Chalkhills Digest Volume 9, Issue 27
Date: Wednesday, 28 May 2003
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 9, Number 27
Wednesday, 28 May 2003
Topics:
Re: embarassing records
John Martyn
The git talks back
XTC Tribute Concert in NYC! "Bags of Fun" needed!
I'll one-up the iTunes geek factor.
Hiding the stack of 45s before Dom, Harrison & Todd arrive...
See How They Run
Billy Bragg
I'm an APE man, I'm an APE APE man...
* Joe Jackson does Mayor of Simpleton
Re: Oranges & Lemons
red hot xtc lick
XTC in 'on national radio in the UK' shock!
A Lemon of an ORANGE
oranges and lemons remaster
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 12:58:19 -0700 From: american idle <jemiah@q7.com> Subject: Re: embarassing records Message-ID: <3ECE7D5C.81790819@q7.com> de-lurking because I can't resist the lure of comedy.... Dom, I am jealous of your Haircut 100 records. All of them. And your knowledge of the chunky sweaters. I am the proud owner of lots of embarassing stuff... the "Beat Street" soundtrack, which really redefines awful - and I've been using filesharing, as is only right, to re-discover the joys of Wham!'s early sound. Yes, it's true, George Michael is actually a very good songwriter - or at least he was when he was 18. I hope the new Dukes rumour is a true one... jemiah
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 16:07:57 -0500 From: JOHN M HACKNEY <jhackney@students.wisc.edu> Subject: John Martyn Message-ID: <348ef2efec.2efec348ef@wiscmail.wisc.edu> Hello, It's been an extremely long time since I posted here--- Long story short: I've just recently begun to collect some recordings by the Scotsman John Martyn. I have known about his work for years and have always admired it, but I'm only now getting around to buying some cd's. He apparently has released scores of albums over the years, both commercially and in the form of self-released "bootlegs". In checking out his various websites, I discovered that he's been very ill recently, and in fact had part of one leg amputated due to circulation problems (diabetes?). He has been recording of late, though, after a long hiatus. I think his most recent album was in 2001 or 2002. Anyway, I guess I just wanted to ask if anyone knew of any connections, however slight, between Martyn and XTC. Has Andy ever mentioned being a fan or being influenced by him, anyone? Thanks, John
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 19:09:29 -0300 From: Paulo X <paulox@onda.com.br> Subject: The git talks back Message-ID: <l03130303baf445b340dc@[200.195.174.31]> Dom says: >Adam Ant - Manners & Physique...now I take exception >to the git who cited 'Friend Or Foe' as an >embarrassing album. It's ace, for Marco's sake! What >about 'Here Comes The Grump'? 'Made Of Money'? 'Place >In The COuntry'? Awesome stuff... I didn't say I don't like the album, Dom. I just feel slightly embarassed owning it. Especially because I bought it out of nostalgia, a couple of years ago. Ira also noted that: >Uh oh ... BEN! Get involved in this discussion! Paulo wants to incur your >wrath! Again, these Mike Oldfield albums are still in my possession *because* I like them (I even shoplifted OMMADAWN, for chrissake!). It doesn't mean that I wouldn't feel embarassed to show them to a bunch of Chalkhillians should they perchance visit my humble abode. Speaking of which, I was wondering, which records in your collection would you play to your fellow Chalkhillians in that same hypothetical party (other than those rare XTC demos compilations)? My choices would be: Velha Guarda da Portela: TUDO AZUL The Triffids: BORN SANDY DEVOTIONAL and/or CALENTURE Various Artists: WHERE JOY KILLS SORROW Luna: PENTHOUSE Paulinho da Viola: BEBADOSAMBA Fellini: O ADEUS DE FELLINI Joco Gilberto: JOCO Marisa Monte: COR DE ROSA E CARVCO (a.k.a. PINK & CHARCOAL) Penguin Cafe Orchestra: CONCERT PROGRAM Paulo "The Git" X "Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough." -- Grouch Marx
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 17:32:45 -0400 From: Joe McGinty <rastro2@earthlink.net> Subject: XTC Tribute Concert in NYC! "Bags of Fun" needed! Message-ID: <3ECE937D.4070704@earthlink.net> Hi everyone... Just wanted to remind you about the XTC tribute in NYC. Also, I'm desperately in need of "Bags of Fun With Buster". Anyone kind enough to send an mp3, would be graciously rewarded with tickets to the show, or some CDs from the Loser's Lounge catalog. For more information and a link to buy tickets please visit: http://www.loserslounge.com
