Chalkhills Digest Volume 3, Issue 148
Date: Monday, 4 August 1997
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 3, Number 148
Monday, 4 August 1997
Today's Topics:
Not Producing The New Album
Re: DVD
We're for our team(s)
Skylarking Producer List
greetings/salutations/kudos
Re: Don't Take My Coda Todd Away
Rabid and Cooking Vinyl
All and Sundry
6 speakers are 4 too many
GOF/Telegraph/CV/off
Animation
DEMO TRACKS
Re's and plugs...
Early Sophisticates
Mermaid Smiled, and smiled, and smiled...
Ira, JH3, PLAYBOY, Harrison's pop, Virgin's plop...
nothing in particular
Power Macs & Miniature Sun
Record rage and Pugwash
XTC Demos Please!!
Shocked and stunned(yeah,stunned)
Capt. Pugwash (is going to help me)
Captain Pugwash and Blur...
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-Id: <199708012154.XAA27799@utrecht.knoware.nl> From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl> Organization: The Little Lighthouse Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 23:03:43 +0000 Subject: Not Producing The New Album Chalkers, First of all: Todd-bashing? It has been very very quiet on the Todd front lately here in Chalkhills country... Let's try and keep it that way, shall we? I'll bet you a dime he isn't going to be the producer for the new XTC album anyway ;) Then Paul of Oz (hi Paul!) asked about this interesting item: > XTC: "This Is Not The New Album" catalogue number PROCD4396. > Would seem to be a US promotional item. They're asking 7 pounds for it. It is indeed a US promo CD with 3 tracks from Nonsuch ( Peter Pumpkinhead, Books Are Burning and Rook) in a real pretty cardboard foldout sleeve with nice "medieval" graphics - not unlike the styling of the Nonsuch cd itself. The designs for all the American Nonsuch-related releases were made by Wendy Sherman who did an excellent job! BTW: I haven't seen the "inside" of the sleeve - my copy is still factory-sealed and I'm not going to open it - nor the disk itself but my guess is that the cd has silkscreened graphics; just like the other XTC promo releases from the same period. Anyway, IMHO the price seems about right if it's in 100% perfect (sealed) condition, but if you can find it in the US you'd probably pay less. yours in grey, Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse; the XTC website @ http://utopia.knoware.nl/~mmello ===> The Random XTC Quote <=== Hours swum down, treasure unfound Air leaving slow, still breathing though
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Aug 1997 15:46:08 -0700 Message-Id: <l03102800b007b2f424ec@[206.171.126.243]> From: Dave Blackburn <dblack@access1.net> Subject: Re: DVD Hi all, Steve Schiavo wrote: <The neat thing about DVD audio is that it should provide a 96K sampling rate and 24 bit word length (rather than the 44.1 (?) and 16 on CD).. Thus, much better sound. Of course, this will require a new DVD player (which will also play CDs). To avoid the problem of having two formats for retailers to stock, it's being advocated that audio DVDs also include CD level information (in some of that extra space) Audio engineers, please feel free to correct me..> As I understand it from the trade rags, it is not pinned down yet exactly how DVD will be used for delivering music. As it can hold so much data, it would be possible to put out a five hour CD at 16-bit (don't know if I could take 5 straight hours of anyone's music-even XTC!) or a one hour CD at 24-bit resolution or higher. Initially, the point of DVD is to replace videocassettes, giving movie watchers 16-bit audio with better than laserdisk video quality. Once people own the players, the marketeers hope to introduce records on the medium, realizing full well that we have just bought our LP collections on CD and do not want to go through it all again. One drawback with DVD is that any CDs that were mixed to DAT will remain 16-bit in resolution even after transfer. Those that were mixed to analog tape (as most of the XTC stuff was) will sound better, as the masters can be transferred at the highest new bit rate and sampling rate. There are other radical new audio developments coming down the pike too which should make the experience of placing yourself between a pair of speakers for "true stereophonic sound" seem a cute thing of the past. Of course, it's debateable whether Mr and Ms record consumer will really care: most people seem delighted with CDs. Dave Blackburn Dave Blackburn/Robin Adler; dblack@access1.net
