Chalkhills Digest Volume 8, Issue 68
Date: Monday, 16 December 2002
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 8, Number 68
Monday, 16 December 2002
Topics:
Didn't post for many months...
For Molly and the Three Wise Men
Warbles Whinging
Nickel Creek, What's Bluegrass, Angel Trumpets & Devil Trombones
Kudos, copies, and cost
Marty Fopp, Bootlegs & All That
The Three Wisemen
Christmas Song/Remasters/Listening Suggestions
Humor in Music
Under Cover XTC?
RE: [NRBQ] Magic band link (potential Q)
Making Digital Cable Worthwhile...
Re: I'm The Man Who Murdered Bert... and more!
We Three Kings Are Disoriented
warbling along
Oops/Fuzzy
The case for a second CD changer
Fuzzier Warbles
XTC on Old Grey Whistle Test
A final warble
Pricy Warbles
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Can't you smell 'em in obscene procession?
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 16:16:06 +0100 From: "Bergmaier Klaus" <klaus.bergmaier@servicemensch.at> Subject: Didn't post for many months... Message-ID: <09231E654CCFD41184550002555889EE30C46A@noevhmsg01.noev.at> Didn't post for many months... ...but the release of FW1&2 is a reason I have to post again (I have been quite busy on the forum of www.xtcidearecords.co.uk during the last months). I ordered signed copies via www.xtcidearecords.co.uk It's really a shame Colin is not part of FW, maybe he can join back in on Vol. 3, he should. The discs are excellent and I subscribe to everything Ben Gott said in #8-67. I can't tell you at the moment which song or which disc is better. I love it all from the first to the last second! Man, it's a load of brand new XTC stuff to me. I had never bought any bootlegs!!! Visit me at www.thedoors.at/klaus.html (Links to Chalkhills & XTC plus many more stuff) Yours in XTC Klaus Bergmaier Austria
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 10:28:41 -0600 From: "John Sarappo" <greasyslikmo@comcast.net> Subject: For Molly and the Three Wise Men Message-ID: <001901c2a2c4$b3260be0$13876b41@nxlkhost.com> Molly, The Three Wise men song is called "Thanks For Christmas" and the flip side is the equally entertaining Colin tune "Countdown to Christmas Party Time". Both are available on the XTC release "Rag and Bone Buffet". It is pretty funny you mention that because I heard the song being piped through my local outlet mall muzak system in Lebenon, Tennessee. Can you imagine that? Rednecks and XTC. Also, I heard the song again on my Hilton Hotel TV "Hotel Information" Channel while I was snowed in DC last week. I wonder if King George the Bush ever listened to XTC? I see him as more of a Journey/REO/Styx kind of guy...
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 12:08:14 -0500 From: Gary McBride <usa@garym.com> Subject: Warbles Whinging Message-ID: <775380F4-0EBD-11D7-B8B8-0003938C6AE4@garym.com> The sundry complaints over the "pricey" Fuzzy Warbles CDs from the company store are unbelievable. > but I do resent paying extra when buying direct from the "band". We've all gone to see a live show and seen the band sell CDs on the cheap ($10 is pretty standard in the U.S.) but generally the band is selling from the allocation the record company "gave" them... usually in lieu of royalties. Or in the case of unsigned bands, they generally sell the vast majority of their CDs at shows. However (other than Fugazi) most "official" band websites sell stuff at pretty close to list price... just as when you price computer software or peripherals from the manufacturers vs. retailers. In fact, most products are priced that way. The reason for this is that the manufacturers depend almost entirely on their retailers to move their product. If the company store undercuts what retailers can sell for, it removes the retailer's incentive to carry the product at all. This is something of an "old school" pre-internet philosophy, but it's still very common. The company stores exist almost solely to serve those who either don't have a retailer in their area (old school) or don't care to make the effort to shop around or are fiercely loyal. Have you priced anything at "ArtistsDirect.com" -- the official store for a lot of bands -- very pricey. Like buying a CD at a Tower Records store. Not to mention the economies of scale... if APE sells a case of CDs to a distributor, it's essentially the same amount of effort to write up the order, collect payment, and ship the item as it is to sell one CD to an individual...the only difference is the actual cost of the units and shipping. So, if APE sells a quantity of 100 CDs to a distributor with a two pound mark-up (or whatever) they get 200 pounds profit. But to sell an individual CD at the same price, they only make 2 pounds, for essentially the same effort... unless they price at list, where they might make 6 or 8 pounds, which is then actually worth the effort. My guess is Andy is just as happy to have people buy from retailers because it demonstrates that XTC and APE are still commercially viable with a real, live fan base, so maybe they'll be prone to carry more XTC back catalog stuff or future releases, thus further benefitting our chums. And after all, Andy & Co. are just trying to make a living. Apologies for the boring marketing epistle... but if nothing else, maybe this will help end of the complaining about the price of the new Fuzzy Warbles. Just be thankful that they exist at all. Back to lurking, Gary M.