The Wheel and the MayPOLL: The XTC Poll Results Thread

13. No Thugs in our House (1303 points, 15 votes)
http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j449/HideousLump/XTC%20ILM%20Top%2060/13-NoThugsInOurHouse.jpg

was surprised by this placing. not a bad song, but not anything I have any special attachment to.

I didn't vote, but this would've been in my top 3.

Dig the "No Thugs" 7" picture sleeve finger-puppet theater!

http://assets.rootsvinylguide.com/pictures/xtc-no-thugs-in-our-house-theatre-pack-7-rare-single_4571807

'his viscous poly-paste breath comes out/their wall-paper world is shattered by his shout' one of their best couplets

This album's side a rage-out, heir to RGTG and No Language. All three are brilliant. Don't lose your temper, Andy!

that couplet continues the WASP metaphor (capitalisation intended) perfectly, a supreme lyric

surely age has something to do with that - Andy's noted that in middle age the idea of being in a gang of boys is not as appealing as it is in youth, and that the accompanying competitive drive also wanes

well sure, and it's not like he hasn't produced more than his fair share of music. I guess I just see a disconnect with so much effort put into getting out of obligations to Virgin, and then shutting down the store once the strike-era songs were out.

My #4 man I love that opening.

if his minor mania for post-Virgin collaborations is any indication he seems to really need other players to bounce off of

xp

'his viscous poly-paste breath comes out/their wall-paper world is shattered by his shout' one of their best couplets

The graphic I used for this song came from a wallpaper catalog. If you listen closely to the picture, you can hear Graham snoring away upstairs.

12. The Wheel & the Maypole (1335 points, 15 votes, 1 No. 1 vote))
http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j449/HideousLump/XTC%20ILM%20Top%2060/12-WheelAndTheMaypole.jpg

ha i'd just finished looking up the wallpaper book where you took the graphic from before you shared that.
xpost

My #6. Halfway through you're thinking 'shit me they're ending on a high'. Then the Maypole section comes in and it gets even better. Then he - they - fucking MERGE them and your mind explodes and XTC end

From a recent interview, it sounds like he's still writing plenty on his own but mostly just getting the ideas and fragments down on tape without any real plan at the moment to turn them into full songs. He essentially said that after the perceived (by listeners and himself) quality downturn of Wasp Star, he didn't want to just keep churning them out for their own sake.

Has anybody heard the Powers album yet?

"The Wheel and the Maypole" I discovered weeks ago at you guys' recommendation and have never regretted it. The song never stops finding new melodic curlicues.

I heard some youtube clips but the album itself was pressed in such limited quantities and it doesn't seem to be available digitally that I kinda doubt I'll ever be able to hear the whole thing

xp

Bass playing on psonic psunspot is delicious and amazing

Bass playing on all XTC is amazing. Andy and Colin finding each other one of those bizarre and thankful coincidences that pop sometimes throws up

I'm the same as Alfred re maypole. Heard it the other week and it soared to the top 5 of my ballot

That's Wasp Star's only entry, right? It is the most notable song on the record, but I mainly think it would be a much better record with more Dave - the thinness of the arrangements is the biggest problem.

Playground a lock for top 5 ;)

The record starts and ends well imo, but gets slightly lost in the middle - and by slightly I mean rather

No thugs one of those tracks that was not gonna be on my ballot at all until I actually listened to it again and it just rocks so hard, as hard as anything on Black Sea.

Bass playing on all XTC is amazing. Andy and Colin finding each other one of those bizarre and thankful coincidences that pop sometimes throws up

― Ƹ༑Ʒ (imago), Thursday, October 16, 2014 4:17 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I always thought Colin played some brilliant shit, but didn't Andy recently claim to have actually written most of those lines?

what?!

colin played fretless which always made me revere him a bit more

I'm sure Andy gave some guidance to Colin but "written" and "most" is surely a bridge too far

I had Stupidly Happy at 16. Looks bleak.