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 21:04:43 -0500 From: Chris Vreeland <CVREELAND@austin.rr.com> Subject: I'll one-up the iTunes geek factor. Message-ID: <a06001200baf46668f218@[24.175.32.185]> Harrison Sherwood noted the joys of iTunes sharing over a network. This is a cool thing, but it also turns out you can share your iTunes library over the internet. If you've got some kind of broadband, it'll stream pretty well-- I tested it out by listening to my home computer's music library from work the other day. If you're behind a firewall, or if you're running OS X's built-in firewall, you've got to open port 3689 in order for other people's iTunes to find it, and I suppose iTunes has to be open on your Mac as well. I think a maximum of 5 people can be connected at one time. So, the 3% of the 50% of the 14% of computer users who have Macs, which have OS X installed, and have broadband access, which means probably 3 of us on Chalkhills, can listen to each other's libraries. It's as simple as pasting my IP address ( 24.175.32.185 ) into the "Connect to Shared Music..." dialog and hitting the return key. I'll leave the light on. The horror of it all is that within, you'll find the two worst songs ever recorded by the human brain. NOW you're curious, right? Chris "Dammit Spock! Who told you that you could sing?" Vreeland -- Oh, joy. It's another website. http://chrisvreeland.com
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 20:00:50 -0700 From: "Wes Hanks" <whanks1@earthlink.net> Subject: Hiding the stack of 45s before Dom, Harrison & Todd arrive... Message-ID: <000801c321a0$aebb4ba0$9e63fea9@vaio> Yummy Yummy Yummy - Ohio Express - Buddah Records BDA-38 Nights In White Satin - The Moody Blues - Deram 45-DEM-85023 A Very Good Year - Chad & Jeremy - World Artists WA1052 Fun With Sounds - Wes Harrison (Mr. Sound Effects) IRC Christmas Dragnet - Stan Freberg - Capitol Here Come Da Judge - the Buena Vistas - Marquee Records MQ 443A House of the Rising Sun - Frigid Pink - Parrot PRT-341 Did You See Her Eyes - The Illusion - Steed Records ST-1035 Come Back When You Grow Up - Bobby Vee - Liberty LB-2402 Sara Jane - Gary Lewis & the Playboys - Liberty LB-2570 San Francisco - Scott McKenzie - Ode ZS7-103 Venus - The Shocking Blue - Colossus C-1012 Like To Get To Know You - Spanky and Our Gang - Mercury 72795 Poor Side of Town - Johnny Rivers - Imperial IM66205 etc, etc, etc... Wes "Close-'N-Play" Hanks
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 00:16:40 -0400 From: Neal Buck <nealhbuck@earthlink.net> Subject: See How They Run Message-ID: <852835D3-8D9E-11D7-9FB6-0003937FD128@earthlink.net> Chalx Are For Chids! I can't resist the embarrassing albums thread! The funny thing is, when I start thinking about it, most of mine are so corny that they are "kitschy". Like my Archies "Jingle Jangle" disc I cut from a cereal box, or my Partridge Family "I Think I Love You" 45. Also, "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight" by Lonnie Donnegan, and "Hair" by the Cowsills. Then there's my Shaun Cassidy LP, "Wasp" - which was produced by Todd Rundgren and features him and Utopia as musicians, and includes Mr. "Da-Doo-Run-Run" covering "The Book I Read," "Rebel Rebel," and "So Sad About Us". Then there's the MP3 I (finally!) found to download, (as our fair Belinda can testify) The Osmonds "Crazy Horses". I suppose I could be embarrassed by my "Kiss Alive!" or Ted Nugent "Tooth, Fang & Claw" CDs, but I'm not. I did just recently indulge in a guilty pleasure. A friend had a CD of "Uriah Heep Live," which I used to have and listen to. Now, it just makes me want to listen to "Made In Japan" again. I have some old cassettes that I bought as cheap cutouts just because they had a musician or producer I admired that I can't bring myself to listen to again (like The Parachute Club or The Three O'Clock or Geoffrey Downes and The New Dance Orchestra). But then again, if someone came in and said they wanted them, I would probably give 'em away. I probably wouldn't give away my 4 Styx gold vinyl LPs, however, even though I can't bring myself to listen to them, either. Finally, I suppose there's stuff in my collection that SOMEONE would think was embarrassing, and someone else would think was SO COOL, that I can't worry about it. Just about all music can be appreciated in a particular time or place - whether it's obscure prog-rock, heavy metal, rap, pop, local folk, or you-name-it. Then there's "Metal Machine Music"... Neal
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 11:20:00 +0530 From: "Sughosh Varadarajan" <aqualung@hotpop.com> Subject: Billy Bragg Message-ID: <000701c321b8$52762780$1a00a8c0@internal.directi.com> >>(Now in eager anticipation of Billy Bragg's Talking with the taxman about >>poetry CD...oh dear Lord,please make it soon...!) >What do you mean? I've had this CD for years... I meant I've just ordered it and am eagerly awaiting delivery..damn these buggers take so long to send anything at all to India...had to wait a whole month-and-a-half for my last purchase too, the double-disc "Best of Ralph McTell"...ahh but the thrill of finally owning it was worth it all methinks ! (:-) Cheers all Sughosh
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 07:47:06 -0700 (PDT) From: Todd Bernhardt <beat_town@yahoo.com> Subject: I'm an APE man, I'm an APE APE man... Message-ID: <20030524144706.14790.qmail@web41105.mail.yahoo.com> Hi: Duncan "the fastest man in the world (he really is)" Watt asked about the APE logo (yo, Dunks! I just got one for my birthday!), and whether or not it was designed by Andy. Like the Idea logo, it was sketched out by Andy, who then sent it to a famous-graphic-designer friend (whose name I don't recall at the moment) to "clean up." Mr. P takes these things seriously (and is damn good at them, IMO) ... he even told me that "logo" comes from the Greek "logos," meaning "word of god" (would love to hear if any Greek scholars out there could confirm or dispute this). He also joked that he thought the APE logo would even look good on the tail of an airplane, if it came to that... -Todd "Anyone can look for fashion in a boutique or history in a museum. The creative explorer looks for history in a hardware store and fashion in an airport." --Robert S. Wieder, journalist