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 11:10:46 -0600 From: "Xteve X" <xteve@hotmail.com> Subject: Nickel Creek, What's Bluegrass, Angel Trumpets & Devil Trombones Message-ID: <F139nc5nW4VgQVPWqIW00011afd@hotmail.com> OK, I'll admit up front, this might be a bit pedantic, but characterizing Nickel Creek as "bluegrass" is bound to cause an uproar on any list devoted to the music. Of course, you ask 5 different people who play bluegrass to define what the music is, you'll get 5 different answers. Personally, I'd call Nickel Creek country or "new acoustic". They definitely are bluegrass-inspired, and Chris Thile is a hell of a mandolin player, but they don't have that high lonesome sound I associate with bluegrass and guys like Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, the Dillards, the Kentucky Colonels, etc. Maybe a few of my pickin' brethren like Relph & Harrison can comment on this. Nickel Creek = ain't bluegrass, or at least bluegrass as I understand it. But I like em all the same ... except for the girl's singing voice. Too breathy and pretentious...reminds me too much of Tori Amos. XTC Content: I almost got the Fuzzy Warbles set on Idea's web page but balked at the high price of the two disks. I mean, I want to help em out, but it's tough to justify the price to myself. Especially when I already have/heard about half the songs. Note to Andy: If you can release these songs as DEMOS, why not go whole hog and do a whole bloody album????? You've got the facilities to do so ... I'm more than happy to buy studio albums of new material. And why the heck don't XTC do a show like "Sessions at West 54th" or even "Storytellers". They seem ideally suited to do such a thing!!!! I'd imagine that a video of said show would sell hella better than any karaoke album or collection of musty old demos would. Am I right, Chalkhillers? Clockwork Orange/ Fuzzy Warbles note: I ran into Malcolm McDowell at the Borders on Michigan Avenue in Chicago about a month ago. He was buying a newspaper. I shook his hand & said it was an honor to meet him. He was really cool. That particular store seems to be a goldmine for celebrity sightings. I've spotted Elvis Costello and Bill Maher there as well.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 09:30:18 -0800 (PST) From: Todd Bernhardt <beat_town@yahoo.com> Subject: Kudos, copies, and cost Message-ID: <20021213173018.89468.qmail@web41104.mail.yahoo.com> Hi: Mollie, thanks for the kind words. Stuff like that warms the heartles of my cock. Seriously. I hope you never leave the 'hills, too. Steven "as a lawyer I should know this stuff" Paul asked: > Also, since we're talking lately about boot-legs and pirating, is it a > violation of law or ethics to make a CDR copy of W1 and W2 for my own use > at the office/in the car? Absolutely not. This is one reason why copy-protection of CDs will probably never take hold. There are too many legitimate reasons* for people to make copies of CDs, and how the hell are the record companies going to know the intent or purpose of the people making the copies? (*Not too long ago, someone broke into my car, and stole my Discman and some pocket change. While replacing the broken window and my CD player was an expensive hassle, at least I didn't lose the ~200 CDs I had in the car -- they were all CD-R copies of discs from my home collection, meaning they were pretty much worthless to someone looking to sell or pawn them.) Several people posted about the cost of the Warbles, and Wes suggested that I might know something of Andy's thinking on the pricing of the discs. I expect to talk to him soon about it, but here's what I know about his thoughts on the general situation, as well as some thoughts of my own. The last two times Andy and I talked, he was working his way through autographing 2,000 FWs. Though he jokingly complained of writer's cramp, he admitted that he was trying to give people a reason to buy through Idea, rather than getting a discounted copy through Amazon et. al. I joked with him that, in Marketingspeak, he was "adding value" by autographing the copies, and he wholeheartedly agreed. Because I want to support the band, and have the money to spend, I'm willing to eat the extra cost of buying the band's CDs at the Idea site, but I also understand the frustration over this issue ... for example, Fripp and Co. usually offer autographed and non-autographed copies of CDs at their Discipline Global Mobile site (at least they did ... I haven't been there in a while), so customers have a choice. The non-autographed version is usually competitive w/other