Bands/Albums I was wrong about. (XTC Content)

[xxxMidgexxx]

XTC 'Skylarking'
I had absolutely no interest or respect for this band (or sound) in the 80's when it was released. I thought it was a lame attempt at New Wave trying its hardest to be top 40. Plus I was into Venom and Black Flag and the start of death metal. But through the recommendations and production works of others (Todd Rundgren), I'd finally made it to deep dive into this album. 35 years late for the parade, I realize that I was completely wrong and I fully embrace what a genius album this is. The Wikipedia article on this album is a hoot and a half. Andy and Todd banging heads in the studio and the story about all the fallout which eventually led to the album being quite good with really catchy singles.

[lewdd]

I'm not sure I know or care to listen to anything other than these songs by XTC.

Making Plans for Nigel
Generals and Majors
Senses Working Overtime

[scannest]

XTC 'Skylarking'
I had absolutely no interest or respect for this band (or sound) in the 80's when it was released. I thought it was a lame attempt at New Wave trying its hardest to be top 40. Plus I was into RATT. But through the recommendations and production works of others (Todd Rundgren), I'd finally made it to deep dive into this album. 35 years late for the parade, I realize that I was completely wrong and I fully embrace what a genius album this is. The Wikipedia article on this album is a hoot and a half. Andy and Todd banging heads in the studio and the story about all the fallout which eventually led to the album being quite good with really catchy singles.

FIXED

[xxxMidgexxx]

FIXED

Slow day at the virtual office?

[scannest]

FIXED

Slow day at the virtual office?

Always time for you, twinkle toes.

[JGJR]

I love this album and XTC overall, though I've become more of a Colin/Terry fan in recent years. Andy, great as he is, gets on my nerves tbh but they are longtime heroes.

Favorite XTC albums:
Mummer (still super underrated)
Skylarking
25 O'Clock (technically an EP credited to their alter-ego The Dukes of Stratosphear, but I reach for it a lot)

[xxxMidgexxx]

I love this album and XTC overall, though I've become more of a Colin/Terry fan in recent years. Andy, great as he is, gets on my nerves tbh but they are longtime heroes.

Favorite XTC albums:
Mummer (still super underrated)
25 O'Clock (technically an EP credited to their alter-ego The Dukes of Stratosphear, but I reach for it a lot)

I don't think I've heard most of these albums. My next deep dive will be the Psychedelics Furs album that Rundgren produced. He may just possibly be the greatest producer of all time. Maybe. Jury is still out.

[gregpolard]

I love this album and XTC overall, though I've become more of a Colin/Terry fan in recent years. Andy, great as he is, gets on my nerves tbh but they are longtime heroes.

Favorite XTC albums:
Mummer (still super underrated)
25 O'Clock (technically an EP credited to their alter-ego The Dukes of Stratosphear, but I reach for it a lot)

I don't think I've heard most of these albums. My next deep dive will be the Psychedelics Furs album that Rundgren produced. He may just possibly be the greatest producer of all time. Maybe. Jury is still out.

So you're saying "New America" is your favorite Bad Religion album.

[xxxMidgexxx]

I love this album and XTC overall, though I've become more of a Colin/Terry fan in recent years. Andy, great as he is, gets on my nerves tbh but they are longtime heroes.

Favorite XTC albums:
Mummer (still super underrated)
25 O'Clock (technically an EP credited to their alter-ego The Dukes of Stratosphear, but I reach for it a lot)

I don't think I've heard most of these albums. My next deep dive will be the Psychedelics Furs album that Rundgren produced. He may just possibly be the greatest producer of all time. Maybe. Jury is still out.

So you're saying "New America" is your favorite Bad Religion album.

Funny thing, I just read about that 2 nights ago. Had no idea that Todd did that album. Not a fan of it. Too polished. I also have reservations about The Tubes album he did. Still, his track record is pretty great.

Meatloaf 'Bat out of Hell'. Sold over 40 million copies. Pretty big deal.

And he pretty much helped break the NY Dolls.

[captain2man]

So you're saying "New America" is your favorite Bad Religion album.

I love New America. By far the most overlooked record in BR's catalog. A couple of pretty bad songs on there - but most of it is excellent.

