XTC Song of the Day thread

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

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  1. Paul Gase

    Paul Gase Everything is cheaper than it looks.

    Location:
    California
    Why would The Dukes material ever need a remix? Maybe a mono remix?
     
  2. Mooserfan

    Mooserfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eastern PA
    I really just meant the Steve Wilson deluxe treatment in general (extras, etc). Do you think trying to do a 5.1 with it would ruin it? I’m curious what he could come up with.
     
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  3. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    America
    Today's song is "Beatown"



    Interesting song. Andy's barking seal vocal is in full effect, and the youthful energy makes it a bit charming, even if the song overall is kind of clunky. There are some nice melodies in there, but they don't sound fully-formed. I can see why fans of the really early stuff would really dig this one, if it is one I do not gravitate towards.
     
  4. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    America
    Today's song is "The Smartest Monkeys"



    For me, the mostly-brilliant Nonsuch is a few tracks too long and would have benefited by leaving a few songs off, and this is one of those songs I would have left off. I don't dislike it, but it just doesn't do much for me. Very little of it sticks with me after a listen, which is never a good sign considering the XTC cannon is filled with more ear worms than you can shake a stick at.
     
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  5. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    My impressions exactly. Unremarkable filler that merits no further comment. Give us some earworms George!
     
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  6. I also think The Smartest Monkey is one of the weaker songs from Nonsuch.
    I generally agree with you regarding XTC overt political statement songs being a dire lot. I think Generals and Majors is more effective than their others 'cause it strikes a more sincere chord. I was in the US Army in '82 when I first heard this song and it struck me as hitting the nail on the head regarding the then-current military mindset. Great pop song regardless of the lyrics and still a favorite to this day.
     
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  7. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    Beatown has a terribly boring, overlong intro, but it gets much better once the vocals kick in. The outro isn't bad, but it also goes on a bit too long. With some editing, this could have been a much better track.

    The Smartest Monkeys has some decent melodic bits, but the tempo is plodding and the lyrics are downright embarrassing. Still, a strong melody is generally what attracts me to a song, and so if only for that reason, it's far from my least favourite track on Nonsuch (at least I can listen to it if I tune out the lyrics, unlike That Wave or Humble Daisy).
     
    George Co-Stanza likes this.
  8. Agree with your analysis of Nonsuch. A brilliant album but a tad too long. Todd would have butchered it down nicely :)
     
    George Co-Stanza likes this.
  9. Splungeworthy

    Splungeworthy Forum Rezidentura

    He's merely a man.
     
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  10. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    America
    Let's do another today!

    Today's second song is "You're a Good Man, Albert Brown"



    This song is just good quirky fun, and I can't help but love it. The video is so great to watch as well, featuring Andy with his hand puppet and fake mustache. It's great to them having some silly fun in that video, and they couldn't have picked a better song for it, given the style. I suspect some might find the song a bit too silly, but that is a major part of its charm.
     
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  11. Their “music hall” song on the Dukes album. It’s pretty funny and fits well on the album. I like it a lot.
     
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  12. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    You're A Good Man, Albert Brown is a hilariously catchy song that's the clear highlight of the Dukes album for me. I particularly like how Andy manages to not sound like himself; with most XTC/Dukes songs, the vocals are a dead giveaway as to who the artist is. With Albert Brown, you can plausibly believe that it's a completely different act (though there are definitely some very Andy-esque passages in there!).

    It might be a total throwaway, but it's also an essential part of the XTC story: it's a parody, it's a loving extension of the British music tradition, and it's a perfect pop song all wrapped up into one glorious slice of music.
     
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  13. Autotune Sucks

    Autotune Sucks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Little Rock, AR
    I don't really care for the intro to "Beatown" (Barry gets a little too silly with his Krumar organ) and I agree with others that it feels slightly under-developed. But the sheer energy and speed of it is a major plus. Best of all is the outro, which keeps gaining in power the longer it goes on...especially when Andy starts layering guitar riffs onto each other. A song that starts off shaky but is completely rocking out near the end.
     
  14. alclarke

    alclarke Active Member

    I've got the Wilson's tarted-up Black Sea, Skylarking and Drums & Wires CD/Blueray. I haven't got a 5.1 system but I'll try them through my stereo via blueray soon. The stereo mixes sound fantastic! Oranges And Lemons will be the next purchase.
     
  15. alclarke

    alclarke Active Member

    Also have Nonsvch but for some reason I bought the CD/DVD version. I feel like a right Charles now.
     
  16. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    America
    Today's song is "Melt the Guns"



    Kind of a strange song for me, in that it has some things I really like (the bass line, most notably), but the vocal melodies are a bit too jarring and out there for me to really grab on to. English Settlement is probably my favorite XTC album and this song is one of the few from it I do not consider essential.
     
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  17. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    Ugh, Melt The Guns. The riff is supremely annoying, the lyrics are completely ineffective, and the damn thing goes on for six-and-a-half minutes! I think I've forced myself to listen to the whole song maybe twice in my life. I tried it again today, and I couldn't get past the first chorus.

    The best thing I can say about it is that, after suffering through a few minutes of Melt The Guns, even I Need Protection sounds like a masterpiece!
     
  18. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    This x1000. Total pisstake. And an interminable one.
     
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  19. misterdecibel

    misterdecibel Bulbous Also Tapered

    It's indulgent and over-long, and as usual Andy's attempts at social commentary are jejune, but I find much to like here musically.

    Why couldn't the rest of their musical career have been recorded as well as English Settlement?
     
  20. YardByrd

    YardByrd rock n roll citizen in a hip hop world

    Location:
    Europe
    One of Andy's greatest lyrics... don't let the jaunty up tempo music hall knees up approach fool you... the WW1 imagery is downright grim and obviously Albert is suffering shell shock, finding refuge in alcohol... the use of color, especially to segue from verse to bridge is brilliant... the long suffering wife is a saint... but it is the contrast of poignant lyric with the upbeat music that really marks Andy as a sly devil... presenting this story with morose music woulda killed this song in its bed... known this song since the week of its release and even more enamored of it 31 years later...btw, the break with war sound FX and military bugles is sublime...
     
  21. YardByrd

    YardByrd rock n roll citizen in a hip hop world

    Location:
    Europe
    Dreadful lyric... Andy handles and defuses violence in Albert Brown with a much defter touch...
     
  22. misterdecibel

    misterdecibel Bulbous Also Tapered

    I've always thought of MTG as a specific reaction to the death of John Lennon.
     
  23. That may be, but the song is still dreadful. A real low light from a great album.
     
    George Co-Stanza likes this.
  24. All I can say is: You're a bloody fine man, Albert Brown!
     
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  25. sacsongs

    sacsongs Senior Member

    Location:
    St. Louis , MO
    Jejune indeed...fine use of vocabulary!
     
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