retailers. I like save money as much as the next person, and usually shop around for CDs, but getting the full range of prices usually means waiting. So, I guess the question is, do you want it cheap, or do you want it first? Idea had it before other retailers. There are other benefits, too: Idea's version is autographed, and altruistic purchasers can rest assured that more money is going to Andy and the boys (because of lower distribution/supply-chain costs, as well as the premium price). My take on the situation is that Andy doesn't want to get into the price-war game (which he'd have to do if he put non-autographed copies on the site and tried to match other retailers' prices). Instead, I think he prefers to be the "premium outlet" for XTC stuff. I believe Andy is charging what he thinks is a fair price for FW, given the substantial work he's put into the discs, and the cost of their production (because it's a small run with nice packaging, the per-unit cost is higher than it would be on a release more geared to a general audience) ... who knows, maybe he's even losing a bit of money, or breaking even, on the other distribution channels (but is using them to gain wider distribution), and is offsetting that loss by charging a bit more through the Idea site. But, of course, I could be wrong about this speculation. I'll ask Andy next time we talk, and let you know what he says. Smudge, thanks for the holiday transcription present. Cool interview. -Todd
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 18:44:03 +0100 (CET) From: rappard@dds.nl Subject: Marty Fopp, Bootlegs & All That Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.43L0.0212131834580.7316-100000@shell.dds.nl> Chalkhillers Anonymous, I'm back (unisono: "Welcome back Mart!") - not that you cared anyway.:) Some points: 1) It's slightly dodgy etiquette, but does someone have Martin Fopp's (Oberursel, Germany) contact info? He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Please email me off-list. 2) On to digest #8-67: I (just) missed the start of the thread, but Wes is entirely right - selling CD-Rs is WRONG, and you're giving real traders a bad name. As put by David Pajo (go buy "Whatever, Mortal" now!): "Somebody is rolling in some cash right now, low overhead and a big price tag. And they didn't have to play a note, they didn't have to pay for gas to drive to New Jersey, they didn't practice 5 nights a week trying to hone the songs down". 3) And on a related note: Steven Paul asked "Also, since we're talking lately about bootlegs and pirating, is it a violation of law or ethics to make a CDR copy of W1 and W2 for my own use at the office/in the car?" No, digital copies for your own use are allowed under US law. 4) and "pawnee q ribber" <ribber@lycos.com> remarked: "As far as the whole trade/sell thing,there's so many factors, and the bottom line really is that even trading deprives the artist of potential income." Muaybe - given the fact that most traded material will never see the light of day, and that most music buffs will buy the official releases anyway, this is a bit of a moot point. Example: I have all the Pixies B-sides and The Purple Tape demos, yet I bought "Complete B-sides" and "Pixies" both the day they came out. I expect it will be no different for us rabid XTC fans. Cheers, Martin http://www.rappard.dds.nl http://www.downtothewell.com
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 10:19:15 -0800 (PST) From: Nicole Ross <drmomross@yahoo.com> Subject: The Three Wisemen Message-ID: <20021213181915.9460.qmail@web14901.mail.yahoo.com> Molly wrote: -> Getting off the subject, but I can't remember the -> Christmas song that "The Three Wisemen" sing? I've -> been looking for it for a long time, but I have no -> idea what's the title of the song." Oh, Molly! I have that on a bootleg, I can copy it for you easy... ... forgive me there... it was just soooo open for a joke... JOKING... really. Was it "Thanks for Christmas" or "Countdown to Christmas Party Time"? If so, both are on the Rag and Bone Buffet - which was the third XTC cd I bought (for clarification: from a store - not a bootleg). - Nicole
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 10:26:08 -0800 From: strwbrry <strwbrry@tidepool.com> Subject: Christmas Song/Remasters/Listening Suggestions Message-ID: <3DFA2636.CFEF62E6@tidepool.com> Molly asks: > I can't remember the Christmas song that "The > Three Wisemen" sing? I've been looking for it for a long time, but I have > no idea what's the title of the song. "Thanks For Christmas" "Countdown To Christmas Party Time" on Rag and Bone Buffet. Two cents on the Remasters: I am so pleased with my remasters. Having pedantically listened to the old cd's back to back with the new I'll say: the remasters have sparkling clarity, less suppressed bass, and an increased volume that provides greater detail. They're very much worth the investment, especially if you've invested in a sound system. A penny on alternative listening to XTC: Poi Dog Pondering- I've really enjoyed all their works especially their earliest and most recent works. Frank Orrall is the the singer/songwriter. A song that has clear XTC influence by PdP is "Bury Me Deep" which reflects "My God." Steve Tibbetts- I love this music. It is instrumental collage of acoustic and electric guitar with african influenced percussion, a variety of other instruments and auditory snippets. Another Steve
