Album version, 4'24.Performed by The Dukes of Stratosphear.Released on Psonic Psunspot.
Andy: ``Little Lighthouse was a track that we started to record for Skylarking. Todd (Rungren, producer) got bored with it, so I thought The Dukes could do it. The Dukes made it sound like a lot of bands that imitated the Stones.''
Demo version.Released in November 1987 in November 1987 on the Jules Verne's Sketchbook cassette.
Andy: ``This West Coast style blatz was written for SKYLARKING in 1985. It reminds me of bands like `Moby Grape' etc. `. . .Cross the black and fossil oceans vast, I see love and she doth brightly burn. . .''
Also available on Fuzzy Warbles Volume Three.
Andy: ``This was destined for the `Dukes' from the outset really. It was sent to Todd along with all the other Skylarking demos and even though we tried recording it in San Francisco (its spiritual home!), it was never going to fit with all of its pastoral playmates. A rotten quality demo, truly fuzzy, but having a punkadelic flair all its own.''
― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Thursday, 18 March 2004 21:27 (twenty years ago) link
Matt and I just identified this song: "A Hole in my Shoe." The little girl says, "I climbed on the back of a giant albatross which flew through a [something] cloud to a place where happiness reigned all year around, and music played ever so loudly." Brilliant.
― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Thursday, 18 March 2004 21:52 (twenty years ago) link
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 18 March 2004 21:53 (twenty years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 19 March 2004 05:20 (twenty years ago) link
― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 19 March 2004 09:28 (twenty years ago) link
Awful? "Hole In My Shoe" is fuckin' great!!!!!!!!!!! Is "Albert Brown" not more of a Small Faces thang? On a different tack, I remember reading an interview with Partridge about the DOS albums where he mentioned "The Universal" by Small Faces - I don't know what song it was in connection with.
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 19 March 2004 11:56 (twenty years ago) link
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Friday, 19 March 2004 19:54 (twenty years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Saturday, 20 March 2004 02:01 (twenty years ago) link
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Saturday, 20 March 2004 15:48 (twenty years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 20 March 2004 17:30 (twenty years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:06 (twenty years ago) link
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Sunday, 21 March 2004 07:18 (twenty years ago) link
― Scourage (Haberdager), Monday, 21 August 2006 10:42 (seventeen years ago) link
So!
― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 21 August 2006 10:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― Scourage (Haberdager), Monday, 21 August 2006 11:02 (seventeen years ago) link
XTC: Song Stories by Neville Farmer
More info on chalkhills.
http://chalkhills.org//images/press/SongStories.jpg
― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Monday, 21 August 2006 13:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― Scourage (Haberdager), Monday, 21 August 2006 13:16 (seventeen years ago) link
― dud'Hab'c'Deva To You (With ReGard) (Dada), Monday, 21 August 2006 13:18 (seventeen years ago) link
the bassline is straight outta "rain"...so it's like "rain" with "tomorrow never knows" tape fun on top.
― Lawrence the Looter (Lawrence the Looter), Monday, 21 August 2006 13:23 (seventeen years ago) link
Look, on its own terms, it's fantastic IMO, and surely that's the be-all and end-all?
― Scourage (Haberdager), Monday, 21 August 2006 13:27 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 21 August 2006 15:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― ColinO, Thursday, 17 May 2007 02:48 (sixteen years ago) link
― Richard Wood Johnson, Thursday, 17 May 2007 02:56 (sixteen years ago) link
― Richard Wood Johnson, Thursday, 17 May 2007 02:58 (sixteen years ago) link
― Moodles, Thursday, 17 May 2007 03:58 (sixteen years ago) link
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 May 2007 05:17 (sixteen years ago) link
what in the world?? - it's all too much (beatles) + tomorrow never knows + see emily play.
― Frogman Henry, Monday, 30 June 2008 04:07 (fifteen years ago) link
Shindig magazine recently ran a cover story about the Dukes of the Starosphear - cool to see they are still loved.
― Moodles, Monday, 30 June 2008 04:52 (fifteen years ago) link
Don't think it ever was not so.
― Mark G, Monday, 30 June 2008 07:07 (fifteen years ago) link
"Albert Brown"=Ringo Starr, innit?
― Geir Hongro, Monday, 30 June 2008 07:43 (fifteen years ago) link
And which one of those songs is it that starts with this young girl telling some weird children's tale again? It seems to me a lot like "Hole In My Shoe", at least in the beginning.
― Geir Hongro, Monday, 30 June 2008 07:44 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm still disgusted at how closely Col rips off I'm Only Sleeping for Shiny Cage.
― Autumn Almanac, Monday, 30 June 2008 07:55 (fifteen years ago) link
Also she does that talky thing on like every third song.
― Autumn Almanac, Monday, 30 June 2008 07:56 (fifteen years ago) link
talky things are betwen tracks, apart from "Have you seen jackie?"
