Chalkhills Digest Volume 9, Issue 48
Date: Thursday, 25 September 2003
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 9, Number 48
Thursday, 25 September 2003
Topics:
Old Grey Whistlers
Re: Go 2
The Black and White album
X-sTatic Thanks
DVD
Announcing King For A Day (Honest!)
Question about XTC video
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The loudest mouth will hail the new found way / to be king for a day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 12:23:22 -0400 From: Benjamin Gott <bgott@rectoryschool.org> Subject: Old Grey Whistlers Message-ID: <EB83A46A-EC4F-11D7-AB2A-0003931489DA@rectoryschool.org> Hillers, I bought "The Old Grey Whistle Test" DVD yesterday, and it's a fantastic ride. Along with performances by all the musicians that John mentioned, there are also interviews with John Lennon, Elton John and Bernie Taupin (in 1972-ish), Mick and Keith, Robert Plant, and Springsteen. My favourite performances so far have got to be Randy Newman's "Political Science," Tom Waits's "Tom Traubert's Blues" (always a keeper), "Psycho Killer" (with a very timid Tina Weymouth), and REM's "Pretty Persuasion." There are, of course, many, many other great performances on the DVD, including, of course, "Statue of Liberty." Each segment is introduced with a modern-day interview with one of the Whistle Test hosts. Mark Ellen introduces XTC: "I remember watching this too, and, uh...Incredibly exciting. It starts, if I remember rightly, with Andy Partridge establishing his Swindon punk credentials by trying to distance himself from the Whistle Test programme. And he says something extraordinary, like, 'Hello, all you Whistle Testers out there!' And then he leans toward the camera and he says, 'Put your acid spangle on now,' which I think is a reference to the director saying, 'Put that kind of psychadelic filter thing that you put on the lens.' He says, 'Put your acid spangle on now because this is a Rita Coolidge number!' And he goes straight into 'Statue of Liberty.' And it's the most fantastic performance because they're so fired up by the possibilities of this music they've created and they're almost frustrated by the limitations of having just these four instruments, you know. And it's so frantic and it's so urgent and it's so passionate, and Andy Partridge at the end finishes up not being able to get the lyrics out -- the words come out as unintelligible noises. It's just a brilliant performance. And there's also the extraordinary thing watching this, to think that 15 years later, he and Colin Moulding, standing on the right -- Partridge is the guy on the left -- finished up writing this completely different music, this wonderful, ambient, pastoral psychadelic music which could not be more different from this performance you're about to see." Here's hoping they come out with a Volume II... -Ben
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 12:53:26 -0400 From: "Molly, The New Wave Queen 2003" <thenewwavequeen@earthlink.net> Subject: Re: Go 2 Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.0.20031021124643.009ed0b0@pop.earthlink.net> Hey, this is my birthday. So when Go2 came out I just turned 6 years old. Hmm, now I'll have to play this album on my 31st birthday this year. I learn new things in here every single time I read this digest. At 09:57 AM 9/21/03 -0400, RSMko@webtv.net wrote: >"Go2" on 6 October. And, John Relph and others that live where Hurricane Isabel hit, I'm glad you're okay. I was thinking about the 'Hillians that lived in the path of the storm. Molly XTC Song of the Moment: "1,000 Umbrellas" Non-XTC Song: "No Regrets" - Midge Ure