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 12:57:46 -0800 From: "Jason Feehan" <jwfeehan@earthlink.net> Subject: Humor in Music Message-ID: <41200212513205746560@earthlink.net> >The clinically amiable Partridge gets up a rare head of steam as he sets >about explaining why he's immutably out of step with contemporary music. >"It's a shame, but fun and levity have vanished from music in the last >twenty years," he says. "Everybody is just so desperate to be cool." > >"There is no Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, no Mothers Of Invention nowadays. >Music should be allowed to express humour and joy as much as any other >art form." Hear! Hear! Andy says it again. Any song with the slightest bit of humor or humour (if you're on that side of the Atlantic) automatically gets dismissed by most people. It's the same with comedies and the Oscars. "Great art has to be serious." Screw it. I believe you can get more people to _think_ more about serious issues if you add that tinge of humor to help make the medicine go down. Andy's a master at that (see: I'm The Man Who Murdered Love, Here Comes President Kill Again, Dear God ...). Andy's right and thanks for posting that interview! And...I think that should go for this onslaught of overly serious and sentimental "holiday music" we're subjected to each year as well: see http://www.santadoesntlikeyou.com/jukebox/santadoesntlikeyou.htm or http://www.santadoesntlikeyou.com/songs.htm. "If I'm not the sole fool who pulls his pants down", Jason
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 19:22:07 +0000 From: blushift1@attbi.com Subject: Under Cover XTC? Message-ID: <200212131922.gBDJM8D24610184@els.sgi.com> Hail and Well Met! Ran across an article today about new CD sets in the paper this morning. This one mentions a various artists set entitled "Making Singles, Drinking Doubles" from Chicago-based Bloodshot records and contains 18 cover songs. (The Meat Purveyors version of Like A Virgin sounds interesting without even a listen yet). Anyway, the song listing mentions Moonshine Willy doing a bluegrass version of the XTC classic "Complicated Games". Interestingly, both the article and Amazon.com have the song title in plural, so I'm wondering if the article is in error with the XTC reference. Has anyone heard this yet or had occasion to read the song credits? If I get past the holidays with a few dollars left, I may pick it up. David Lake
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 15:14:25 -0800 From: Jeff Levy <jlevy@mail.maplink.com> Subject: RE: [NRBQ] Magic band link (potential Q) Message-ID: <044155E3AFBBD31184A400400543CFED79AA32@maplinknt.maplink.com> If Matt Groening is the curator of the next LA version of All Tomorrow's Parties WHO KNOWS who might end up on the bill? >Sorry, I should have included the link for the upcoming Magic Band >reunion.
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 06:46:36 -0800 (PST) From: Ira Lieman <ilieman@yahoo.com> Subject: Making Digital Cable Worthwhile... Message-ID: <20021214144636.78932.qmail@web11202.mail.yahoo.com> Hi Chalkhillians... Money's tight around my house these days, but when Digital Cable made its grand entrance into my town we snapped it up like Mr. Creosote at a buffet. I think we're paying about $6 per month for like a hundred more channels and HBO Latin. So, VH1 Classic has been playing virtually nonstop in my house since then, and I've even requested XTC videos for the request show (vh1classicrequests@vh1.com, early and often). So this weekend is '80s A to Z, done alphabetically by video instead of artist (otherwise I would have to stay up until like 4am on Monday to see if XTC was being played and probably be disappointed). So, right after Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol, what's coming on? Yup, you guessed it, Dear God. Too bad only my ~6 month old daughter was around to be serenaded. (Well, maybe that was a good thing) I was so eXTatiC... :) Then I was brought down to earth by Der Kommissar (the non-Falco version) and I went back to cleaning the house. As I speak now they're up to the "Don't" group ... Don't Dream It's Over, Don't Let's Start, Don't Worry Be Happy, Don't You Forget About Me ... it seems at least 3 of every 4 songs they're playing merit at least a glimpse of the TV. I miss the '80s. Sigh. Anyway, thought I might have been the only one here watching VH1 Classic around 9am Eastern this morning, and I wouldn't have wanted the rest of you folx to have missed out. -ira, back to job searching and warming bottles. Ooh...Don't You Want Me's on!