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 15:48:14 -0500 From: "Music Is Special" <musicisspecial@hotmail.com> Subject: * Joe Jackson does Mayor of Simpleton Message-ID: <Law8-OE66O9lTXeo6fQ00007dc4@hotmail.com> For trade: Joe Jackson average audience recording from Mercury Lounge NY 2003. HE does solo acoustic MofS on piano which he introed by saying Andy was one of his all-time favorite songwriters. If interested, send your trade list e
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 07:57:08 +0200 From: "Bergmaier Klaus" <klaus.bergmaier@servicemensch.at> Subject: Re: Oranges & Lemons Message-ID: <CE3E00896BFF604A8F9CC48454BA7263015C00@noevhmsg01.noev.at> Andisheh Nouraee wrote: >XTC junky that I am, I've been slowly amassing the Japanese mini-LP >reissues. I recently picked up Oranges & Lemons and noticed some odd >things during King For A Day -- there's a percussive instrument going >"tat-ta-tat" on the remastered version that is so much more prominent >compared to the old CD that it sounds more like a different mix. >Fueling that suspicion, some of the backing vocals seem to be missing >as well. Well, Andisheh, this percussive instrument is also prominently featured in the mix of the "ordinary" Virgin remaster. I was quite surprised when I first heard it, too.
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 15:03:25 -0400 From: "J. R. Stone" <jstoner@mcmaster.ca> Subject: red hot xtc lick Message-ID: <web-41976475@cgpsrv1.cis.mcmaster.ca> Fellow Chalkhillers, Has anyone noticed (or analysed) the similar notes that characterise the lick in Andy's "Mopti Fake" (on the 'Jule Verne's Sketchbook' recording) and the Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Venice Queen" (on 'By the Way' recording)? pluckingly, Jon
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 00:13:01 +0100 From: Jason Witcher <jason@etceterate.com> Subject: XTC in 'on national radio in the UK' shock! Message-ID: <3ED29F7D.4000809@etceterate.com> Driving home from work just now, I found myself tiring of Virgin Radio's endless diet of U2, Stereophonics and Coldplay, and tuned in to Radio 2, to find a very familiar song playing... 'Green Man'! Not just that, but it was followed by 'Boarded Up' (and an invitation from the DJ for Andy to hop on a Great Western train and come in for an interview. Go on, you heard the man - it's only an hour!) I think I'll be listening to Radio 2 a bit more in future! Jason
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 13:11:59 -0400 From: KEVIN.WOLLENWEBER@jpmorgan.com Subject: A Lemon of an ORANGE Message-ID: <OF5A6D9986.889DFB5D-ON85256D33.00599BEA@chase.com> Dear Chalkers: Hmmmm, didn't note that odd remix as andy@andy2000.org pointed out on the mini-LP sleeve remaster of ORANGES AND LEMONS. Then again, I'm confused; wasn't there another source for the mini-LP's? Maybe I'd gotten a mini-LP pressing from a U.K. source and not the Japanese source, no? It is similar to the confusion I had over a piece in ICE Magazine, as I may have already pointed out in these listings, that mentioned that unsigned copies of the first two FUZZY WARBLES disks sold at retail stores featured more tracks than those that were autographed! All this stuff is baffling and a bit unsettling to collectors like me with no computer equipped with internet access. Mine here on the job allows me to send and receive external E-mail, so this is the only source of information I have on our hallowed two and any dissimilarities in pressings and repressings of their albums and such. I don't mind remixes, as long as the original mix shows up on, say, a greatest hits A-and-B-sides collection or something like that--in much the way John Astley tried to satisfy fanatical Who fans. Wanting to collect in quantity, I've tried to make it a self-imposed rule that I collect only *ONE* copy of everything, but record labels remastering albums with upgraded sound always nips that rule in the bud. A good example of this is the David Bowie catalogue. I have refused to buy it again, merely because Rykodisc offered the albums originally with oodles of bonuses while omitting original full color cover art and expanded liner notes. Capitol Records reissues the entire catalogue, upgraded with fuller sound and full booklets and cover art but *NO* bonus material. Hopefully, these expanded editions, like the most recent ZIGGY STARDUST and the forthcoming ALADIN SANE, will take care of this horrific error on Capitol's part, like Rhino Records has done with the Elvis Costello catalogue, and give us double-disk editions of all of his albums as "anniversary" editions. I'm hoping...but until then, I'm holding onto my duller-sounding Rykodiscs. Yet, I did buy the mini-LP sleeve edition of