I've always loved this (in demo form) and it's great to hear the full-band version.
Your Tuesday Music-Themed Cartoon Chuckles
2 days ago
Showing posts with label XTC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label XTC. Show all posts
Friday, October 14, 2016
Monday, June 13, 2016
Monday, May 30, 2016
Memorial Day
Memories, Shadows, Ghosts, Duty, Loyalty, Country, Loss.
This may be the only song I've ever heard that captures what I think of as the heart of Memorial Day.
This may be the only song I've ever heard that captures what I think of as the heart of Memorial Day.
Monday, May 2, 2016
Monkees Divided by XTC Equals
A song you should listen to 30 times in a row instead of leaving your house.
This isn't the best song in the world. But it's really, really good.
And if you hear hints of "Dear Madame Barnum" in this, you're not alone.
This isn't the best song in the world. But it's really, really good.
And if you hear hints of "Dear Madame Barnum" in this, you're not alone.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Sprouts
I flew in and out of Brussels last year on the way to a wedding in Northern Germany.
This was only because flights were considerably cheaper in and out of there than they were in and out of Frankfurt. And the drive was only about 20 minutes longer.
Plus, with the new EU rules, going through Belgium, Holland, and Germany no longer means much. Instead of border crossings with armed guards and stops, there are now just simple signs (the same type you'd see if you're on a highway in the U.S. and pass from one state to the next).
On the way home, I had to wait in a horrible long line, which I assumed was for security.
It turns out, this was just the line for Passport Control. So you went through, showed your passport (and maybe your boarding pass, I can't remember) and then were sent out into what essentially is a gigantic mall.
To get to Security (which was a five minute walk from the start of the mall), you literally had to walk through about a dozen stores selling everything from lingerie to men's suits, to everything else. You weren't walking through a corridor with shops on either side. You were walking literally through the stores.
Security took almost no time (at least compared to the 45-minute wait at Passport Control) and only then was I off to the gates.
I told everyone at the time that I couldn't decide if it was evil or genius that you had to go through shops before even hitting security (where you and your bags were examined and X-rayed before you got to the planes).
I can't tell from the photos I've seen, but it seems likely to me that the recent attack on the airport in Belgium happened in the "mall" area between Passport Control and Security.
It was shocking to see the areas I'd walked through (relatively recently) all bombed out and blacked by fire and destruction.
This song first appeared in 1987 as one of the B-side demos on the 12-inch single for The Meeting Place. And while I've always been more partial to "Let's Make a Den," which is kind of the sweeter sibling of this song, I've found myself listening to this a lot this past week.
This was only because flights were considerably cheaper in and out of there than they were in and out of Frankfurt. And the drive was only about 20 minutes longer.
Plus, with the new EU rules, going through Belgium, Holland, and Germany no longer means much. Instead of border crossings with armed guards and stops, there are now just simple signs (the same type you'd see if you're on a highway in the U.S. and pass from one state to the next).
On the way home, I had to wait in a horrible long line, which I assumed was for security.
It turns out, this was just the line for Passport Control. So you went through, showed your passport (and maybe your boarding pass, I can't remember) and then were sent out into what essentially is a gigantic mall.
To get to Security (which was a five minute walk from the start of the mall), you literally had to walk through about a dozen stores selling everything from lingerie to men's suits, to everything else. You weren't walking through a corridor with shops on either side. You were walking literally through the stores.
Security took almost no time (at least compared to the 45-minute wait at Passport Control) and only then was I off to the gates.
I told everyone at the time that I couldn't decide if it was evil or genius that you had to go through shops before even hitting security (where you and your bags were examined and X-rayed before you got to the planes).
I can't tell from the photos I've seen, but it seems likely to me that the recent attack on the airport in Belgium happened in the "mall" area between Passport Control and Security.
It was shocking to see the areas I'd walked through (relatively recently) all bombed out and blacked by fire and destruction.
This song first appeared in 1987 as one of the B-side demos on the 12-inch single for The Meeting Place. And while I've always been more partial to "Let's Make a Den," which is kind of the sweeter sibling of this song, I've found myself listening to this a lot this past week.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Friday, December 19, 2014
Friday, November 14, 2014
The Stars Are Laughing At Us
Crawl on and on...
Two different demo versions of the song that I haven't been able to get out of my head for the past few days...
Two different demo versions of the song that I haven't been able to get out of my head for the past few days...
Monday, May 26, 2014
The Only Song I Ever Think About on Memorial Day
Boom Goes My Heart...
England. Via Germany. To the U.S.
(In my mind anyway.)
England. Via Germany. To the U.S.
(In my mind anyway.)