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 00:34:17 -0000
From: "jonhd" <jon@jhd-designs.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: I'm The Man Who Murdered Bert... and more!
Message-ID: <002c01c2a308$89663d40$ca01a8c0@two>
*** WARNING - TECHNO BABBLE IN THE 'HOOD ***
Wes, in a moment of wild optimism, wrote in Vol. 8, No. 67:-
> Now - I've got a really fast burner and can dupe a CD
> in about 3 minutes... is it possible to have a burner
> that takes an hour to make a copy of a disc? I
> honestly don't know. 8< snip---------
If you burn at 1x, it takes as long as the source material (plus a bit).
My burner will do 24x (i.e. approx. 3 mins. for a 72 min. CD source), but I
usually burn *audio* at 4x max. The faster you burn, the less the the
physical structure of the finished product may conform to the Red Book
standard - the faster you go, the less-defined the 'pits' may be. This *can*
cause BIG problems for older CD players - in particular automobile players.
The result is jumping and skipping, as the error correction in the player
has to work harder and harder, and eventually falls over. (Even a
commercially 'glass-mastered' CD causes some errors on playback -
progressively more, as it ages, gets dirty / scratched.) So, if you want to
guarantee compatibility across all players, burn slow('ish). And bottom
line - CD-R can never approach glass-mastered.
See:
http://www.cdrfaq.org/
although, if you've got a life, the following provides a briefer, and more
specific discussion:
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/crc/cdrom/cdrom.html#3
For an alternative (contrary - hey! It's an Art, not a Science) spin, see:
http://www.mrichter.com/cdr/primer/mediaspd.htm
*Excellent* (life-sapping) discussion at:
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Articles/Specific.asp?ArticleHeadline=Writin
g%20Quality&Series=0
And, like I've always said, black sho' is funkiest:
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/BurnersCorner/Black%20Cd.asp
Awopbopaloobop etc.
Cheers, Jon
--
Jon Holden-Dye
Southampton
England
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 13:03:52 -0500 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: We Three Kings Are Disoriented Message-ID: <BA20DCB8.67B9%cauldron@together.net> on 12/13/02 9:33 AM, Molly wrote: > Getting off the subject, but I can't remember the Christmas song that "The > Three Wisemen" sing? I've been looking for it for a long time, but I have > no idea what's the title of the song. If anybody knows, please let me know > either by e-mail or here. My e-mail is mollyfa0000@worldnet.att.net . We Three Kings Of Orient Are Trying to smoke a rubber cigar But it was loaded, and exploded... :-)
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 09:29:07 -0800 (PST) From: Lee Rosevere <happypuppyrecords@yahoo.com> Subject: warbling along Message-ID: <20021215172907.90892.qmail@web13501.mail.yahoo.com> Well, I got my warbles too, and living in Canada, they weren't cheap. For anyone in the Great White North who wants to order it, be prepared to pay roughly $40 per disc ($65 for both with exchange and shipping + $15 duty!). But I don't regret it, because the CDs are fantastic and having Andy's autograph makes it that much better - and it's XTC so I gotta have it. Nice booklets and the sound quality is superb...great to finally have excellent copies of the Peach demos. It would have been nice if the volumes were arranged chronologically, but I can understand that overall listening enjoyment is more important. BTW, here's my Top 10 (no particular order): 1. Kay Hanley - "Cherry Marmalade" 2. Tanya Donelly - "Beauty Sleep" 3. Beck - "Sea Change" 4. Juliana Hatfield - "Gold Stars: the best 1992-2002" 5. Ron Sexsmith - "Cobblestone Runway" 6. Bic Runga - "Beautiful Collision" 7. Dressy Bessy - "Sound Go Round" 8. Spookey Ruben - "Bed/Breakfast" 9. Ben Folds - "Rockin' the Suburbs" 10. Andy Patridge - "Fuzzy Warbles 1 & 2" (of course). Technically, Ben Folds was released in 2001, but I'm including it anyway cuz it's that good. Anybody heard any news about the "King For A Day" project? Been awhile since an update.. thanks, ~~L