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Aug 1997 17:55:37 -0500 (CDT) From: y9d62@ttacs1.ttu.edu Subject: We're for our team(s) Message-id: <Pine.PMDF.3.95.970801172006.566293430A-100000@TTACS.TTU.EDU> Whomever noticed the XTC-Blur-Respectable Street similarities: I actually wrote Blur and asked them if they'd ever listened to Black Sea. I didn't get a response. I'm betting they have. --interesting comments by J.R. on best-ofs. But most of us probably won't need to buy it. And unless it gets some major (accidental?) exposure, few others are likely to notice it. It couldn't hurt though, right? I think getting AP together with Belew is an intersesting idea. But I'd rather see Partridge work with someone who doesn't suffer from hero-worship. How about getting him into a studio with John Zorn, or even Robert Fripp? Get him in there with Bjork or Tom Waits or Paul Simon or f**king Van Dyke Parks?? And why did Jeff Buckley have to die? Get him in there too. Get the whole lot of them in a studio and be sure to blindfold Partridge so he can't find the control booth. God, I miss new XTC. And everyone knows Larry King is a Talking Heads man. Dominique
------------------------------ Message-Id: <m0wuRSg-000EBlE@mail.airmail.net> Subject: Skylarking Producer List Date: Fri, 1 Aug 97 18:54:08 -0500 From: Della & Steve Schiavo <schiavo@airmail.net> Hey all - Didn't Virgin/Geffen give the band a list of possible producers for the album that became Skylarking? Anybody know who was on it, other than Todd? - Steve
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199708012358.TAA14790@ultra1.dreamscape.com> From: "Chris Ellerd" <cellerd@dreamscape.com> Subject: greetings/salutations/kudos Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 19:50:24 -0400 I would like to take this time to say hello to the XTC Mailing list. Hello. I have known and listened to XTC for about 10 years. The first album I became aware of was "Skylarking". Interesting story about that recording: when I first bought the tape, "Dear God" wasn't on it. Yet everyone told me it was. I've heard the story behind that, so I understand (sympathize) why it wasn't there. But there was a song on there that I liked (I like them all) titled "Mermaid Smiled". Well, years went by, and I misplaced the tape, so I bought another one. Lo and behold, there was "Dear God" on the tape, but no "Mermaid Smiled"! Lookit guys, I can't have one without the other, OK? Question to the band ( or the producer, or whoever it may concern) did you ever release a version of Skylarking with both songs on it? I'd like to know. kudos Chris
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Aug 1997 17:23:18 -0700 Message-Id: <l03102800b007c6fad96c@[206.171.126.204]> From: Dave Blackburn <dblack@access1.net> Subject: Re: Don't Take My Coda Todd Away Hi all, Tom Slack wrote, in reference to the coda of Wrapped in Grey, <Then the coda came on at the very end of the song, which seemed to me a complete departure from the feel that had built up, and which just kind of leaves you hanging. I really wished it had been left off..> I always felt the coda was a direct tip of the hat to the Beatles. On Abbey Road, the "and in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.." coda goes into a similarly different feel and wraps the song with a similar quirky little epithet. Not that the two songs are similar, but the function of the tag/coda works the same, and knowing Andy's Beatles influence, it may have been a conscious reference. Also, regarding the recent posts about Todd. If XTC fans dislike Todd because he was hard for Andy to work with, the same must be said of just about every producer XTC has ever had. In many ways Todd is the perfect American counterpoint to Andy; both are iconoclastic, prone to spells of deep artistic genius interspersed with a few goofy "novelty" tunes, and open to exploration of new production tools before they become mainstream. Todd's masterpiece (IMHO) is "Initiation", a 1975 68 min tour de force of gorgeous music, half of which is an electronic collage using George Martin-esque tape techniques and analog sequencing (10 years before MIDI sequencing became standard stuff) and the other half of which features some of his most passionate songwriting. Todd, like XTC (and Joni Mitchell perhaps), has been sidelined by the mainstream critics for being too eclectic. Their punishment is to languish in the no-man's-land between small cult following and big commercial success. The preening rock idol TR tried to be in Utopia *was* bombastic and shallow but his work goes far far beyond that. A recent post said that Todd made Skylarking sound too much like himself-I must disagree-Of all the albums Todd has produced, this one got the least amount of the TR treatment, except perhaps in the compressed drum sound and the ethereal "on the rooftops..." moment in Ballet for a Rainy Day. This is Pop, yeah yeah. Dave Blackburn Dave Blackburn/Robin Adler; dblack@access1.net
