. Their approach is likened to a cross between Stone Temple Pilots and REM. I wish Kai and his new band every success. Further info: www.toneorange.com I had intended visiting chez Chambers this week, but again, alas, circumstances prevented that. However, after a recent phonechat with Terry, I can assure you that he's hale and hearty, and grooving with his Pink Fairies albums, etc. What a splendid fellow! 4) People like Dom, Toni, Iain, Todd, Mark, Peter, Seb, Haines, Lee and others have been a great boost and moral support for me during my trying times of late. For that I thank you profusely. Ain't XTC fans the best???? Yes, I hear you shout. Because it's true. 5) Thanks John Relph. 6) Now playing: "Where's The Bone" by The Pursuit Of Happiness. Now, find a link between TPOH and XTC. Happy huntin'... 7) Okay, I'm gonna wander over now to www.cdbaby.com to check out Becki's music. Good luck with it babe! 8) To close, I'd like to invoke the title of a terrific album by Stephen Duffy, on which Andy Partridge guests as producer, bass-player and backing vocalist on a coupla tracks. I recommend the CD; it's called "I Love My Friends". Thanxtc p@ul
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 22:03:51 -0700 From: "Jonny Pop" <jbkxtc@ev1.net> Subject: Hugh Padgham + Message-ID: <003301c25887$74fd6cf0$54525d3f@johnjulie> Hi all, Well, leaving for Ireland/London in a few days and one last post before I head out. Mostly I keep forgetting to mention that Hugh Padgham is interviewed in this months "Performing Songwriter" magazine, although that may not be right now that I type it, but regardless he does mention that his favorite act he ever worked with was XTC. He does say it was before Andy turned into a quasi-dictator (my paraphrasing because I didn't buy the mag), but a heady endorsement all the same, considering his client roster. Aside from that I'm extremely excited to be coming back over across the pond (if anyone knows of companies hiring qualified Yanks, let me know - I've decided I have to live somewhere in the UK or Ireland before I die) because I get to see the X-sTatiC, the XTC tribute band, play Saturday the 21st - and hopefully meet some of you from this fine internet family, including the honorable Worrier Queen herself, I believe - and also because as of now, we have an invitation to lunch at Abbey Road as soon as we step off the plane! On holy ground again . . . I am blessed. Ta, J
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 10:13:30 +0100 (BST) From: Bert Millichip <juan_the_man2002@yahoo.co.uk> Subject: Re. Library Message-ID: <20020911091330.77664.qmail@web14802.mail.yahoo.com> "Wes Hanks" wrote: >Remember when someone slagged Harrison's COMC essay< I believe you're referring to me - though I did not in fact slag the essay. How could I when I hadn't even read it, and still haven't? >stating that it would not be "read in a library"? Just returned from the public library, and lo and behold, there was an amazingly pristine copy of Coat in the collection complete with Harrison referenced in the catalogue listing.< Doesn't the "amazingly pristine" condition of the CD tell you something??? Mark my words, it'll be in the 10p bargain bin in six months along with all the other unloaned CDs. It's an ultra-niche product from an obscure band. I haven't even bought it myself yet, and I'm one of XTC's greatest admirers! Bert.
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #8-51 ******************************
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