Friends Again, from "Trapped and Unwrapped". Great Scottish sophistipop. Seem to remembered even less than, say, the Pale Fountains. Being out of print for ages prob hasn't helped.
Well mostly from the underground: 1.The Long Ryder's Native Sons 2.Dream Syndicate Medicine Show 3.Los Lobos How Will the Wolf Survive 4.Los Lobos The Neighborhood 5.Traveling Wilburys Vol.1 6.Jason and The Scorchers Still Standing 7.Plan 9 Dealing with the Dead 8.Lou Reed The Blue Mask 9.Lou Reed New York 10.The Nomads Where the Wolfbane Blooms (5 song EP) Peace. Honorable mentions Rain Parade Emergency Third Rail Power Trip&True West Holiday
Lots of solo works by members of the Go-Go's represented in this thread (yes, I went through the whole thread), but no Charlotte Caffey?? The Graces - Lay Down Your Arms (featuring a pre-"Bitch" Meredith Brooks) This song was eventually covered by Belinda Carlisle
I feel Nu Shooz's follow-up single to "I Can't Wait", "Point of No Return", is just as good....if not better.
"A greying fanbase" doesn't warrant extensive reissue programs. As for being bigger than they were, bear in mind they likely never set out to be bigger than the Beatles. Why this forum is so keen to present their favorite acts as fragile memories doomed to oblivion I'll never understand.
This is the one that's STILL not on CD!!! It got TONS of air-play on my home-town new-wave station (WLIR).
And barring a limited number of SHF fanatics keen on owning the same music a thousand times over (as a respite from the anxious business of acquainting oneself from the new ?), reissues are bought by newcomers, not by the "greying fanbase".
Yet, they often include bonus tracks to try and bait the graying fanbase to buy them over and over again.
You’re basing that on what, exactly? I go to A LOT of record stores and it’s rare that I see the recent XTC reissues in the racks. It’s generally tatty copies of old 12” singles and maybe a used Skylarking. XTC are beloved by music fans of a certain age. The average person on the street likely has no idea they even existed.
Find a better record store then. Mine has everything, new and used. A sure sign of XTC's continuing relevance and renown is that some of their reissues got reviews in Pitchfork and other current day publications. These records, and others, are not the special province of nostalgia. What a sad ego trip it is to be convinced this music is losing its vibrancy. Its significance might change with time but it doesn't disappear.
Yeah, you conveniently ignored the part where I said "A LOT of record stores" -- I travel quite a bit. And yes, I have been in stores that do stock the XTC reissues. However, they are not the norm. And sorry, but Pitchfork, Mojo, etc. review all kinds of things that have limited audiences. I'm not sure what you're arguing here, honestly. My initial point was that not touring from the early '80s onward and then breaking up has not kept them in the public eye. There's a loyal fanbase that loves them, which I am part of, but aside from "Dear God" and maybe "Senses Working Overtime," XTC has been largely forgotten by the general public. I take no joy in saying that – it's just reality.
If the highly speculative notion of a "general public" is bringing you down, get yourself a clearer, less abstract view of reality and rejoice in the real world fact of XTC's continued availability to those who want to make something of them. And let's not kiddies ourselves, Pitchfork and the likes do NOT have a "limited audience" when they reach many thousands of people the world over, whether you care for them or not.
I didn't say Pitchfork has a limited audience, I said they review things that have limited audiences. Which is good – hopefully that result is someone trying something new. Reading reviews of less well-known things has helped turn me on to new music, new books, new films. And yes, it's great that XTC's albums are available for people to discover.
On a whim I played the video/song and I'm glad I did! That's an excellent British Invasion-style jangly pop track with super harmonies too! I noticed however that I had clicked the blue "like" thumbs-up button, so I've heard it before, almost certainly from another post on the forum.
This one popped up in the YouTube suggestions list for the former. I've never heard of it but it seems like a spiffy slice of power pop. From 1980, the Letters, Nobody Loves Me:
The Keys : I Don't Wanna Cry Yeah, this is great '60s-influenced jangle pop. Produced by Joe Jackson. The album was slated for a US release. They even serviced US promo copies. But it never came out in the US. I've no idea why, but it's a shame.