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 11:25:23 -0800 From: strwbrry <strwbrry@tidepool.com> Subject: Oops/Fuzzy Message-ID: <3DFCD71E.EEAE457A@tidepool.com> First: For any of you who might have been interested in following the musical suggestion I made earlier for Poi Dog Pondering the song that appears influenced by "Dear God" is titled "Praise the Lord." That aught to make more sense if you've actually sought them out. Second: I ordered my Fuzzy Warbles from the Idea site. Should arrive overseas any day! Interestingly, just the week before I watched A Clockwork Orange (unbeknownst to its "fuzzy" content) for the first time in years and was suprised in a twisted and delighted sort of way to hear the "warbles" reference. After the "do what you will, but harm none" ethic promoted on the apple/venus pair to be shouldering up to the very well rounded I guess is an example of the flow and ebb of our cosmic adventurings... ...not being an expert on sixties lingo of the british street perhaps it's a bit inaccurate to allow A Clockwork Orange to harbor "fuzzy warbles" as the sole source reference? Another Steve
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 13:19:56 -0800 (PST) From: Ryan Anthony <hamsterranch@yahoo.com> Subject: The case for a second CD changer Message-ID: <20021215211956.52416.qmail@web10107.mail.yahoo.com> A couple of Digests ago, Ben Gott wrote: "Last weekend, I bought a 100 CD changer. It's the best damn thing I've ever bought. Where else can you go from Marley to Guided by Voices to Shawn Colvin to R.E.M. to Michael Franti & Spearhead in one fell swoop?" You know what you should do now, Ben? Buy -- or ask Father Christmas for -- a second changer. It can be any size, but it must be the same brand as the machine you already own. Put half of your CD collection in each. Your operation manual will teach you how to link your two jukeboxes with an inexpensive mono connection cord and program them in such a way that while a song plays in Changer 1, the next song is cued up in Changer 2 and begins the moment the first song ends. This eliminates the fifteen- or twenty-second silence you hear while a single machine switches discs. The transition is smooth and immediate -- you'll think you're listening to your own live-in disc jockey, except there's no patter between platters. Some will argue that fifteen or twenty seconds of silence between songs is inconsequential. I say, if you set your single jukebox on "random shuffle" for a full evening, by bedtime you will have listened to a cumulative thirty minutes of silence, and who wants to send that much money to the Estate of John Cage? My two jukeboxes, linked by control cord and set for "all discs shuffle," "mega-control" (so that Changer 1 directs Changer 2 to work in concert) and "no delay," have been playing my collection back to me, one randomly-chosen song or comedy bit at a time, since mid-2000. It's my own private radio station, KRNA, and it plays a lot of XTC. Ben, if you like your current changer and you want your second machine to be identical, go to www.mysimon.com, type in the make and model, and look for a retailer who will offer you a bargain -- and might even charge no shipping. (I have no connection to MySimon except as a satisfied customer some ten times over.) Ryan Anthony An independent Internet content provider P.S.: Did I write "Father Christmas" above? How evil of me. Or how unfashionable of me. (I get the two confused.) I meant to write, of course, Parent Holiday.
