XTC C/D S/D

you're australian now?

???

binus

jk

Can't imagine Black Sea w/out No Language In Our Lungs in the middle.

this is utterly otm, so much so that I thought it was part of the normal track list until this post

thought forgot

I'm pretty sure "Language" was part of the original track listing, unless it was some US-only dealie. The only copy of Black Sea I had was an 80s Geffen cassette (minimal artwork/info, no bonus tracks), and "Language is on it.

ha I see I am wrong! nevermind.

Yeah mine has "No Language" but the bonus tracks are "Smokeless Zone", "Don't Lose Your Temper", and "Somnabulist"

I think "Best B-side band ever" is actually OTM when you consider all the Fuzzy Warbles stuff; a 30-track "best of" of that stuff would be fantastic. Trouble is they're a great A-side band too :)

This floored me when I saw it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htYS8mf8iY

ah yeah, 'no language' is on the original pressing, not sure what I was thinking tbh

See it's gotten to the point where it's somewhere in the middle of an XTC album, I think of it as a b-side, thanks weird Geffen CDs.
Thread has inspired me to pull out my LP of Black Sea

"I felt just like a crusader"
Towers of London might be my faves off Black Sea, all the Colin tracks are A+ fun, too, Black Sea was the album of theirs that really got me head over heels for this band.

xp me too! I've been playing mandopop nonstop for exactly a month (tuning my brain for exams), will break the run with this lp

Colin's really just my favorite bassist, ever, the end. Bass is totally the giddy heart of "Rocket From a Bottle."

my xtc-hating flatmate (c. 1997) found his way in through smokeless zone, then cuba, which he sang in the house for *weeks*

not to tread on your lovely bass post

Smokeless Zone is an improbable entry point imo!

when I played it to him, it was like the top of his head came off

xpost That clip of Freaks & Geeks is so great, I had the same reaction the first time I saw. Love that show and really love that song.

Did anyone check out Andy's "Powers" sound collage album?

Sonambulist is pretty ace
Love Colin

My improbable entry point was "It's Nearly Africa" on the early WOMAD compilation Music and Rhythm.

http://s.dsimg.com/image/R-2513295-1318535035.jpeg

And thanks to the magic of music nerd anal retentiveness, here's how it went from there:

Date of purchase / Title
Aug 6, 1982 Music and Rhythm (Various Artists)
Sep 9, 1982 English Settlement
Oct 7, 1982 Black Sea
Oct 8, 1982 5 Senses E.P.
Oct 8, 1982 Senses Working Overtime/Blame The Weather/Egyptian Solution 12"
Oct 11, 1982 White Music
Oct 11, 1982 Ball And Chain/Heaven Is Paved With Broken Glass/Punch And Judy/Cockpit Dance Mixture 12"
Oct 12, 1982 Take Away/The Lure Of Salvage (Mr. Partridge)
Oct 19, 1982 Go 2
Nov 4, 1982 Beeswax - Some B-Sides 1977-1982
Nov 4, 1982 Waxworks - Some Singles 1977-1982
Nov 30, 1982 Drums And Wires
Dec 2, 1982 3D E.P.
Plus a whole bunch of 7" singles that I didn't keep track of.

...and then the long wait until Mummer was released in September 1983

By the way, on the song "Tissue Tigers," is Andy singing "I've grown immune to your bald pussy"?

lol, "i've grown immune to your claws, pussy...cat"

are you guys just reading off the youtube comments?

...and then the long wait until Mummer was released in September 1983

Mummer was the first one I was eagerly waiting for too. I entered via Drums and Wires, liked parts of it but didn't love it. Missed out on Black Sea (I was broke and not buying much new music in 1980.) But then in 1982 I fell hard for English Settlement, backtracked and bought everything I could get my hands on.

are you guys just reading off the youtube comments?

if lump was, i didn't get it. i was just quoting the lyrics.

Plus a whole bunch of 7" singles that I didn't keep track of.

I hunted down a stack of XTC 45s to collect the b-sides before I knew that Beeswax existed (which itself was pretty hard to find). Nice to have for the picture sleeves, though. "No Thugs In Our House" folds out into a little finger puppet theater (or rather, it would if I chose to destroy it, which I will not).
http://www.shopvinylrevolutions.com/v/vspfiles/photos/VR838-2T.jpg

Cool! I remember that one.

i've got that!

are you guys just reading off the youtube comments?

if lump was, i didn't get it. i was just quoting the lyrics.

Nope, I wasn't.

I had forgotten about Spiral and The Good Things, both are pretty good, would add those to the list of great extraneous XTC tunes.

i've always loved "washaway", a colin b-side from the big express.

all of those big express b-sides were good. "Red Brick Dream" was my favorite; love that low-key wishywashy stuff

For real, that song is so dreamy. Blue Overall and Washaway are super strong, too. That whizzy guitar and barroom piano combo in Washaway is a delight.

Also I think Washaway might be a better everyday story of a small town than the song with that title.

I've been listening to all their b-sides in chrono order today and aside from the fact that there's barely a weak track , one that jumped out at me which hasn't been mentioned: "Chain Of Command". What an amazing, high energy earworm!

that and limelight go perfectly together.

yesterday and thursday I played all the virgin albums. got me through the final two days of a month of hell, and was just lovely.

"Chain Of Command". What an amazing, high energy earworm!

Sometimes it's my favorite thing on Drums and Wires! And you don't often hear songs about the metabolic process.

Bassline for Limelight is all time.

One of the interesting things about XTC is the fans they attract. Not that you can always say "if you like band A you'll like band B", but for XTC it's incredibly unpredictable! I know XTC fans who abhor punk and other noisier genres and only love ultra-melodic acts, other XTC fans who used them as a jumping off point to everything underground from the 70s and 80s and further still fans for whom XTC is their token alternative act. It's like XTC is the locus of many tastes.

utterly otm. in the past I've tried following the tastes of xtc fans to discover xtc-like music, and apart from a few obvious matches (yazbek, sugarplastic) there's rarely anything in common from fan to fan. i think it's because xtc fans are better defined by their personal approach to music than any genre breakdown.

does "personal approach to music" mean extreme nerdity?

lol yes, probably

it's hard to define but it has to do with open-mindedness, perseverance with material, etc. (but probably not even that specific tbh)

most of my favorite people love xtc, so there's that

yes

Just come across this site that appears to have a buttload of XTC goodness, outside of Warbles/Jules Verne etc.

Also some interesting Talking Heads too (Fear Of Music monitor mixes!!)

http://mywalloftapes.blogspot.co.uk/

Whoa, that stuff looks cool, have you sampled any yet?

who the fuck is that guy, random taper dude that hangs out with Brian Wilson and Andy Partridge?!