― Mark G, Monday, 30 June 2008 08:07 (fifteen years ago) link
Brainiac's Daughter is 67-68 McCartney (Hello Goodbye, banana fingers piano etc). The long-lost, much-missed Strange Things Are Happening mag ran a piece on the Dukes back in 88-89, in which Andy & Colin went through both LPs commenting on their influences (maybe it's linked to somewhere here). We got most of 'em right.
Yes, both these LPs are better than most XTC LPs, and, as someone said upthread, better than many of the "originals". I still remember the first time I heard Moby Grape, thinking "This is nowhere near as good as Little Lighthouse"...
― harveyw, Monday, 30 June 2008 11:18 (fifteen years ago) link
I've always assumed "Bike Ride to the Moon" = Syd-era Floyd's "Scream Thy Last Scream," give the chipmunk vocals.
― Alex in NYC, Monday, 30 June 2008 11:20 (fifteen years ago) link
giveN
― Alex in NYC, Monday, 30 June 2008 11:25 (fifteen years ago) link
Are we still doing this?
Aren't you record people sorry yet?
Go back to your cool New York dad and all of your money.
― cecelia, Monday, 30 June 2008 11:53 (fifteen years ago) link
??
― Myonga Vön Bontee, Monday, 30 June 2008 12:49 (fifteen years ago) link
It was interesting to see in that Shindig article that Virgin swapped the LP sides on "Psonic Psunspot", so it should have started with "You're my drug". Somehow this doesn't sound right to me, 'cos "Pale and precious" is a perfect closer.
― Rob M v2, Monday, 30 June 2008 13:00 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah, I saw/thought that.
― Mark G, Monday, 30 June 2008 13:19 (fifteen years ago) link
Woah. Just last night I listened to the Dukes CD on repeat. Great fun.
"Pale and Precious" sounds to my two ears like Macca collab'ing with the Beach Boys, really.
― t**t, Monday, 30 June 2008 13:46 (fifteen years ago) link
cecelia is a treat
― J0hn D., Monday, 30 June 2008 14:17 (fifteen years ago) link
well, yeah! All I did was get up to wash my face!
― Mark G, Monday, 30 June 2008 14:24 (fifteen years ago) link
What the fuck?
― Alex in NYC, Monday, 30 June 2008 14:38 (fifteen years ago) link
I think I read that the "Then came her..." middle section of "The Affiliated" is Unit 4 + 2's "Concrete and Clay."
― Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 1 July 2008 02:33 (fifteen years ago) link
The piano playing behind the chorus from "Your Gold Dress" is from the Rolling Stones' "She's a Rainbow."
― res, Tuesday, 1 July 2008 22:15 (fifteen years ago) link
"Shindig magazine recently ran a cover story about the Dukes of the Starosphear - cool to see they are still loved."
That article was actually a labour of love by my esteemed chum, the extremely talented and generally rather lovely Mr. Marco Rossi - who, in addition to his journalistic abilities, is also not only some, most or possibly all of Cheese, but also at least 25% of the mighty Gothic Chicken; either or both of whom, incidentally, may well appeal to anyone who is still waiting in vain for another Dukes Of Stratosphear album.
I'm rather hoping to be able to persuade him that the natural follow-up to his Dukes interview / article would be a similar piece about Naz Nomad & The Nightmares....
― Stewart Osborne, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 09:29 (fifteen years ago) link
Stew: What you make of the "It comes to you in a brown paper bag" (re)release?
― Mark G, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 09:30 (fifteen years ago) link
Curiously enough I hadn't heard about it before, which - if it was legitimate / had any real interest / value for the average total Beefheart obsessive - I'd rather have expected to have done by now.
Looking at it on Amazon now 'though...
Hmmmm. What part of Beefheart's catalgue have "Sundazed" raided before, and why is that name making me suspicious before I've got any further?
Next, where in hell's name are "Tarotplane", "25th Century Quaker", "Mirror Man" and "Kandy Korn" - the tracks that ended up on Mirror Man and which are generally believed to represent 2 sides / 50% of the double album as it was originally conceived (so really quite a substantial omission, as omissions go!)?!?
This looks to me more like a re-sequenced version of I May Be Hungry But I Sure Ain't Weird but with 2 extra tracks ("Korn Ring Finger" - the only significant omission form the original - and a 2nd version of "Moody Liz") than a serious attempt at re-creating "It Comes To You....".
Furthermore, everthing here (apart from that second version of "Moody Liz") is already available - and with the best sound quality we're likely to get too - on the recent-ish Buddha (re-)issues of Safe As Milk and The Mirror Man Sessions.
Also, it's 30 bleedin' quid and, given that: (a) I very much doubt that Sundazed have actually got access to the masters; (b) I have serious doubts about their bona-fides in any case; (c) at the end of the day all of these tracks are outtakes anyway; I'd have to ask - can it really be worth it?!?
