XTC : Classic or Dud.

Shakey, did you ever get those emails?

Partridge? Don't know. He's certainly stopped releasing good material, preferring to dick around with entire albums full of impro and mismanage a record label. Maybe he's just being a dad/grandad and enjoying himself.

I did not

but I didn't wanna seem too whiny about it

agh k. Do you have an incoming size limit per message?

Partridge and Gregory are talking again so I hear.

They've been talking for a while but nothing has happened. tbh I'm amazed Gregory's wasting his time with such a vicious serial backstabber.

I do not have an incoming size limit. however, I do have a rather unusual e-mail address (people usually assume it should be .com instead of .cc, but no it is a .cc address)

I did that. Weird. Let me check tonight when I get home.

While we're here I just want to prop 'The Bland Leading the Bland' (I know it's a warble but wotevz) for correctly representing everything I hate about modern life and the constant and overwhelming pressure to fall in line with it. Lyrically top five of all-time imo.

vicious serial backstabber

Elaborate, please...

I just had a silly thought that is probably only pleasurable to me, but:
if "Your Dictionary" was about how he divorced his wife because she was bad at spelling.
"F-I-T-E, is that how you spell fight in your dictionary?"

ahahahaha

xp He has a Gilliam-like habit of publicly blaming everyone within 500km for his own failures, and he's not nice about it. Evidenced in pretty much any of his interviews from the past 15 years.

Also this

Moulding's creepy song themes, married couples flirting/sex/talk with added swinger overtones applied to his brown music was a real let down on WS.

― Pottery Owls (MaresNest), Thursday, 9 December 2010 07:40 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

is the best ever description of Moulding's input to that record, especially the 'brown music' bit.

Yeah it's true that Partridge doesn't sound like the easiest person to work with but in his defense he has gotten dicked over a lot. I mean if you listen to an XTC singles comp it's just really hard to fathom how this band almost never got played on the radio. Maybe the whole "not touring" thing really bit them on the ass??

Dunno, I remember that documentary where they're recording "Towers of London", where APart is dicking around at the mic, and John Leckie quietly remarks "ah good, he's in a good mood today"...

Oops. Okay Shakey, I just checked the email address and it's fine. I did BCC you both though, so maybe something went wrong there.

Is the Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album already out of print?

It looks like the big 9cd boxset is out of print but individual volumes are plentiful on AmazonUK.

http://ape.uk.net/acatalog/Andy_Partridge.html

^^^ all available apparently

(the box is great btw)

Am I reading correctly that the box is out of stock from Ape Records, tho?

Like yes I'd like all the individual volumes but that box looked cute & awesome plus Andy writes thoughtful & funny notes.

Oh god, I just realised there's no way to ~buy~ anything

I have had Generals and Majors stuck in my head since yesterday. I am going insane. That is all.

I was watching Ric Burns' New York documentary today and right around where they talk about the death of Walt Whitman, Frost Circus pops up.

i had a dream last night that i was watching a biopic about XTC. i don't really know anything about XTC so it was pretty much all made up. there was a scene where a guy with long rocker hair got a haircut so that he looked more cleancut and modern.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/3920749.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uB-0D-gV8mY/Rp7M5xT0_HI/AAAAAAAAC3E/LdVzTX-xQVU/s400/xtc1980.jpg

have come to really wish Fuzzy Warbles was chronological

I reordered the tracks when I ripped them but there's some annoying cross-fades that broke.

well I would re-order them now but it would mean digging through all the liner notes. which appear to be the only place any reference is made to the dates of recordings.

Yeah, it's a bit challenging. I have a spreadsheet that I can send you if you're interested.

I wouldn't mind making a playlist of these, crossfades bedamned

lol wow yeah if you actually have a spreadsheet I totally want it!

Ok, this may not be quite what you're looking for but here you go: http://www.divshare.com/download/19202708-09f

It's a list of the previously unreleased full songs (not instrumentals, joke bits or demos of released songs) from various sources, primarily Fuzzy Warbles. I've listed the album session it was recorded for and approximate date. I've gleaned this information from the FW liner notes, the Chalkhills website and some other sources I can't recall. Let me know if you spot any errors or have further questions.

Hold on, technical difficulties, one moment...

Use this link: http://www.divshare.com/download/19202877-fa5

thanks, gerald, will consult

this is awesome - thanks so much!!!

that covered a lot of bases - if anyone has any idea for the years the following were recorded please speak up!

It's Snowing Angels
Blue Overall
The Bland Leading the Bland
I Gave My Suitcase Away
Rocket
Extrovert
Lightheaded
These Voices
Open a Can of Human Beans
I Defy You Gravity
Smalltown
Red Brick Dream

It's Snowing Angels: Recorded by Andy Partridge on 14 August 1990
Blue Overall: Recorded during sessions for The Big Express
The Bland Leading the Bland: recorded during Wasp Star
I Gave My Suitcase Away: ?
Rocket: guessing around O&L or before Nonsuch
Extrovert: recorded during Skylarking
Lightheaded: guessing around Wasp Star or later
These Voices: 2003
Open a Can of Human Beans: ?
I Defy You Gravity: mid 90s sometime, around same time as my brown guitar?
Smalltown: Black Sea?
Red Brick Dream: Black Sea sessions

http://chalkhills.org/reelbyreal/i_song.html

first time I am hearing Open A Can, apparently this was a Dukes production, but definitely sounds like later era XTC, maybe Wasp Star or later?

Is "Smalltown" different than "(The Everyday Story of) Smalltown"?

Ah, I see what you're asking, never mind.

Some corrections and clarifications:
It's Snowing Angels: Recorded by Andy Partridge on 14 August 1990 - the Nonsuch sessions
I Gave My Suitcase Away: ? - around 2005
Rocket: guessing around O&L or before Nonsuch - in 1991, the Nonsuch sessions
These Voices: 2003 - around the time of "Wonderfalls"
Open a Can of Human Beans: ? - for the Wish List comp in 2003
I Defy You Gravity: mid 90s sometime, around same time as my brown guitar? - around 2000
Smalltown: Black Sea? - no, this appears on Big Express
Red Brick Dream: Black Sea sessions - no, the Big Express sessions as it was a b-side from that album

y'know, this Martin Newell album that Andy did is pretty underrated

Greatest Living Englishman (the song) is one of his best collaborative works ever imo

Fucking hell, I love this band. I went away for the New Year to visit some friends and didn't actively listen to much music for the duration I was there. As soon as I got back home, I put Mummer in the stereo, put on the headphones and stuck on 'Love On A Farmboy's Wages'... as soon as the chorus had kicked in and those beautifully-recorded guitars tickled my eardrums, I felt like I was falling in love with this band all over again. Superb. Fucking superb.

Yep, Andy's a genius. Be sure to check out his two collaboration with Peter Blegvad!

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/3920749.jpg

dave mustaine played in XTC briefly before going on to form metallica.

I listened to their entire discography from Drums and Wires on a little while ago and it really is pretty breathtaking