I threw Stupidly Happy right at the bottom of mine because cmon it's like a big puppy wanting you to love it

Yeah, I'll have to look for the interview, but I remember Andy saying something snarky like, "Everyone likes the bass on 'Mayor of Simpleton,' but I wrote it!"

xp haha, big puppy. well said.

the bassline on Mayor of Simpleton seems too intricate for anybody besides the bass player to have written it imo but what do I know

Think I found it. This is an interview Todd Bernhardt did with Andy for a now-defunct myspace blog (quoted here:

AP: [chuckles] People do these survey things, and say, "Let's vote for Colin's best bass line" or something, and they don't realize that the two bass lines they vote for -- "Vanishing Girl" and "Mayor of Simpleton" -- it's me playing bass on "Vanishing Girl"...

TB: Oh, I didn't know that.

AP: Yeah. Or "What in the World?" -- that's me playing bass as well.

TB: Get out of here!

AP: That's me on bass -- Colin's on rhythm guitar.

TB: And you came up with that bass line?

AP: Yeah.

TB: That's funny -- I've always thought that was him channeling McCartney.

AP: No, we had to cut it live. He obviously couldn't play the bass and the rhythm guitar, and I didn't know how the chords went, so instead of him teaching me the chords, I said, "Look, you play the chords, I'll play the bass, and we'll get this thing done before lunchtime!"

But the one they mention is "Mayor," and Colin had to work very hard to get that bass line. It's very precise. It took me a long time to work it out, because I wanted to get into the J.S. Bach mode of each note being the perfect counterpoint to where the chords are and where the melody is. The bass is the third part in the puzzle.

omg! :D

What In The World??... is my favourite Dukes song, mostly for that bassline

I always thought it was the most obscene abomination of a song that is trash, that is dirt, that is filth. I don't know what possessed them to write such a disgusting, degeneratized song as that. And I'm complimenting them by considering it a song.

wha

t in the world

ok I had no idea that's Andy on "Vanishing Girl" that's nuts

Well, lines Andy wrote notwithstanding, Colin Moulding is a pretty faultless bass player. Such great feel, very melodic player, and just generally doing the right thing at the right time. I think I read he turned down a touring gig with Pink Floyd?

Don't lose yr temper
Chain of command
Take This Town
Smokeless zone

There's a pretty interesting video online where Partridge talks about his guitar playing, and he spent a good bit of time talking about how he seeks out chords that reinforce the bassline.
It's kind of a guitar geek type video, but he talks about the bass more than any other similar-type video I have seen.

still it's the songwriting that carries the day, not who wrote what bit.

11. Grass (1347 points, 16 votes)
http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j449/HideousLump/XTC%20ILM%20Top%2060/11-Grass.jpg

If I had voted, No Thugs would have been my #2

this song's really ruuuude *giggles*

always liked the video for this one

altho I don't think I ever saw it at the time of release, only years later on the youtubez

the one Skylarking video I *did* see at the time was Dear God, which is pretty stupid

So is that it for Skylarking? Would love to see Mermaid Smiled make it but can't really see it placing now. Maybe Earn Enough For Us might sneak it.

quite glad it didn't make the top 10 tho as imo it's one of the least interesting songs on skylarking. that is the only negativity you'll see from me for the rest of the poll tho

earn enough will be in the top 10, absolute lock. didn't vote for it but 100% sure

There's a video for "Grass" ?! (rushes to youtube)

the one Skylarking video I *did* see at the time was Dear God, which is pretty stupid

Ha, yeah, I saw it around the time of release too, and it's pretty terrible. 120 Minutes also showed "Senses Working Overtime" once as a "cult classic" clip.

Still not sure what's going to make the top 10. A lot of songs I thought were certain to make it have already placed (Grass, Chalkhills, Wrapped In Grey and Summer's Cauldron) I think Black Sea is going to do very well, can see maybe five songs from it placing.