Chalkhills, Number 261

                Saturday, 6 February 1993
Today's Topics:
                   cheesy guitar duels
           Andy Partridge in Baron Munchausen?
                     Re: MoS Video...
                   Pirated Jules Verne
                   Re: Chalkhills #260
                    getting The Chills
                 Drunken Studio Sessions
                       RE: 2 Covers
                    "Bull" Tape Trade
                XTC LIVE IN CONCERT REVIEW

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Date: 03 Feb 1993 20:59:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: Brookes McKenzie <RMCKENZI@smith.smith.edu>
Subject: cheesy guitar duels

>>just to cause a small ruckus, I don't think I liked the guitar solo stuff
in Books Are Burning...too cheesy.<<

I could not agree more, and ditto for the 'hey Jude' chorus sing-a-long.
But I read in a back issue of the L.E. a little interview where Andy
said he didn't like it either - that it was Gus Dudgeon's idea and he
[Andy] had had to do it just because it was so stupid.(!) Anyway, that
was just to throw a bit of wood (or printed matter) on the fire...
        - Brookes

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From: Fred_M_Hamilton@cup.portal.com
Subject: Andy Partridge in Baron Munchausen?
Date: Wed,  3 Feb 93 19:42:32 PST

Well, barely anyway.  I just rented the Criterion edition of Terry Gilliam's
"The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" and it had a blow-up of the acting
groups flyer ("Henry Salt and Son", if I remember).  One of the cast member's
names was "Andrew Partridge".  I don't believe he was in the movie, though,
we'll just have to settle for Sting (who as Jeff Venverloh will tell you is
a much better dresser anyway).

-Fred

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Subject: Re: MoS Video...
Date: Wed, 03 Feb 93 23:20:33 EST
From: jecoleb@eos.ncsu.edu <jecoleb@eos.ncsu.edu>

Believe it or not, it was the MoS video that hooked me on xtc in
the FIRST place, and NOT because of the song. ;)

The one I saw was a cleverly done homage to the old "The Avengers"
Brit TV show, which I was a devout fan of, and thus found myself
transfixed when I ran into the video while channel-flipping one
lonely Tuesday afternoon.

About six minutes later, I caught myself humming the tune while
walking down the hall...

Luckily, I managed to catch the video on tape while recording some
grotty overnight music show that night, and asked a few friends at
school if the rest of xtc's discography was as "good as MoS."
Their frenzied responses of "yeh yeh yeah YES DAMN RIGHT!" convinced
me, and so I sneaked out of a Washington, D.C. field trip to hop
on the Metro to Crystal City Mall and pick up a copy of O & L.

and the rest (as well as seven other albums) was history...

                        ---jeff, just picked up White Music and can't
                            get X Wires out of my head...

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Date: 04 Feb 93 13:16:17 EST
From: Joseph Holmes <72241.731@compuserve.com>
Subject: Pirated Jules Verne

I just heard from someone on the west coast that pirated copies of Jules
Verne's Sketchbook have been seen. According to this guy, you can spot a
pirated copy by the cassette shell. Originals have the song titles printed
directly on the shell's plastic, while the pirated copies have the song listing
printed on a label that's applied to the shell. I can confirm the look of the
original, but I've not yet seen a pirate. Keep your eyes out!

-=-Joe

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Date: Thu, 4 Feb 93 16:07:45 PST
From: "John M. Relph" <relph@presto.ig.com>
Subject: Re: Chalkhills #260

Robert Guralnick <robg@fossil.berkeley.edu>
>
>XTC has done two covers that I know of:
>1.) All Along The Watchtower - Dylan
>2.) Ella Guru - Captain Beefheart...
>
>if they have done others, please let me know.

Well, as Shalmaneser mentioned, David Dreams (Mr Gregory) has also
covered Jimi Hendrix' "Third Stone from the Sun" and Colin's Hermits
(Dave and Andy) did a cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever".  The
latter is a must for collectors only, whilst the former is actually
quite good, loads of acoustic guitar processed to sound like electric
Hendrix, and Dave's voice!  Yes, we don't hear much of that, but in
"Third Stone" Dave recites lyrics and babbles on in the background.
Recommended listening, and it's available in the US and the UK on
_``If 6 Was 9'': A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix_.

>Also, the words to Take This Town (a most amazingly good song) are
>available via anonymous FTP to cs.uwp.edu...

They are also available in the Chalkhills Archives on net.bio.net
[134.172.2.69], in "misc/chalkhills".  Of course, the lyrics to "Take
This Town" are embarrassingly incomplete.  If your ears are fast
enough, please take the time to try to translate Andy's tra-la-la-ing
into legible lyrics we love to listen to.  (Sorry, I got carried away.)

Wes Wilson @PKO3 - 223-3413 03-Feb-1993 1002 (of the annoyingly long
personal name) <wilson@timber.enet.dec.com> asks:

>Does anyone know if it's possible to get the REFLEX magazine
>flexidisc "Reuben" issue as a back issue?

As far as I know, the flexi was only available for the copies printed
for subscribers.  Only that many issues with flexi's were printed and
thus it wasn't available to anybody else.  In fact, if a subscription
copy got mangled in the post, it was impossible to replace, according
to the people at the magazine.  Therefore, as far as I can tell, back
issues DO NOT have flexi's.  If anybody else knows otherwise, please
send in now!

