XTC Song of the Day thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by George Co-Stanza, Aug 11, 2018.

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  1. DetroitDoomsayer

    DetroitDoomsayer Forum Middle Child

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    My fave lyric from the song is right before the lyric you posted.

    "I was in a land where men force women to hide their facial features
    And here in the west it's just the same but they're using make-up veils"
     
  2. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    America
    I'd love to see some chatter about the lyrical content as we cover each song. :)
     
  3. riknbkr330

    riknbkr330 Senior Member

    When I first heard Jason it seemed like it was three songs into one....cohesive though.
    Lyrically...well this one was a strange one for me at least...I was familiar with Jason & the Argonauts, at least the 1963 movie, but I know that the original story is from Greek mythology.
    I love the instrumental interplay on this one...ohh and that Rickenbacker 12 string, not only on this song but the whole 2LPs.
     
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  4. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    America
    Today's song is "That's Really Super, Supergirl"



    I wasn't too sure about this song at first, but it grew on me. Seems a bit odd to me since it seems like one of those "instantly catchy" songs, and it is hard to believe that this wasn't one of the singles from the record. I can't say it is one of my favorites from Skylarking, but that is no shame considering what a good album it is and how many excellent songs are on it. Very good song on a classic record. :cool:
     
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  5. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    my favourite xtc album by quite a margin. i sure hope they find the multi-tracks
     
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  6. Phil Tate

    Phil Tate Miss you Indy x

    Location:
    South Shields
    All Andy's songs so far, I notice :)
     
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  7. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    America
    Heh, that has not been intentional. I will have to make sure I feature a Colin song here soon. :D
     
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  8. levi

    levi Can't Stand Up For Falling Down In Memoriam

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Senses Working OT was my intro to XTC, but Jason is such a beautifully different side of the band. Love the mystery and the understated guitars. English Settlement is a helluva record.
     
  9. GLENN

    GLENN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kingsport,TN, USA
    Great thread idea and as a fan I'll try to play along as much as I can. Regarding "Respectable Street" I enjoy both versions but I'll always love the album version the best. I love that structure of the slow intro that is repeated at normal speed as the middle section of the song. They do this again on "Across This Antheap" but that song will be a discussion for another day.

    "That's Really Super, Supergirl" was my favorite track on Skylarking when I first bought it. I found it instantly catchy and a good example of Andy's talent of using metaphors. We've all had relationships where the other person seemed smarter, better looking, and more talented. Like Supergirl!
     
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  10. Not a big fan of "That's Really Super, Supergirl". The chorus refrain just seems to simplistic and trite. It does fit the flow on Skylarking just fine and I have no problem listening to it, but next to "dying" it is probably my least-loved song on that album.
     
  11. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    I (perhaps superficially) see That's Really Super, Supergirl as a far superior take on Sgt. Rock Is Going To Help Me. There's the idea of a cartoon hero who has the ability to mend broken relationships, etc. Not that Sgt. Rock is a bad song (it's definitely better than Andy thinks), but it's also a bit silly at times. Supergirl, on the other hand, somehow manages not to be cheesy or ridiculous, even though the premise would completely fall apart had someone other than Andy written it. It also fits nicely on the album as perhaps the last glimpse of "youthful innocence" before the rains set in (quite literally, I might add).

    It's not one of my favourites on Skylarking, but only because there are a half-dozen songs that are even better. Between The Big Express and Skylarking, Andy and Colin were really at their peak in the mid--80s, imo.
     
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  12. DaverJ

    DaverJ Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Supergirl is proof that Andy's throwaway songs rival most every other songwriter's best. Too many great songs on Skylarking for this one to be a highlight, but not a skippable track, either.

    "How you stopped the universe from dying, but you're never going to stop me crying."
     
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  13. homeslice

    homeslice Forum Resident

    Location:
    london
    Dunno why everyone was so down on Todd's production on Skylarking - can anyone explain it to me?
     
  14. Phil Tate

    Phil Tate Miss you Indy x

    Location:
    South Shields
    Were they though? I know Andy and Todd were at loggerheads during the album's production but I think that was just two very strong personalities clashing. I think everyone pretty much agrees Todd did a great job in the end.
     
  15. Andy was down on Todd's ability to be a strong producer and make decisions that Andy did not care for. They had a major clashing of egos. I am not aware that people had a problem with the production of this album -I always viewed it as exceptionally good.
     
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  16. mr. steak

    mr. steak Forum Resident

    Location:
    chandler az
    'Jason' is a stunning tune. "I have watched...." is as good as a middle eight that you will find in any rock song.
     
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  17. homeslice

    homeslice Forum Resident

    Location:
    london
    Now I remember, they were saying it sounded lifeless, and later a reversed polarity was found in the recording and fixed.
     
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  18. Mr. Grieves

    Mr. Grieves Forum Resident

    Coming in a little late but anyway, Super Girl was one of my favorite songs off of Skylarking. The guitar solo was wonderful & is the type that makes you want to immediately replay the whole song. That melody is also incredibly catchy, sometimes I wake up in the morning with it playing in my head. What else can I say, it's a Skylarking album track, so it's pretty great just like the rest of em really.

    Every track mentioned before this one, especially Jason, are also really great!
     
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  19. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    Everyone but Andy himself, who trashed TR's efforts from the jump.
     
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  20. Phil Tate

    Phil Tate Miss you Indy x

    Location:
    South Shields
    That's true, but I'm sure he's come around to it now. IIRC he's fairly complimentary about it in the recent documentary.
     
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  21. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    I always thought it was because the album sort of sounds like plastic (I don't know how else to describe it; there's a weird sheen about the sound that's quite unlike any other album that I've heard). I don't mean this as a negative thing; I love that singular sound, and it's part of the whole Skylarking experience to me, but I can see how it might be off-putting to some.
     
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  22. DaverJ

    DaverJ Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Todd's a fantastic producer, and Skylarking is a prime example of his mastery of putting an album together as an overall concept. But as an engineer, his sound can be very thin, distorted, and/or shrill at times.
     
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  23. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    America
    I think that was the beef I had with it at first. It didn't have those thundering drums and rumbling fretless bass like English Settlement, so I had to adjust a little to the new and different sound. The thin sound of it is still somewhat of a turnoff in small spots, but I am fine with it most of the time. The fact that the album is chock full of such good songs makes it easy to overlook tinny tiny sound issues.
     
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  24. riknbkr330

    riknbkr330 Senior Member

    I like the structure of "Supergirl" and the lyrics are fantastic with Andy's mastery of metaphors, but I've always been turned off by that harpsichord sounding keyboard. In spite of that, this song does take me back to the day it was released and listened to the album on a cassette with auto replay from LA to Ventura to go see my Supergirl at the time.
     
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  25. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    America
    Today's song is "Cynical Days"



    And now we have a Colin song! And a damn fine one at that. This is another that I kind of glossed over at first because I like a lot of other songs on Oranges & Lemons more at first, but then it was like one day the light bulb just went on. The melodies are just lovely in this, and I love the breakdown in the middle with the horn. That part could have gone on for another two minutes and I wouldn't have complained. But the song, as is, is money.
     
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