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 17:04:42 EST From: JamieCFC1@aol.com Subject: Fuzzier Warbles Message-ID: <d3.1689b9a0.2b2e567a@aol.com> Hi All As a CD retailer will-be I would like to chuck in my 2 pence/cents worth. Firstly Amazon has never been able to organise itself sufficiently to deal with the .com or .co.uk scenario, if you are in the UK and you order from amazon.com it will come from the USA, even if you live in the UK and the product is also available in the amazon.co.uk website. This has been ongoing with them for at least 3 years, and no doubt now they are finally showing "pro-forma" profits (whatever the hell they are) they feel no desire to change. The major factor with Amazon is, and always has been, their postage charges which I have always felt very excessive and is the reason I rarely buy from them. To send a CD within the UK costs 57 pence, plus the cost of the envelope/package, compare that with what they charge and there's your pro-forma profit. Secondly according to my wholesale guy the Recommended Retail Price for Fuzzy 1 or 2 is 11 quid, if you're ordering from a UK store and you live outside Europe you shouldnt be charged VAT so that should bring your price down to about 9 quid. So, basically, if you pay any more than 11 quid you're either (a) mad or (b) loaded. If your answer is (b) I'd like to hear from you... Jamie www.gasbanana.com
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 23:49:44 -0000 From: "Ian Sutton" <ianrichard.sutton@ntlworld.com> Subject: XTC on Old Grey Whistle Test Message-ID: <000d01c2a494$a5161c80$946d0450@tinyhwsvzxjo> There is a video of XTC playing Statue of Liberty on the BBC show Old Grey Whistle Test to be found on RealNetworks Superpass Europe. I think you may have to be a subscriber to the Realone Pass to view it but there is a 14 day free trial option. There is also some excellent footage of other performances from the likes of Blondie, Tom Waits and U2 from the 70's to have a look at. Use the following URL and you will see a small box with the OGWT logo and a link to Explore just below it. I believe there is a DVD available of the Old Grey Whistle Test and XTC are on it but I'm not sure if it's this performance. http://uk.real.com/index.html?lang=en-gb&loc=gb Enjoy, Ian Sutton
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 06:03:38 -0000 From: "Darryl W. Bullock" <drol@btinternet.com> Subject: A final warble Message-ID: <001e01c2a4c8$e1ab2760$19a2fea9@Bullock> Oops - I seem to have stirred up something here! Thought that you might like to see what Idea/Weatherbox had to say on the subject. ----- Original Message ----- From: <Xtcidearecords@aol.com> To: <drol@btinternet.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 00:09 Subject: Re: Fuzzy Warbles hi darryl sorry you are pissed of with us, but let me explain. the recommended retail price of the watbles is #12.99 but unfortunatley we have no control over how much retailers sell it for, mvc are parts of the woolies chain and so get huge file discounts which enable them to discount the album to #11.71 again this is something we have no control over. The rest of the fuzzy warbles series is not planned to be available in the shops only through this web site so even amazon will not have any. The instrumentals, have unfortunately been delayed due to a manufacturing problem which has now been resolved and andy and colin are signing them as we speak. Hope this explains everything and hey don't be too pissed at us site admin To which I replied: Dear all, Thanks for the reply - sorry I have not been in touch earlier. I do appreciate, having worked in the trade for many years, how file discount works and understand how this impacts on the price difference between what you are charging for the stunning FW's and what the UK chains are. The point was simply that many people would have appreciated having a choice between buying the premium, autographed version and a cheaper non-signed version, especially as we had been led to believe that the discs would only be available via Idea. Andy and Colin could issue a recording of their farts and I'd still buy it! Much love, and a Happy Christmas to Andy and Colin, their families and all at Idea. Darryl. The final thought goes out to all at Chalkhills, too!
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 19:24:28 +0000 From: "Neil Oliver" <squealyneily@hotmail.com> Subject: Pricy Warbles Message-ID: <F139GkQ6mBySsxVY60m000338a3@hotmail.com> Got the first two Fuzzy Warbles this week. They sound and look great. But they cost me about $70 Canadian when all was said and done. I had to pay Idea 27 pounds for the discs and the shipping, which in Canadian terms is about 55 bucks, and then when I went to pick them up at the post office I had to pay another 16 dollars in customs and taxes! I want to support Andy but this is a lot to pay for demo recordings. I think it would be nice if he could find a North American distributor. (Or was there some other way to buy the discs that I didn't know about?) And as I have said before on this list, I'd prefer it if Andy would stick to reasonably polished demos and not pad the discs out with throwaway instrumentals and crappy work tapes. As much as I enjoyed hearing pristine masters of the more recent demos, I was irritated to be charged money for barely listenable things like "Complicated Game" and "All of a Sudden." I feel a bit like Andy is taking advantage of my fandom when he releases this kind of stuff. On a totally unrelated but also irritated note: I wish people would stop reporting "Tunes to Help You Breathe More Easily" as the working title of XTC's new album. This was merely the title of the news item they put up on the Idea site about Andy and Colin's new songs. Nowhere does it say that this is what they are calling the album.
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