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199708020429.VAA19634@mailgate31> Subject: Rabid and Cooking Vinyl Date: Fri, 1 Aug 97 23:28:53 -0600 From: <aostermann@sprintmail.com> >This is from "Gallery of Sound" ***snip*** > Jack Rabid A ha!!! Good to see ol' Jack at the very least paraphrased here. If there still aren't any XTC fans who haven't read the great two part Andy Partridge interview on Jack's fantasic mag "The Big Takeover" (isssues 32 and 33, methinks) should do their best to grab a back issue. You should grab it anyway because BT is one of the best mags around today, and its spordiac releases is more than made up by big chunky issues with lots of great interviews and reviews. I don't work for them, I'm just a very satisfied customer... More info about Cooking Vinyl, the label that allegedly will put the fruits of XTC's label on the market; besides the folk artists mentioned last issue, Cooking Vinyl also distrubuted the latest Wedding Present CD ^Saturnalia^ here in the States. If the Weddoes (whose relationship with major labels have been nearly as cantankerous as our boys) can get their stuff in the racks (and ^Staurnalia^ did relatively well saleswise, though not the Weddoes most compellling moment IMHO) then I'm sure XTC can. 'til next time... Adam J. Ostermann (listening to Beach Boys Good Vibrations box set disc 2)
------------------------------ From: Melsta@aol.com Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 00:30:29 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <970802003028_-1809496763@emout07.mail.aol.com> Subject: All and Sundry Howdy Chalkies! Fair warning to the impatient: Have your PgDn key at the ready. I just found the perfect way to go nuts while trying to work late into the night. I set my 5-CD changer to random shuffle with the following records: 1. Martin Newell with Andy Partridge -- Greatest Living Englishman 2. Moxy Fruvous -- you will go to the moon 3. They Might Be Giants -- Flood 4. The Sugarplastic -- Bang, the Earth is Round 5. Various -- A Testimonial Dinner (ever heard of it?) Let me just say that I did not get sleepy. It was fun cause I'd heard most of them only once before (Sugarplastic maybe three times, Testimonial Dinner countless times, though not recently at all). The shuffle really helps you hear songs you overlook with a straight play-through. For some songs this is good. For others it isn't necessarily. Other records I would have liked to include were Yazbek's Laughing Man, and Nonsuch. Other suggestions? I realize I've kind of got 2 different directions going here. Newell and Dinner go more together, and I'd like to add Nonsuch to those, while Moxy, Giants, and Sugar all definitely go together. I'd put Yazbek in with these. Jellyfish might go with the first grouping. I'm surprised how little I've heard about Moxy on this list. Just one comment recently, and that disparaging. I really like them. I heard them being played at Borders and immediately perked up my ears and said "I have to have this!" At the risk of gaining a reputation for liking lame stuff, can anyone help me out here? I refuse to believe I am alone on this. (BTW I like what I've heard [only snippets on the Borders listening station] of the Spice Girls. So there.) (To refresh poor memories and enlighten newbies, I am the oft-pooh-poohed champion of the likes of Alanis, Ben Folds Five, Genesis and Queen. Not exactly the road to instant popularity among Chalkies.) (But Hanson I won't even touch.) (and I liked the Prodigy video I saw the other day, but I wouldn't know Prefab Sprout if it turned up in my salad.) On a different topic altogether (and hopefully with fewer parentheticals, but don't count on it): I had to laugh when Cheryl made the earth-shattering confession that she is a Yank just like me (well, whether she's anything like me I guess remains in question, but you know what I mean). The funny thing was that as I was reading her post, it had just occurred to me that I should be trying to hear her in my head with a proper British accent, rather than the generic American accent that plays always in my head. The other funny thing is that I remember having been surprised earlier when I found out somehow that Cheryl lived in England. Most people I don't think about one way or another, but Cheryl definitely didn't seem English for some reason. And she isn't. And aren't I clever to have noticed that. Ever try to read with a British (or any other) accent? I think many of you would be shocked to hear how you sound in my head. Like Stephen Hawking when he first heard himself talking through the artificial-speech-generating-box and heard that he now talks with an American accent. Have they fixed this, or has he had to get used to it? Could I get any more off-topic than this? How about that Mars rover? I saw the movie Contact and loved it. Please please PLEASE a new album soon!! I can't wait till next year. Couldn't they put out a little EP before the end of 1997, a sort of "love-letter" to us fans a la Crimson's Vrooom?
