I came across this Metafilter post this week about XTC and decided it’s probably time that I talked about them here. My introduction to XTC was via the video to “Senses Working Overtime” which I saw on MTV in that brief window when they were still trying to figure out what was going to make them money. I think the popularity of bands like XTC or Talking Heads can probably be attributed to the MTV’s somewhat desperate early programming. I was twelve when English Settlement came out, so I didn’t have the money to actually buy the album, but I remember walking by a record store in Portland which had a big window display for the album and wishing I could go in and buy a copy. This is the first time I ever felt compelled to go buy an album. That was the last album that XTC toured for and promotion of their next album was scant, so I basically forgot about them for several years, save for occasionally seeing their performance on one of Night Flight’s many showings of Urgh! A Music War*.
It wasn’t until they released Skylarking that I finally bought an XTC album, after hearing “Dear God” and remembering how much I liked them. I wore that album out. And my appreciation of Skylarking made me feel that my twelve year old instincts were good.
Further internet searching led me to this page of XTC covers, many of which are pretty tasty. But, holy shit, Mandy Moore? Let’s compare and contrast.
Sure, XTC weren’t performing that version live (the mics aren’t even plugged in), but it is a live version of the song and it’s got all the spunk it needs, even without corny turntable effects. Still, Moore gets credit for picking a great song, despite the crappy arrangement. Actually, looking at the rest of her album of covers, she picks a lot of great songs. Cat Stevens? Joan Armatrading? Joni Mitchell? That woman confuses me. If she didn’t perform the songs with so much schlock value, I might think she has taste.
*That this movie hasn’t had a re-release of a restored version with extra footage and lots of fanfare is criminal. I mean, look at that track list.
How could MM not keep those guitar strums? Especially the first tasty one right before the bridge. Then there’s her phrasing or rather lack there of. Pity.
I wore out my copy of Skylarking too. The first song I heard was “Making Plans for Nigel” when I was probably like 16 and was lucky enough to pick up the at-the-time very weak signal from KTRU, just on the other side of the Rice Village. Unfortunately I didn’t have access to Mtv often enough to catch them. I do remember Talking Head’s “Burning Down the House.”
The other two videos I remember well from that era are the Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” and ABC’s Be Near Me. I’m glad ABC’s giant hair pin player still gets work as Six Flags mascot.
I knew I recognized that Six Flags mascot from somewhere. The keyboard player in my new wave band had that little hair swoop like ABC’s keyboard player and probably would have been him if he could. This is really an excuse to post this picture again. That’s him on the right. Unfortunately, the hat is covering the hair swoop.
Also, that camera-on-the-cherry-picker effect was done better in Cabaret Voltaire’s video for Sensoria. I haven’t listened to that song in probably 25 years and now that I have, I’m amazed at how much Trent Reznor lifted from them.
That picture is worthy of reposting again and again.
I think the first time I heard of XTC was in the They Might Be Giants song “XTC vs. Adam Ant.” Then when Sound Exchange was getting rid of their tapes I bought Rag & Bone Buffet for like a dollar, along with an early B-52s tape that I had completely forgotten about as well. After that I think XTC was the first band I ever collected on LP. English Settlement was good, but Black Sea was my jam.
I think I ended up with a copy of Skylarking on tape at some point, but that was
after I was sick of cassettes and I never listened to it. Time to rectify that error.
Also I’m gonna listen to that B-52s tape again. Thanks for the reminder Justin. Speaking of David Byrne, did you know he produced one or two of their albums? You probably did.
Finally, my guess is that the music licensing requirements will prevent Urgh! from ever being reissued. The Go-Gos and the Police would be too expensive and the Dead Kennedys would be too difficult. Even MTV couldn’t get music licensed for the Daria and Beavis & Butt-head DVDs.
Maybe I knew about Byrne producing B-52s at one time, but if I did, I had forgotten it. I suspect that has something to do with how Finster ended up doing the cover of Little Creatures.
I’m sure you’re right about the licensing for Urgh!. Still, it’s a damn shame.
I think the B52 album Byrne produced was mesopotamia which was pretty meh.
As for Urgh! Yr right there wa s a long struggle but a couple of years ago it was released by Warner Bros in a very weird limited way (as an on-demand DVD) for $19.95. You can still order it from them on-line: http://www.wbshop.com/Urgh-A-Music-War/1000112990,default,pd.html