[lewdd]

I didn't realize Rudgren was born in Philly until last night

[JGJR]

I love this album and XTC overall, though I've become more of a Colin/Terry fan in recent years. Andy, great as he is, gets on my nerves tbh but they are longtime heroes.

Favorite XTC albums:
Mummer (still super underrated)
25 O'Clock (technically an EP credited to their alter-ego The Dukes of Stratosphear, but I reach for it a lot)

I don't think I've heard most of these albums. My next deep dive will be the Psychedelics Furs album that Rundgren produced. He may just possibly be the greatest producer of all time. Maybe. Jury is still out.

So you're saying "New America" is your favorite Bad Religion album.

Funny thing, I just read about that 2 nights ago. Had no idea that Todd did that album. Not a fan of it. Too polished. I also have reservations about The Tubes album he did. Still, his track record is pretty great.

Meatloaf 'Bat out of Hell'. Sold over 40 million copies. Pretty big deal.

And he pretty much helped break the NY Dolls.

He's one of my favorite producers, too, particularly for these records:

New York Dolls - s/t debut
Patti Smith - Wave
Psychedelic Furs - Forever Now
Cheap Trick - Next Position Please
XTC - Skylarking

[xxxMidgexxx]

Patti Smith - Wave

Oh HELL yes.
Todd talks about this on his interview with Steve Jones (Jonesy's Jukebox).

Apparently he was friends with Patti before she made music and was just a performance artist/poet. He claimed that was something that the masses were robbed of seeing live since music was now her forte.

Either way, indeed he did an fantastic job on 'Wave'.

[patient_ot]

XTC was a band that took years for me to come around on. I'm still not wild about Skylarking.

The albums that made me a fan were Black Sea and English Settlement.

I actually like Oranges and Lemons and Nonsuch more than Skylarking. That's probably heresy to most XTC fans.

[scannest]

Todd didn't actually like the Dolls all that much. Much of the credit for how that album sounds has gone to Jack Douglas, who was the principal engineer.

[scannest]

I didn't realize Rudgren was born in Philly until last night

Some of Philly's phinest!

[gregpolard]

So you're saying "New America" is your favorite Bad Religion album.

I love New America. By far the most overlooked record in BR's catalog. A couple of pretty bad songs on there - but most of it is excellent.

It's not bad. Honestly, it's been years but the only album from the Atlantic era that I can't really get into at all is "No Substance"

[gregpolard]

Also, my aunt is a MASSIVE Todd Rundgren fan. Like, at least used to follow him around and would go to these "rock camps" or whatever that he would organize. lol

[FormerLurker]

So you're saying "New America" is your favorite Bad Religion album.

I love New America. By far the most overlooked record in BR's catalog. A couple of pretty bad songs on there - but most of it is excellent.

It's not bad. Honestly, it's been years but the only album from the Atlantic era that I can't really get into at all is "No Substance"

As a pandemic hobby, I went through their entire catalog from the beginning through Process of Belief (where I stopped caring). No Substance is far and away their lowest point.

[xxxMidgexxx]

Also, my aunt is a MASSIVE Todd Rundgren fan. Like, at least used to follow him around and would go to these "rock camps" or whatever that he would organize. lol

I like listening to him speak in interviews and I'm really almost obsessed lately with his production work. I wouldn't go to any 'rock camps' unless I was sure I could meet him and talk to him.

[JGJR]

Patti Smith - Wave

Oh HELL yes.
Todd talks about this on his interview with Steve Jones (Jonesy's Jukebox).

Apparently he was friends with Patti before she made music and was just a performance artist/poet. He claimed that was something that the masses were robbed of seeing live since music was now her forte.

Either way, indeed he did an fantastic job on 'Wave'.

I'd really like to listen to that. Wave is super underrated; one of my favorites of hers (the other is Radio Ethiopia). I love Horses and Easter, too, but play those more.

Both are from the Philly area and ended up in NY in the early '70s; Todd from Upper Darby and Patti grew up in Germantown and then south Jersey.

[JGJR]

XTC was a band that took years for me to come around on. I'm still not wild about Skylarking.

The albums that made me a fan were Black Sea and English Settlement.

I actually like Oranges and Lemons and Nonsuch more than Skylarking. That's probably heresy to most XTC fans.

Those (Black Sea, English Settlement, and also Drums and Wires) were my favorites in college when I got into them. D&W was my first and the one that really got me into them and these days, probably the one out of that classic trio of albums that I'm most likely to play. Mummer and Skylarking both grew on me a lot over time.