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01530502b00881e15b07@[206.15.143.253]> Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 00:50:03 -0600 From: stoffel@ziplink.net (Jeff & Elizabeth Stoffel) Subject: 6 speakers are 4 too many Hello to all of you. It's difficult for me to state this without sounding like a snob, but I'll try. Surround sound systems have nothing to do with re-creating an actual performance. They're fun, economical, and can sound impressive, but they do not sound musically accurate or realistic. Live performance is the ideal. The next best thing is listening to a recording on equipment that most accurately simulates a live performance. Surround sound just does not fit into that equation. Invest in a pair of well-designed speakers, with the components to match, close your eyes, and you'll swear that the boys are in the room with you. -Jeff
------------------------------ Message-ID: <Zhu1dUAZb54zEwE2@emdac.demon.co.uk> Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 21:21:45 +0100 From: Phil Hetherington <phil@emdac.demon.co.uk> Subject: GOF/Telegraph/CV/off Has anyone noticed that XTC backwards sounds a bit like 'City X', which is the branding on the back of my parents' Austin Maestro which I'm about to acquire? (The shame). Thought not. Anyway, >> Didn't Sara Lee also play for awhile in Gang of Four? I don't have my >> Trouser Press Guide in front of me here... >Me neither but she definitely did play in the Gang Of Four for a >while - i saw her play with them. She was on 'Songs Of The Free', 'Hard' and, if you count live albums, 'Live: At The Palace'. 1982, 1983 and 1984 respectively, if memory serves me correctly, which it probably doesn't. If you're interested, all the details are on my discography which is an offshoot from the Shriekback page. > Re: Idea. Although I'm sure there are lots of other similar >examples the only one that I could think of is Telegraph Records. This >is the label started up by the three former members of OMD. They have >released there own album under the band The Listening Pool and have also >signed some other bands (China Crisis if I remember correctly was one of >them). They've also released some classical CDs, I think. Actually, the Telegraph name was previously used on the OMD singles 'Genetic Engineering' and 'Telegraph', as a pseudonym for... Virgin Records. I suppose when Paul, Mal & Martin left OMD they decided to revive the name. On which subject, does anyone have a copy of The Listening Pool's "Where Do We Go From Here" CD single? Telegraph sent me a mailshot saying 'look out for this', then after a long silence I wrote to them to be told they they'd all sold out - any help appreciated. >Would I >recommend the cd? Only if you are in a particularly nostalgic mood as I >was when I got it. I'd recommend it - I loved it. :-) > Re: Cooking Vinyl. I own several records on this label >including The Oyster Band, Malcom's Interview, Rory McLeod. All of >these are UK "folk" artists with rock cross-over appeal. These were all >bought in Canada so distribution for them here has always been good. They really started off as a folk label, but have more recently branched out a bit, signing bands like The Wedding Present (about whom I know very little). Personally, I'm more impressed by the fact that XTC will be sharing a label, or rather a distributor, with Goats Don't Shave and Rev Hammer. A word of warning though - Cooking Vinyl never seem to have a clue what their artists are actually doing, they just seem to leave them to it. This is probably good from an artistic point of view, but bad if you want to phone them to find something out. Oh well. Well, I'm off round Europe for nearly a month; don't do anything silly while I'm away... ttfn -- _ |_) |_ * | My web page: http://www.emdac.demon.co.uk/phil/ | | ) | | Shriekback web pages: The above + shrkindx.html ===========
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199708011330.WAA24230@mita1.mita.cc.keio.ac.jp>
Subject: Animation
Date: Fri, 01 Aug 1997 22:29:25 +0900
From: NAOYUKI ISOGAI <b9400863@mita.cc.keio.ac.jp>
Hello there,
Mitch Friedman (mf@well.com) wrote:
> He (Andy Partridge) also really loves the animation of Czechs Jiri
> Trnka and Jan Svankmajer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I LOVE his animation, too! His short film entitled "MUZNE HRY" and
his long movie called "FAUST" are more than outstanding. I do think
he is the greatest animator all over the world, as well as Nick Park
who directed the "WALLACE & GROMIT" claymation series.
And as far as animated movies go, I'd also recommend "JASON AND THE
ARGONAUTS" (I assume everyone knows this title). I read somewhere
that he liked it too.
Rush into the nearest video shop!