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Four Christmas Songs I Never Get Tired Of
Ring those sleigh bells one more time
Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
And these three:
Kinks "Father Christmas"
John Lennon "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)"
The Three Wise Men (aka XTC) "Thanks for Christmas"
Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
And these three:
Kinks "Father Christmas"
John Lennon "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)"
The Three Wise Men (aka XTC) "Thanks for Christmas"
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Boom Goes My Heart
My simple wish: may you move deliberately in the direction of kindness and love today.
You'll ever totally get there. None of us will.
Don't let that stop you.
Just take a step.
From wherever you might be right now.
(Then repeat as often as you can.)
You'll ever totally get there. None of us will.
Don't let that stop you.
Just take a step.
From wherever you might be right now.
(Then repeat as often as you can.)
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Vintage XTC promo
From 1999.
Although why it's centered around a haircut is wayyyyyy above my pay grade.
"I think the English are still pagans at heart..."
Although why it's centered around a haircut is wayyyyyy above my pay grade.
"I think the English are still pagans at heart..."
Sunday, May 26, 2013
In Which We Fight Off Rival Gangs And Take Total Possession of the Hill
Like There Was Nothing Ever Wrong For the Rest of Our Days
One day when you think back on this room, you won't be able to recall what it looks like.
Or if you do it will seem small.
Impossibly small.
But maybe it's just that your world was small. Impossibly small.
Until you pushed against it.
Broke through a membrane.
Realized there was more going on than the things you saw every day.
Maybe you sensed something not quite in sight.
Something that made you think you could see the lines. If you looked quickly. Or turned to the right angle.
Shafts of light. Passing between us. Connecting us all.
And the light's colors would tell you something.
Would tell you the relationship. The prism of feelings.
And sometimes. When you closed your eyes. You were right.
It was all... right there.
One day when you think back on this room, you won't be able to recall what it looks like.
Or if you do it will seem small.
Impossibly small.
But maybe it's just that your world was small. Impossibly small.
Until you pushed against it.
Broke through a membrane.
Realized there was more going on than the things you saw every day.
Maybe you sensed something not quite in sight.
Something that made you think you could see the lines. If you looked quickly. Or turned to the right angle.
Shafts of light. Passing between us. Connecting us all.
And the light's colors would tell you something.
Would tell you the relationship. The prism of feelings.
And sometimes. When you closed your eyes. You were right.
It was all... right there.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Good Height, Right Temp, Strong Flow
Just Like A Mad Dog You're Chasing Your Tail in a Circle
The shower comes on.
Again.
Part of the slow wake.
Stumble into the bathroom. Stumble for the light. Pee.
The showerhead is a good height. The water's the right temp. There's a good flow.
Underneath.
Good height, right temp, strong flow.
A morning. Like ten thousand others.
Good height, right temp, strong flow.
Another morning. Slow. Wake.
Stumble. Stumble. Pee.
Good height, right temp, strong flow.
Eyes? Check? Open? Not yet. Soon.
Soap always in the same spot. Shampoo. Razor.
Good height, right temp, strong flow.
Over and over.
Notable only for the changes.
The hotel where the shower's too low. Or the water's too hot. Or the flow's just a trickle.
But for now, it's clear.
There. Now. Like before.
Good height. Right temp. Strong flow.
These are the things. The patterns.
Stumble in. Stumble around. Pee.
Waking slow. Until.
Until the time.
When the eyes open.
And even then. Good height. Right temp. Strong flow.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Good height. Later.
Right temp. Later.
Strong flow. Later.
A million times. Each separate. Each completely different.
Good height.
Each...
Right temp.
Exactly...
Strong flow.
The same.
Water circles.
Round.
And out.
Draining. Leaving something. Something more noticeable in its absence than its presence.
Good height. Right temp. Strong flow.
And... out.
The shower comes on.
Again.
Part of the slow wake.
Stumble into the bathroom. Stumble for the light. Pee.
The showerhead is a good height. The water's the right temp. There's a good flow.
Underneath.
Good height, right temp, strong flow.
A morning. Like ten thousand others.
Good height, right temp, strong flow.
Another morning. Slow. Wake.
Stumble. Stumble. Pee.
Good height, right temp, strong flow.
Eyes? Check? Open? Not yet. Soon.
Soap always in the same spot. Shampoo. Razor.
Good height, right temp, strong flow.
Over and over.
Notable only for the changes.
The hotel where the shower's too low. Or the water's too hot. Or the flow's just a trickle.
But for now, it's clear.
There. Now. Like before.
Good height. Right temp. Strong flow.
These are the things. The patterns.
Stumble in. Stumble around. Pee.
Waking slow. Until.
Until the time.
When the eyes open.
And even then. Good height. Right temp. Strong flow.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Good height. Later.
Right temp. Later.
Strong flow. Later.
A million times. Each separate. Each completely different.
Good height.
Each...
Right temp.
Exactly...
Strong flow.
The same.
Water circles.
Round.
And out.
Draining. Leaving something. Something more noticeable in its absence than its presence.
Good height. Right temp. Strong flow.
And... out.
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