That said, so did Oranges and Lemons and especially Nonesuch. I don't think they're better than Skylarking, but they are underrated and both have some of XTC's finest moments despite some questionable production choices (especially on Oranges and Lemons). I've come to really like Nonesuch in more recent years, though both are a bit too long IMO.

To my ears, the most underrated of their records is Wasp Star. It's been in my XTC top 5 at times and many fans consider it to be their worst album or close to it.

[DelGriffith]

A lesson I learned a long time ago..if most people think a particular record is a band’s worst, it’s usually because it is..

XTC was a band that took years for me to come around on. I'm still not wild about Skylarking.

The albums that made me a fan were Black Sea and English Settlement.

I actually like Oranges and Lemons and Nonsuch more than Skylarking. That's probably heresy to most XTC fans.

Those (Black Sea, English Settlement, and also Drums and Wires) were my favorites in college when I got into them. D&W was my first and the one that really got me into them and these days, probably the one out of that classic trio of albums that I'm most likely to play. Mummer and Skylarking both grew on me a lot over time.

That said, so did Oranges and Lemons and especially Nonesuch. I don't think they're better than Skylarking, but they are underrated and both have some of XTC's finest moments despite some questionable production choices (especially on Oranges and Lemons). I've come to really like Nonesuch in more recent years, though both are a bit too long IMO.

To my ears, the most underrated of their records is Wasp Star. It's been in my XTC top 5 at times and many fans consider it to be their worst album or close to it.

[gregpolard]

A lesson I learned a long time ago..if most people think a particular record is a band’s worst, it’s usually because it is..

XTC was a band that took years for me to come around on. I'm still not wild about Skylarking.

The albums that made me a fan were Black Sea and English Settlement.

I actually like Oranges and Lemons and Nonsuch more than Skylarking. That's probably heresy to most XTC fans.

Those (Black Sea, English Settlement, and also Drums and Wires) were my favorites in college when I got into them. D&W was my first and the one that really got me into them and these days, probably the one out of that classic trio of albums that I'm most likely to play. Mummer and Skylarking both grew on me a lot over time.

That said, so did Oranges and Lemons and especially Nonesuch. I don't think they're better than Skylarking, but they are underrated and both have some of XTC's finest moments despite some questionable production choices (especially on Oranges and Lemons). I've come to really like Nonesuch in more recent years, though both are a bit too long IMO.

To my ears, the most underrated of their records is Wasp Star. It's been in my XTC top 5 at times and many fans consider it to be their worst album or close to it.

You can tell you're new here, Del. This is very on brand for JGJR

[Fillavoid]

To my ears, the most underrated of their records is Wasp Star. It's been in my XTC top 5 at times and many fans consider it to be their worst album or close to it.

I agree, Wasp Star is underrated. I also think Apple Venus Volume 1 is overlooked at times. Songs like "Easter Theater" and "I Can't Own Her" are among my favorites.

[JGJR]

To my ears, the most underrated of their records is Wasp Star. It's been in my XTC top 5 at times and many fans consider it to be their worst album or close to it.

I agree, Wasp Star is underrated. I also think Apple Venus Volume 1 is overlooked at times. Songs like "Easter Theater" and "I Can't Own Her" are among my favorites.

Couldn't agree more; Apple Venus Vol. 1 is excellent. It's in part a brutal divorce album lyrically; "Your Dictionary" is just savage. I once saw a tribute to them at Joe's Pub back in 2003 (part of a series that used to happen regularly back then called the Losers' Lounge with established musicians doing one-off tributes to various artists) and one of the songs in the set was "River of Orchids." I think it may have even been the opening track iirc.

[version sound]

I still don’t really like XTC. Just not my bag.

[xxxMidgexxx]

I re-listened to 'Drums and Wires' today. It doesn't hold a f'n candle to 'Skylarking'.

Some people on this thread should or shouldn't be banned. Just sayin'.

I still don’t really like XTC. Just not my bag.

Oh?

[JGJR]

I still don’t really like XTC. Just not my bag.

Fair; nothing is "for" everybody, but I think they're a particular taste/style that you'll either love or just be like "nah dawg" and ultimately, you saving yourself a lot of cash given how large their catalog is.