Cheers,
---- NaoyuKing, the faculty "One bright morning the world
of Economics, KEIO Univ. might end with a big bang,
and you'll never get yourself
E-mail:b9400863@mita.cc.keio.ac.jp another chance..."
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199708031323.WAA06968@mita1.mita.cc.keio.ac.jp>
Subject: DEMO TRACKS
Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 22:23:57 +0900
From: NAOYUKI ISOGAI <b9400863@mita.cc.keio.ac.jp>
Hi Chalkies,
For those who have no access to the Web:
I have an extra copy of the Japanese _DEMO TRACKS_ CD-EP (used),
and I'd be happy to trade it for something. Please just email me
privately...
And I also have a promo copy of KC's _SCHIZOID MAN_ single CD (UK).
Just let me know if someone wants it.
Cheers,
---- NaoyuKing, the faculty "One bright morning the world
of Economics, KEIO Univ. might end with a big bang,
and you'll never get yourself
E-mail:b9400863@mita.cc.keio.ac.jp another chance..."
------------------------------ Message-ID: <33E4A904.71B3@bhip.infi.net> Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 11:51:54 -0400 From: gregory <mattone@bhip.infi.net> Organization: InfiNet Subject: Re's and plugs... Tschalgkerz! Hello, out there in SyberSwindon! I just got back from vaykay in Chicago, and had the best time. I found it to be a much more REAL city than L.A., and would go back any time (I'd go back to L.A., too, now...). Never could go to find the guy in the subway who does the XTC tunes, and never got to the House Of Blues... this is what happens when the family is along. Oh, well... Re: The Prodigy - 'The Fat Of The Land' comes nowhere near 'Music For the Jilted Generation'. But I've only heard it through once, so we'll see. Re: Prefab Sprout - *YAWWWWWWWWWNNNNN* smak-smak... Re: XTC on the radio - I don't listen to the radio a lot (one of the reasons I listen to stuff like XTC and Oingo Boingo), but I have heard "The Mayor Of Simpleton" and "The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead" here on 102.5 in the Tampa Bay , Florida area enough times in the limited time I listen to think that they get a pretty fair shake. How's that? Re: Flaming - until the lads provide us with some new music (if we're lucky, by next years' end, I would imagine), nobody has too much else to do in this list except bitch. I wouldn't let that keep you from sounding off. Speaking of new music, someone on this list offered to send me a copy of the demos that everyone has gone on and on about, and it has never materialized. Would someone help? A couple of plugs: I have two friends who are on albums that I want to tell you all about, should you ever be looking for something new to listen to: The Gary McGill Project - 'Alien Resident-In-Waiting' A self-produced album that has really caught me off guard... it is a little gem, IMHO. The Schugars - a band out of Detroit, making waves from what I hear... the new bass player, Scott Worst, is an old friend. Alas, he only plays on one song, but he just joined them. Re: The Mommyheads - I keep looking at this when I run across it in the store... now I'll have to chack it out. More later, -Brian Eating future and shitting past...
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Aug 1997 09:19:38 -0700 Message-Id: <199708031619.JAA25042@barley.adnc.com> From: studio seventeen productions <ambient@adnc.com> Subject: Early Sophisticates Way back in Chalkhill 3-141 Dave Blackburn mentions: > Incidentally, the guitar voicings in the >intro and tag of "This is Pop" are deeply sophisticated for a band's first >album, especially one that came out during a vehement period of >anti-intellectualism in pop music. This fact continues to astonish me. I was recently listening ti Drums & Wireless, and I noticed two things in particular: 1) It's amazing how the old songs (the ones with Barry) almost seemlessly fit in with the far more complex later works. The sequencing of this disc is very clever-and you don't really notice how different the two bands are because of it. 2) There are delightful, musical turns in some of these early songs - for instance, Meccanik Dancing is very punk, very shouty, but then the "can't wait until the weekend" chorus is pure pop melodicity. XTC was the only "punk" band in the late 70s that would suddenly throw in beautiful passages into otherwise fairly dissonant works. "Drums & Wires" is as full of such examples. In some ways, I don't think Andy ever "really" bought into the punk thing- he was having fun, and also quite apparently was not ashamed to include melodic material in a supposed punk format. That's all dave at studio seventeen