        -- John

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Date: 04 Feb 93 19:26:28 EST
From: Steve Levenstein <70750.1117@compuserve.com>
Subject: getting The Chills

   This is in reply to Martin A. Parker, who heard part of a song by
"The Chills" while on telephonic hold. I suppose The Chills' sound
is somewhat XTC-ish, with a strong melodic pop bent to it.
   The Chills are from New Zealand, and have recently broken up after
about a dozen years together. They leave a strong and loyal "cult"
of fans heartbroken. I bought my first ever The Chills recording
recently (the CD "Submarine Bells") because I loved one song on it.
I know this is a bad idea, but there was no single for "Heavenly Pop Hit".
   That's probably the song Martin heard on the phone, a minor hit but
heavenly indeed! I can't listen to the song only once, I've got to play
it again two or three more times!
---> Steve

   "...it's a heavenly pop hit if anyone wants it..."

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Date: 04 Feb 93 20:02:06 EST
From: Steve Levenstein <70750.1117@compuserve.com>
Subject: Drunken Studio Sessions

   How great to see a mention of an XTC-ism so dear to my heart and
funny bone, namely, that "Shalmaneser/Kevin" guy talking about
"Pupil Hayes" and "Community Worker Breakdown" from the infamous
"Drunken Studio Sessions"!!! I received these XTC songs on a tape of
demos sent to me by Harald Sobczyk, a fellow XTC fan from Bochum,
Germany. John Relph knows about these songs, but does anyone else
have any info to share about them? Like when are they coming out
on CD? (Yeah, dream on...). The set begins with "Shaving Brush Boogie"
(..."OK Princess, open that f***in' hospital!"...), segues into "Pupil
Hayes" (..."acting rather annoying but I don't know why"...), then
on to "Community Worker Breakdown" (..."Geriatrics, on the dole, sitting
in their wheelchairs, hardly able to roll"...), and steamrollering
full speed ahead into "Whole Lotta Age" (..."wayyy dowwwn insiiiide;
I had the operation, I've had me spleen cut out"...), which flows on
into "Orange Dust" and "Silver Sewing Machine".
   Ninth-hand legend has it that after recording some tracks for either
Black Sea or English Settlement, XTC went off to the pub and quaffed
a few lagers. Then they hefted some pints, and some time later they
returned to the studio and found the equipment was still on. Being in
high spirits and with nothing better to do, they decided to have some
fun and mangle a few Led Zeppelin tracks, for starters.
   How and why the resulting tape "got out" is a mystery to me, but
I'm glad it did! Anyone else know more details about this episode??
Tell us all you know!
---> Steve

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Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 00:30:52 CST
From: alk@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Al Kolman)
Subject: RE: 2 Covers

A question I can answer!

Date: Thu, 21 Jan 93 22:52:40 -0500
From: emp1@crux2.cit.cornell.edu

Forgive me if this has been covered, but this has been bothering me.
I remember reading in one of Pulse magazine's "Desert Island Classic"
trivia contests a question that asked for both of the cover songs XTC
has recorded.

Obviously, one is Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower".
End of original text>

What was the other?  It was Captain Beefheart's "Ella Guru," appearing as a
b-side to "The Mayor of Simpleton" 12" single/ep.
Al Kolman
Determinism is a proper subset of Free Will

Internet: alk@pnet51.orb.mn.org

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Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 07:33:50 PST
From: Wes Wilson @PKO3 - 223-3413  05-Feb-1993 1030 <wilson@pharos.enet.dec.com>
Subject: "Bull" Tape Trade

Hi,

Anyone willing to send me a tape of "The Bull with the Golden Guts"
in exchange for whatever? I have a lot of XTC boots, remixes, rare
cuts and leftovers.

Write me.

--Wes
(Massachusetts, USA)

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Subject: XTC LIVE IN CONCERT REVIEW
Date: Sat, 06 Feb 93 21:07:14 +0100
From: nilsson@etek.chalmers.se

LATE NEWS: The December 12, 1992 issue of British music mag MELODY
MAKER contained a review of the live albums by XTC and Ultravox
released on the Windsong label. After slagging off Ultravox, reviewer
Peter Paphides had the following to say about XTC's effort:

"No such ignominy for XTC who, unlike Ultravox, appear to be alive for
their 1980 performance. Endearing as it is to hear them trying to
forego their psychedelic tendencies in deference to the New Wave
movement of the time, that's also XTC's downfall. If they'd been
performing live for long enough to reproduce the more convoluted twists
of their '82-'83 rural psychedelia for a captive audience, then a
souvenir of THAT would be invaluable. All the same, it would take a
total bastard to turn their nose up at the whole of the Hammersmith
Palais howling the chorus to "Respectable Street", the insane military
ska of "Generals And Majors" and a savagely percussive reading of
"Making Plans For Nigel". Three touching, if not essential moments that
leave one with a slightly greater understanding of why a steady 30,000
adoring fans have devoured their new material ever since."

----------------------------------------------------------------
             Par Nilsson * nilsson@etek.chalmers.se
"The future's no problem / We don't care / 'Cause wherever we're
       going / We'll soon get there." - Terry Adams, NRBQ
----------------------------------------------------------------

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---

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