ORANGES AND LEMONS, delighted that such a phenomenon existed and now this??? Nooooo! Crap! Well, if Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding do ever gain full control (and agree on the terms thereof in the contract) of their music, they can reissue anniversary editions of selected albums (including mini-LP sleeve copies of WHITE MUSIC, their debut and the only one I hadn't been able to snag as yet in the mini-sleeves) for our salacious consumption! I'm growing weary of this kind of collecting and really have to start thinking of just how hard I want an upgrade if it doesn't meet my radical requirements! I like upgrades, as much as they benefit the record company and not the artist persay, but if they start issuing multiple copies of albums with, say, different bonus cuts on each or different covers, I just can't chase after these anymore because, in my case, not having any vision means that I have to rely on superstore salespeople who don't know or care whether a certain copy of a certain album has just what I'm looking for. The day of the record collectors running the record shops was over nearly 20 years ago, sad to say! Yet, I do appreciate you Chalkers informing me of these crass errors in judgment on the part of record labels (mostly). In this case, I just didn't do enough spot-checking and relied on the good sense of all involved to make these the *ULTIMATE* XTC reissues to genuinely honor the band and bring a new interest in their music back to not only their strongest fans but to new fans as well since Andy Partridge is still creating. Thanks, folks. It is my opinion that all outtakes, alternate mixes, etc. should be available of just about any artist out there. Look at the fanatical work done on large-scale jazz collections. It is almost annoying to buy a favorite remastered jazz album or collection and to have to sit through a selection three or even four times because the musician doing the lead soloing plays it better or more interesting each time, and I don't expect rock albums to begin featuring multiple takes of favorite songs, smack in the middle of the original mix of tracks, but the collector is satisfied because all those fancy notes are out there for one's enjoyment and, in the age of CD burning, one can lift his or her favorite take and compile them onto samplers to take on trips or just enjoy around the house! For the most part, to sum up for those of you whose heads are spinning by this time, I'd rather the labels be anal about reissue campaigns then to start omitting such things because the search for such things is just too exhaustive! Rock on! One thing I do find annoying, however, is the "enhanced" CD. Apparently, the only piece of equipment that would play the extra matter is a computer. Otherwise, the fan buys the "enhanced" product and realizes that perhaps they've no piece of equipment in the house that will play this extra stuff. I guess we haven't come far enough where audio disks can have the "enhanced" information on an extra DVD menu on the same disk. Is this because the kind of lasers used are too different and, thus, information to be read by these two different lasers cannot exist on the same disk? This inquiring collector wants to know! The other fault is that, on newer CD players and burners, "hidden" tracks don't play at all. If you were lucky enough to buy a CD player in the mid-1990's or one of those mini-systems that were so popular back then, you have a system that automatically plays "hidden" tracks as if they were part of the main CD program, but in my case that isn't so. I'm waiting for the ultimate portable boom box that has a pop-up screen and will also play DVD's and play all "hidden" and "enhanced" information, but until that day... Having vented so, I will say that I still look forward to more Andy Partridge product and, hopefully, can goad someone to download me copies of all these songs from the Wilco YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT sessions that I hear are legally floating around out there. I'd like to support the artists here as alternative ways of giving us music could and should be the norm as record labels just don't care anymore. Long live the alternative...just include me in there somewhere! Yours, always skylarking, Kevin
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 11:20:54 -0700 (PDT) From: Martin Lucas <martinjaylucas@yahoo.com> Subject: oranges and lemons remaster Message-ID: <20030528182054.23968.qmail@web14204.mail.yahoo.com> Hi, I wanted to add to Andisheh Nouraee's comments on the Oranges and Lemons remaster. I also noticed that King for a day is not the same mix and that the midi cowbell being louder cheapens it a little. Also, the intro to Garden of earthly delights fades in without coming to a complete stop as in the original. I'm really curious if Andy, Ian Cooper (mastering engineer), or anybody else on the list can explain what happened. I haven't inspected the whole CD, so there might be other differences as well. Maybe some masters were misplaced!
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #9-27 ******************************
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