------------------------------ Message-ID: <33E4B709.13D3@earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 09:51:21 -0700 From: Wesley Hanks <whanks@earthlink.net> Subject: Mermaid Smiled, and smiled, and smiled... Hi friends, Just finished wading through a few digests as I have been on vacation. Drove from Las Vegas to Monterey CA. Part of the trip was to be an official tourist and drive up the coast on Hwy. 1. Just below Ragged Point and Big Sur, I pulled off to take in one of the most incredible vistas this 35 year old puppy has ever seen. I had a first release of Sklarking in the deck and listened to Mermaid Smiled. This song has always meant a lot to me - a short song with lyrics that address the subject of renewal and awakening - the moment was as perfect as you can get this side of heaven. It was a moment that reaffirms WHY WE LOVE MUSIC AND THAT MUSIC MATTERS IN OUR LIVES! Still shivering. In the spinner - "Caedmon's Call" Peace, Wes
------------------------------ Message-ID: <33E4BAF6.7A4F@bhip.infi.net> Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 13:08:28 -0400 From: gregory <mattone@bhip.infi.net> Organization: InfiNet Subject: Ira, JH3, PLAYBOY, Harrison's pop, Virgin's plop... Tschalkgerz! I'm back... Ira Lieman mentions his visit to the Griffith Obsertory's laser lightshow and their inclusion of "Senses Working Overtime" in the show... COOL! However, I used to work as staff artist at the Bishop Planetarium in Bradenton, Florida, renowned for excellent laser lightshows, and we did a show once that included "Dear God", along with other, what might be referred to as 'new wave', music. The planetarium director at the time is a dyed-in-the-wool atheist, and I'm not surprised this tune made it into the show. JH3 shares with us his three failed attempts at turning people on to XTC music, and this reminds me of an article I read years back in an issue of PLAYBOY (Article?!? Are you kiddin'?) about how to program a party tape. In this somewhat tongue-in-cheek article the author advised finding out what kind of people were going to be present at the party, and lumped the population into four groups: ExTrads (Extroverted Traditionalists) - the kind who get off on thinking that the same song that they are listening to on the radio is being listened to by thousands of other people (I do not fall into this category). InTrads (Introverted Traditionalists) - the kind of people who still listen to bands that have run their course; the kind who dig, like, mid-period Uriah Heep, man. ExAvants (Extroverted Avant-Garde) - the kind who love their new bands and the fact that nobody else listens to them (XTC?), but immediately distrust them when they start filling venues (U2 come to mind here). InAvants (Introverted Avant-Garde) - all the rest? Then the idea was to make sure that you put the right kind of music on the tape in order to become a hero. I may not have described all these correctly, as I don't have the article and am trying to recall it all, but if you have access to a large PLAYBOY backlog, seek out the issue... the article was a hoot (the cover was royal purple, and the blond gal was seated, leaning on her bent knee, wearing a red flowing outfit of some sort). Harrison Sherwood's excellent description of the reasons why "The Mayor Of Simpleton" is a pop gem makes me wonder how much truth there is in the line 'Writing about music is like dancing to architecture'... I thought there were a couple of buildings in Chicago I could have gotten down in front of under the right circumstances. Welcome, Matt John. Quoted: >"the main problem we had with XTC is that they had too much material"< (Virgin representative)... Can someone please explain to me why this would really be a problem? I have a hard time understanding this what-I-think-is-a stupid remark... Later, -Brian Eating future and shitting past...
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199708031931.MAA07110@mail.eskimo.com>
From: "Matt Keeley" <mrme@eskimo.com>
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 1997 12:30:33 +0000
Subject: nothing in particular
> From: Mark Rushton <rushton@mindspring.com>
> Forgive me, but wasn't Virgin sold to Thorn/EMI back in 1992/93?
> Besides that, I'm under the impression that Richard Branson has spent the
> last ten years or so spending all his time on both Virgin Atlantic (the
> airline) and trying to fly around the world in a balloon.
> If I'm wrong, let me know, but I think the above lyrics are a bit
> misdirected. Perhaps a song should be made up to villify the
> nameless/faceless suits that really controlled the label.
Actually, you're probably right... it's just that for some reason I
feel the need to assign a face to the Virgin empire, and his seems as
good as any, even though he probably doesn't do much anymore... If
the song were any good, I'd probably make up some garbage about
metaphors or something, but, well, frankly, the song sucks, and I'd
say that there's about a 99.9(bar)% chance you're right...
Anyway, what exactly is a Prophet V? It comes up in the liners to
English Settlement a lot... am I correct in assuming it's a type of
guitar?