― Stewart Osborne, Wednesday, 2 July 2008 10:09 (fifteen years ago) link
*stomp
― Reeves Gabrels' Funko Pop (majorairbro), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 06:12 (eight months ago) link
found Psonic Psunspot and grabbed it too, forgot how much I absolutely adore certain tunes on here. "You're My Drug" especially. something kinda funny I noticed is when talking about these guys I actually start out a bit defensive, like "oh no it's actually really good, they do it all justice", mainly because these sort of throwback/nostalgia projects are so extremely common right now. but back in the mid 80s they weren't! dare I say the idea of a band imitating 20 year old music was actually quite novel back then? like what would the equivilent of that be right now, "oh wow it sounds just like Franz Ferdinand"?
There was the Damned doing Naz Nomad & the Nightmares, which (just) predates Dukes of Stratosphear and I've always wondered if it didn't influence in some way. I've never heard the album though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naz_Nomad_and_the_Nightmares
― Continuous Two-Tone Warble (Tom D.), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 06:53 (eight months ago) link
Plus, around the same time, Julian Cope (inevitably) did the Rabbi Joseph Gordan single, so some kind of 60s psych/garage rock revival was definitely in the air.
― Continuous Two-Tone Warble (Tom D.), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 06:57 (eight months ago) link
There was a short psychedelic phase after punk which never really took off. Brian James had formed "Tanz Der Youth" and labelled it as such, but.
― Mark G, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 07:26 (eight months ago) link
Cope kinda cites Nick Nicely's 'Hilly Fields 1892' single as some sort of spark, and that was 1982.
The Paisley Underground filtered over from the states in '84, Bucketful of Brains had already been going for a couple of years and people still had a lot of affection and curiosity for Syd Barret's work as well as the Nuggets era.
Psychedelia was also something that writers back then would attribute to bands like Echo & The Bunnymen and The Cure, it was still in the air I guess.
― MaresNest, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 09:45 (eight months ago) link
Let's not forget the Damned trying to get Syd to produce their second album... and ending up with Nick Mason instead!
― Continuous Two-Tone Warble (Tom D.), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 09:48 (eight months ago) link
Talking of the Damned, "The Black Album" is very psychedelic in places and that was 1980.
― Continuous Two-Tone Warble (Tom D.), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 09:50 (eight months ago) link
We should have a poll, who would have been the worst member of PF to produce The Damned.
― MaresNest, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 11:05 (eight months ago) link
By 1986 half the US underground bands had put out a record called psychedelic - Project MershZen Arcade ( and the “Eight Miles High” lead up), Meat Puppets, but even stuff like JFA and Die Kreutzen. Always wondered if XTC was even aware, or that was mostly a fanzine-level narrative.
― Terrycoth Baphomet (bendy), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 12:42 (eight months ago) link
Around that time I picked up that Naz Nomad from a remainder bin and listened to it twice. It was pretty weak. I should try again.
― Terrycoth Baphomet (bendy), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 12:43 (eight months ago) link
had no idea any of this stuff existed, gonna be busy today
― frogbs, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 13:36 (eight months ago) link
Definitely check out Nick Nicely.
― Continuous Two-Tone Warble (Tom D.), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 14:01 (eight months ago) link
^^^
― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 14:14 (eight months ago) link
Will have to get one while they're not mega-expensive
― Mark G, Tuesday, 8 August 2023 20:20 (eight months ago) link
My 83-4 had a lot of soft boys hitchcock and paisley underground vibes, it was def in the air— tho I didnt know naz nomad. going just on college stations and rekkid stores it was so so much harder then
― toenail fungus (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:51 (eight months ago) link
"Partridge was feeling inspired by Nick Nicely's 1982 psychedelic single "Hilly Fields 1892", and devised a recording project to fill the newfound gap in his schedule. The rules were as follows: songs must follow the conventions of 1967 and 1968 psychedelia; no more than two takes allowed; use vintage equipment wherever possible."
― Continuous Two-Tone Warble (Tom D.), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 06:26 (eight months ago) link
Psychedelia def in the air in 82-83. Acid being dropped among the former punks and the post-punks, things like "A Kiss In The Dreamhouse", "Hyaena", The Glove and The Cure's post-Pornography music coming as a wonderful result.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 07:28 (eight months ago) link
Just want to point out that Hilly Fields is strong contender for greatest song of all time.
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 09:21 (eight months ago) link
Something I rarely see mentioned in relation to the 'birth' of neo-psych (Soft Boys, Teardrop Explodes, Echo, Nick Nicely, Banshees, Glove, Cure) is the Jam's relevant stuff (half of Sound Affects, Dreams of Children). Somewhere in the very thin pit between would be obscurities like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFWvRQ41Vq8
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 09:25 (eight months ago) link