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 10:26:58 -0700 From: "WAYNE KLEIN" <wtdk12@msn.com> Subject: The Black and White album Message-ID: <BAY3-DAV97bXpbSgH6L000114bf@hotmail.com> >>James Michael Isaacs james.isaacs@uky.edu surmised: < < There has been a lot of cheering and shouting about for the 20th anniversary of the release of Mummer. Should we also not be celebrating (much in the way we brought in Y2K) the 1978 release of Go 2, XTC's greatest work? Now, I don't remember the actual date, as I was yet a wee tot, but doggone it, think of this: if they never did Go 2, they never would have done Drums and Wires. > > Good call, sir! Set your calendars for this: "Are You Receiving Me" single, issued 22 September 1978. "Go2" on 6 October. I take a smidgen of pride in boasting that I actually premiered "Meccanik Dancing" on WFMU, East Orange NJ the following week. Isaacs, I join your secret club, in publicly acknowledging the *black* album as remaining far too underrated. Abbey Road! It fucking blew us away. There was nothing like it then, nor now. I put it in a letter.<< Go2 is an underrated gem. Has some of my favorite songs on them (although My Weapon doesn't happen to be one of them. I think one or two of Andrews tracks on the Coats compilation are considerably better than that song). By the way, weren't the band eligible to for the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Shame? It appears that politics and popularity rule as usual. My brother gave me subscription to Rolling Stone for my birthday (his heart was in the right place) and I recently read their Greatest Guitarist issue. They had 100 slots. Where do you think Dave Gregory ranked? You're right! He wasn't. It's a pity that they were focused on balancing out popularity with talent. Sure, a lot of the choices deserved to be on the list (Eric Clapton ahead of Peter Green?). Perhaps it's because they didn't tour after Settlement or that there aren't long extended jams on xtc albums. >From Mr. Relph: >>BBC Video USA has released "The Old Grey Whistle Test: The UK's Legendary Live Music Show", a DVD containing the "best" of the UK's "The Best of The Old Grey Whistle Test" compilation DVD set, including XTC's "Statue of Liberty".<< I picked it up the day it came out. It's a pity that there's only "Statue of Liberty" on it. I don't know how many appearances they made. Anybody hazard a guess (I'm sure Wes Long probably knows). John, I thought you were on the west coast and not in DC. If you moved, it was a wise time given the state California is in (pardon the pun). I also enjoyed the Randy Newman video but was disappointed that Roxy Music lip synched their performance. Evidently Eno's sonic manipulation was making a mess of the sound system so they elected to lip synch (at least that's what the DVD hints at). I understand the UK will see a volume 2 released in October. Unfortunately, this one has a region 2 coding so the US won't be able to play it (unlike the first two disc set from which the recent release was drawn which was a region 0). >From Paul >>I have purchased a product, I expect it to deliver. The practice of "copy-protect", which prevents the consumer from even enjoying the music, regardless of whether you're trying to copy or not, is an outright breach of the law, and it should be stopped RIGHT NOW! I mean, if you bought yourself a coffee percolater, say, and it won't percolate yer coffee, you'd kick up a stink, wouldn't you?<< The perils of the digital age. So far in the US it's still legal to copy music for your own pleasure. I can see that going bye-bye with all the fuss the recording industry has kicked up. I liked Dave Mathews comments on the whole situation in Entertainment Weekly--he stated he hoped the industry choked and died. He made his most of his money on touring not on recording because of the complex accounting system this industry uses. I'd equate the recording industry (and film industry as well) as the Mafia of the 21st century; they find ways to cheat their artists, give them only a tiny bit of what they really earn and then expect the artist to kiss their ass for the privilege.