Ah well, that's this world over...
Matt
(who promises that if he ever posts a parody again, it'll actually be
worth something)
-=>Matt Keeley mrme@eskimo.com<=-
Living Through | Visit my home page
Another | http://www.eskimo.com/~mrme
Cuba -- XTC | I used to be temporarily insane!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now I'm just stupid! -- Brak
(ICQ UIN: 1455267, Name: MrMe)
Yeah.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <33E4F221.7AE1@ix.netcom.com> Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 14:03:29 -0700 From: Eric Rosen <rimshot3@ix.netcom.com> Organization: rocketFrom@Bottle.com Subject: Power Macs & Miniature Sun Natalie, Twuz I who first mentioned this delightful fact of life. Ian D. mentions that it might be some kind of D11th chord. I agree Ian that there's no portion of the signature horn piece that might play over this chord but I think such a chord may immediately precede its entry hence its triggering of that melody. Here's a marketing idea for IDEA... We all know how the record corps prefer a single album rather than a double while we also know that there's a triple's worth ready to deliver. Why not promote the album as a trilogy of single albums to be released serially over a shorter time horizon than the usual 3 years. Perhaps, there can be some kind of game or clue about what the next album will bring. Maybe each one has some demos on it as added bonus tracks and then those demos get fully polished on the succeeding release. Or, to play it safer, the first release be full length followed by two more 25 o'clock length releases. Just brainstorming. ANyone else got some novel ideas in this regard?
------------------------------ Message-Id: <2.2.32.19970803200235.006b2b4c@popmail.dircon.co.uk> Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 21:02:35 +0100 From: Simon Sleightholm <nonsuch@dircon.co.uk> Subject: Record rage and Pugwash From: "Matt Keeley" <mrme@eskimo.com> >> Park To Memphis" were fun (but I expect that these are to Sprout fans as >> "Sgt Rock" is to XTC fans) and "Jordan" didn't alter my pulse even a little. >I don't know... "Sgt. Rock" always got on my nerves... First time I >heard it, it was OK, but now there's about a 50/50 shot I skip it. That's exactly what I was driving at, Matt. The only Sprout tune I ever tapped a foot to was "King Of Rock And Roll" , a track almost guaranteed to produce groans from full-on Sprout fans - just look at the blasting it took when Cheryl mentioned it a while back. It's become an unwanted signature tune, like Sgt Rock, Nigel and Peter Pumpkinhead have for XTC; songs which, when your question about whether someone has heard of XTC elicts the reply, "oh, yes, they did <insert as applicable> didn't they?" makes you want to push your thumbs into their eyes while yelling "They've done other songs, they've done other songs!" repeatedly. *Tip* If you _do_ try this you are well within your rights pass full blame on to the backwards guitar work on Chips From The Chocolate Fireball. From: Gary Minns <Gary.Minns@benfield.co.uk> >I agree again. Those of us brought up in the UK of late 20s, early 30s >age might recall the children's TV shows Captain Pugwash and Bill & Ben. Weird shit, man. You wait _years_ for a Pugwash mention on Chalkhills and then there's two in the same digest. Heavy. I'm pleased to see I'm not alone in my recollections. Appparently the ship name, The Black Pig, means something a bit rude too, but I can't see it myself. I just can't quite bend far enough. And wasn't the cabin boy called Roger, as in "Roger The Cabin Boy"? I have an old Star LC-200 dot matrix printer, and when it faults it makes a series of eight peeps - exactly like the first eight notes of the Pugwash theme. Meet me on the river of time, Simon -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~nonsuch/bungalow.htm -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- An XTC resource - "Food for the thinkers..."
