week 2:
for love of mixtapes; god is a dj (and his name is fred); wyclef returns; A-HA RETURNS (!); the twenty greatest songs ever scientifically determined by a three man panel consisting of me, myself and i; oh, and, boobs.

week 3:
get drawn to the magnetic fields; three movies that are grossly overrated; some of the greatest movies...ever; xtc murders love...again; james brown breaks out in a "cold sweat"; morrissey and springsteen...separated at birth?; i bare my soul...again; and MORE!

week 4:
gladiator slays me, eminem and xtc reviews, a new look!, i poke fun at my own writing, the inmates take over the asylum, and MORE!

other blogs i like:
(because they're out there, you know)
nylpm
blue lines
josh's blog
westernhomes
log.nu
skykicking
pearls that are his eyes
catherine's pita
public blog
i drank WHAT?
cultural artifacts of the moment
frytopia

XTC - WASP STAR (APPLE VENUS 2)

---

finally, we have the second volume of xtc's apple venus set. so is wasp star the "rock album" they threatened us with? no, not really. the only differences between this volume and its predecessor are that there are no orchestras (though there are smaller ensembles) and that there are no ballads. so, essentially, we're dealing with your standard xtc album here.

i may be doing the band a disservice by using the word, "standard." to clarify, a "standard" xtc album is one that is blindingly brilliant in spots, contains a clunker or two, features several songs from colin moulding, has andy partridge getting on your nerves once or twice, and leaves you with a smile on your face when you're finished listening. are we clear? good.

once again, andy gets the lionshare of tracks on this record, and we find him in three modes: hopeful, spiteful, and ribald, often on the same track. with hopeful, we get songs like "stupidly happy" which may be the least complex thing they've done in twenty years, riding a stones riff with a tune that doesn't vary too much from its main melody, and "we're all light" which basically plays like an extended pick-up line and has production that sounds like new jack maestro, teddy riley, circa 1992.

when andy gets spiteful, he writes things like "wounded horse," so named because he's beaten this one AGAIN AND AGAIN. it sounds like it came out of the same session that produced "your dictionary," but where i thought "dictionary" was saved by its beach boys-styled production, "wounded horse" just goes on listlessly with the louche sound of lennon's tracks from the white album. dating partridge means you may eventually become a subject of such a song -- take solace in knowing that he doesn't sell many records. the altogether lighter "playground," which opens the album, finds andy nursing wounds dating back to his school days. it's a marked improvement over "wounded horse" with its often clever lyrics and production devices, though with a chant courtesy of partridge's daughter, i could understand if this one grates on you.

he doesn't get any more ribald on the album than on "my brown guitar," a vaguely psychedelic slowie that reminds you that this is the same man that penned "pink thing." (if you're keeping count, euphemisms for penis on this album include "bike," "brown guitar," "pin," "yardstick," and "riding another man," from "wounded horse.") it works fine on first listen, but this eventually becomes, along with "wounded horse," one of andy's patented ways of annoying the hell out of you.

colin moulding, as mentioned earlier, gets in three tracks, and they're all winners. i wouldn't mind hearing a whole album of his stuff, truthfully. with his three tracks here and "fruit nut" and "frivolous tonight" from av 1, moulding, with his pastoral concerns and overall englishness, has evolved into what paul mccartney would be if his talents didn't go up in a cloud of pot smoke. "in another life," which may be the finest thing on the album, is a charming tale (not a euphemism in this case for "solid but unspectacular") of a long-married couple trying to reignite the passion in their relationship; "boarded up" is a bluesy lament about the slow death of moulding's hometown (and one perfect for tom's english tape); and "standing in for joe" is another charmer about watching over a buddy's girlfriend for the weekend and eventually taking his place. moulding's music is so intimate that you believe that he wouldn't care if no one heard it but him; you sense such joy from his recordings, whereas with partridge, sometimes you get the feeling that he's just compelled to make music by things beyond the love of the craft.

but i won't be too hard on andy, because he delivers three absolute gems to close out the album. earlier, i said he was in three modes on this album -- a correction, there are four, and the fourth mode is called "the awe-inspiring." "you and the clouds will still be beautiful" is a gorgeous love song that sounds like steely dan, but is actually good; "church of women" finds andy at his peak both musically and lyrically and features dazzling chord changes and instrumentation; and "the wheel and the maypole" is beyond description. it's really two songs linked together, the first has a awesome, vaguely menacing chorus that gives you chills, and the second is pure frivolity, swirling about with glee. moments like these make you forgive all of his shortcomings.

is it worth the money? definitely (this means you, tom). wasp star showcases both moulding and partridge at their most english since mummer, but, as an american, this detracts nothing from the delight i've received from this album, and i can only imagine it will enrich the experience for english listeners. it's arguable that no group has been as good this far along into their career, and my doubts that emerged when listening to "i'm the man that murdered love" about the group's future have all but been vanquished. partridge and moulding have presented a lesson here for all aging rockers: the apple venus set should be subtitled, "how to age gracefully." start taking notes now.

i'd like to welcome all of those visiting from chalkhills.org. i invite you all to check out my page by clicking here.