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 20:31:43 +0100 From: "Edward Percival" <e.percival@virgin.net> Subject: X-sTatic Thanks Message-ID: <LPBBJPOPBKIHDGICJPLEMEFHCFAA.e.percival@virgin.net> Once again, our travels in the land of XTC have left us on a high. The last weekend has been very, very special. Special most of all for meeting all the fans who came from so many different countries. It was a pleasure to play for such enthusiastic audiences. More will follow when sleep has beeen repaired, but for those who are interested the sets were as follows Friday Night at Riff's- the acoustic show I'd Like That Scarecrow People You're the Wish you are Ladybird Humble Daisy Another Satellite Love on a Farmboy's Wages Great Fire All of a Sudden Wonder Annual Supergirl Statue of Liberty Ship Trapped in the Ice Roads Girdle the Globe Beatown Dear God Good Man Albert Brown 1,000 Umbrellas You and the Clouds Will Still be Beautiful- featuring Adrian the drummer on vocals Smalltown Mole from the Ministry Wrapped in Grey Church of Women Yacht Dance Nigel Senses This is Pop ...and I can't remember what else. and with Lee Moulding on drums.. No Thugs Jason & the Argonauts Saturday at the Victoria- Electric set.. Outside World Helicopter When You're Near Me Ball and Chain Funk Pop a Roll Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead Meccanik Dancing This is Pop Dance Band Optimisms Flames Statue of Liberty Beatown SET 2 Wake Up Lighthouse Language in our Lungs Then She Appeared Mayor of Simpleton Jason & the Argonauts Snowman Senses No Thugs Towers of London Are You Receiving Me? Respectable Street Generals and Majors ENCORES Making Plans for Nigel Playground Complicated Game Church of Women Radios In Motion So too many songs to remember the right words or chords, but what the heck. It was a blast. It will be a while 'til the next time. Love The X-sTatiC
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 12:02:01 -0700 From: strwbrry@tidepool.com Subject: DVD Message-ID: <3F70989E.C6B8DEDC@tidepool.com> I was looking forward to the XTC DVD. http://xtcidearecords.co.uk *click news* Alas, it is completely out of my hands. Hearing of the NTSC version of the old grey whistle test at the same time is oddly cool. Another Steve
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 18:08:22 -0500 From: "Richard" <rjpa1@comcast.net> Subject: Announcing King For A Day (Honest!) Message-ID: <002001c382f0$c09bbe20$04081fac@verisity.com> The XTC tribute, "King For A Day is available. It really is! Honest! Call me all the names you care to. I finished it. 134 covers of XTC songs (54 of which you have heard if you bought the Chalkhills' Children series). Still... way cheap for 80 new covers! Please go to http://www.geocities.com/king4aday_xtc for ordering information and the "Download of the Week" (notice that it is in quotes!) The "Download of the Week" will feature a "track" for _some period of time_ (based on number of downloads, bandwidth clogs, vacations, etc) that you can download for your dining and dancing pleasure. The value of the download is zero if you order the CD. With 134 MP3 tracks and potential bandwidths problems, it will take a very long time to download them all from the site (and if I receive any new tracks, they will preempt any KFAD track.) This alone should justify the few bucks for the CD. The individual artists own the rights to their cover songs but I own the rights to the collection so don't the anarchists and "Free The Music!" preachers get some wise idea about posting them all on some website or I'll slaughter your cattle and burn your crops. I promise. I've spent so much time with lawyers on this project that I'm now friends with a few. Yeah, I know... I'll pay for that in hell. This weeks download is a VERY short little outtake you won't hear anywhere else. It is short because I don't know what kind of response I'll get and could easily exceed my bandwidth allotment with a full-length song. That alone will determine how often I change the "Download of the Week." Thanks to all that contributed! There is some great stuff there - and some not so great - but it is all for the love of XTC. Order now! I plan to ship within two days of ordering provided PayPal is used and payment is made in US Dollars. You can contact me for arrangements to send a check, I will wait until it clears the bank before I send the package. I am doing this project AT COST so I can't afford any bounced checks. Lastly, some of you know that I was trying to configure this tribute as a fundraiser for cancer research. Regretfully, it won't happen like that. The price would have been considerably higher. My lawyers said that I would need written clearance from every artist (a HUGE job) to donate their "royalties" (of which there are none but with the higher price, would have been) and there were some already known unwilling parties. I won't talk about specifics except to say that there was nothing negative from the land of the red brick dream. So, there it is. Here it is. And soon I hope to say, "There it goes!" And sorry about the GeoCities site but the price is right. Be the first on your block! Cheers, Richard
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2003 15:44:34 -0500 From: "Timothy Lee Dye" <drdbx@accessky.net> Subject: Question about XTC video Message-ID: <000801c383a5$d479cb20$a70ee4ce@hppav> Hi! I was wondering if anyone knew the name of the model in the video "Mayor of Simpleton" (she was the "Girl from Simpleton")? Thank you for your time!! Tim (Doc) Dye
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #9-48 ******************************
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