------------------------------ Message-ID: <33E578FF.642C@sprynet.com> Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 23:38:55 -0700 From: Liane Chan <ArniePie@sprynet.com> Subject: XTC Demos Please!! Greetings fellow enlightened XTC fans! I can definitely sympathize with these 2 posts. from the last digest: > I'm jealous as hell!!! > Can anyone help in sourcing me a copy of this tape of 'demos' that > some of you are rapidly wearing out with repeated plays? Are there any > copies floating around the UK? Please get in touch. I'm ready to do > almost _any_ sort of deal to just get a listen... > <bob_prowse@sw2000.com> > I'm already on my knees, next stop, the hospital ER. > Bob from the one before: >As a Chalkhillian, no I surely don't know a thing or have heard the demos >but I DEFINATELY WOULD LIKE TO! Can somebody participate in a trade with >me. I've got thousands of cd, tape and video boots, hard to finds of many >artists.If interested email me privately with artist requests. $ to buy it > is ok with me to. >Howard<audio3@webexpert.net> > >>As other Chalkhillians surely know by now, I think the '95 demos are the >>best stuff Andy has ever written. Almost everyone who has heard them agrees >>that they are excellent. >>I have this demo of songs Andy put together in 1995 that a friend passed >>along to me. It has about 25-30 songs... <snip> Has anyone heard this tape >>or any of these songs? > >Both sets of demos (the J&TGP demos and the demos recorded between 1992 and >1995 for inclusion on a new album) have been floating around for quite some >time now. > >>They're fu-kin' great! I bet they are! I thought I could wait it out for a new XTC album but how can I sit around waiting for them to settle a record deal, then do all that other industry junk. I can't!! Any US fans willing to make me a copy of the demos? I can send tapes and postage money. I probably won't have much to trade since I only have some import CDs (BBC Radio 1 concert, Explode Together, neither which I could part with either) and all the regular albums which I bet all of you have already. So, anyone willing to help me or the other poor souls without any demos, please contact us (me first!). arniepie@sprynet.com
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From: gravity@loop.com
Message-Id: <3.0.32.19970803234435.00688778@pop.loop.com>
Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 23:44:37 -0700
Subject: Shocked and stunned(yeah,stunned)
Another report from the Burbank CA Virgin Megastore!
This is starting to become surreal to me.
Today Sunday Aug.3 at around 2:30 pm I happened to be
in Ye Olde Megastore to purchase..well that doesn't matter.
As I opened the door to said Megastore a very familiar sound reached my ears.
Was it?...yes I believe........
It's..Seagulls Screaming blaring over the in store
sound system!
There was more. It was UDA playing at full volume.(Yes the listening
station is still there as well.)
I was in the store straight through till Earn Enough For Us.
I must have looked like an idiot standing in one place,with a grin on my
face listening to this music that I have heard a million times before.
Nobody seemed to notice,but after all this is LA.
I left the store without a purchase,forgetting entirely what I had come for.
I rarely get a chance to hear XTC in a "public" place.
Maybe that's part of the allure for us chalkoholics eh?
Well we'll leave that to the psychiatrists to sort out.
Don't let the loveless one's sell you a world wrapped in grey......
pinks up! john murphy
------------------------------ Date: 04 Aug 97 10:32:00 GMT From: david.mcguinness@bbc.co.uk (David McGuinness) Subject: Capt. Pugwash (is going to help me) Message-Id: <"<00E8E53381821573>00E8E53381821573@GW.BBC"@-SMF-> Hello - Just to set the record straight. There was no Master Bates (it was Master Mate). There was no Seaman Staines. And the producers of Capt Pugwash have been known to sue people who suggest in print that there were. So there. -David McGuinness
------------------------------ Message-Id: <n1341430986.1457@ncldq04.cloud.nt.com> Date: 4 Aug 1997 10:42:02 +0000 From: "Justin Radford" <Justin.Radford.cnt42887@nt.com> Subject: Captain Pugwash and Blur... Hello Chalkhill mates, In particular, hello to Mr Minns who suggested I added Blur and Cafe Tacuba to my list of Bands I like, well I do have a few Blur albums, but i've never heard of Cafe Tacuba. If I listed most of the bands I have in my collection then that would get a tad tedious. >..All the characters in Captain Pugwash had oblique sexual references in >..their names: Seaman Staines, Master Bates and Captain Pugwash himself >..(plug wash, geddit?). Unfortunately there never was a Master Bates or a Seaman Staines in Captain Pugwash i'm afraid....it's one of those things that has become a bit of a TV Legend. I'm still waiting for 25 O'clock and Beeswax to arrive from Vinylvendors, I gave up looking in the UK, how long does it take to ship these things???? Once I get those I can get to work on getting my single collection up to date....mmmm job for life methinks. Here's a bit of trivia to go along with all the usual guff that appears on this list.....when I was driving downthe M4 to Torquay (in Devon) the other week....my car broke down......just beyond Junction 16, the Junction to Swindon!!! mmm how Ironic me being a fan of XTC and all. Thanks, Justin.
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #3-148 *******************************
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