[JGJR]

I re-listened to 'Drums and Wires' today. It doesn't hold a f'n candle to 'Skylarking'.

Some people on this thread should or shouldn't be banned. Just sayin'.

Oh, Skylarking is definitely a better album. I especially feel that way now in mid-40s as opposed to being 20 when I first heard them both. But I don't think it's fair to compare them directly since they're so different stylistically and plus you have Terry Chambers' drumming up through and including English Settlement. It's much more "rock" and band-based up to that point, I think, but I think as great as that stuff is, they got even more interesting when they quit playing live and decided to try to be '66-'70 era Beatles instead of '62-'66 (just like The Beatles themselves did; haha). I do find it obnoxious when Andy (in that Showtime documentary from a few years ago) compared XTC favorably to the Fab Four since he's so full of himself and obnoxious, but in that way, the comparison totally works!

[version sound]

I still don’t really like XTC. Just not my bag.

Fair; nothing is "for" everybody, but I think they're a particular taste/style that you'll either love or just be like "nah dawg" and ultimately, you saving yourself a lot of cash given how large their catalog is.

I don’t hate them, but that kind of highly crafted/polished pop is very hit or miss with me, and most of the “hits” are ‘60s bands like the Beatles, and even with them, I don’t love a lot of the overly slick late period McCartney stuff.

[xxxMidgexxx]

I re-listened to 'Drums and Wires' today. It doesn't hold a f'n candle to 'Skylarking'.

Some people on this thread should or shouldn't be banned. Just sayin'.

Oh, Skylarking is definitely a better album. I especially feel that way now in mid-40s as opposed to being 20 when I first heard them both. But I don't think it's fair to compare them directly since they're so different stylistically and plus you have Terry Chambers' drumming up through and including English Settlement. It's much more "rock" and band-based up to that point, I think, but I think as great as that stuff is, they got even more interesting when they quit playing live and decided to try to be '66-'70 era Beatles instead of '62-'66 (just like The Beatles themselves did; haha). I do find it obnoxious when Andy (in that Showtime documentary from a few years ago) compared XTC favorably to the Fab Four since he's so full of himself and obnoxious, but in that way, the comparison totally works!

For a 1979 album, 'Drums and Wires' is decent enough, but totally front loaded as far as I can tell. I followed it up with the some of the brilliant tracks on 'Skylarking'...like the fucking AMAZING:

'That's Really Super, Supergirl', 'Grass', 'Earn Enough for Us' (which is a WFUV staple) and the magnificent "Another Satellite" which should have been a single IMO.

And as much as I'm not really a Beatles fan, that dude Andy sounds like a real piece of work from what I've read. A real character. Comparing himself to the Beatles is hilarious. If my memory serves me correctly, Roger Rogerson from the Circle Jerks was that deluded as well. LMAO

[xxxMidgexxx]

Patti Smith - Wave

Oh HELL yes.
Todd talks about this on his interview with Steve Jones (Jonesy's Jukebox).

Apparently he was friends with Patti before she made music and was just a performance artist/poet. He claimed that was something that the masses were robbed of seeing live since music was now her forte.

Either way, indeed he did an fantastic job on 'Wave'.

I'd really like to listen to that.

This is a pretty long interview. I had to watch it in segments, but its definitely worth your time.

[JGJR]

I re-listened to 'Drums and Wires' today. It doesn't hold a f'n candle to 'Skylarking'.

Some people on this thread should or shouldn't be banned. Just sayin'.

Oh, Skylarking is definitely a better album. I especially feel that way now in mid-40s as opposed to being 20 when I first heard them both. But I don't think it's fair to compare them directly since they're so different stylistically and plus you have Terry Chambers' drumming up through and including English Settlement. It's much more "rock" and band-based up to that point, I think, but I think as great as that stuff is, they got even more interesting when they quit playing live and decided to try to be '66-'70 era Beatles instead of '62-'66 (just like The Beatles themselves did; haha). I do find it obnoxious when Andy (in that Showtime documentary from a few years ago) compared XTC favorably to the Fab Four since he's so full of himself and obnoxious, but in that way, the comparison totally works!

For a 1979 album, 'Drums and Wires' is decent enough, but totally front loaded as far as I can tell. I followed it up with the some of the brilliant tracks on 'Skylarking'...like the fucking AMAZING:

'That's Really Super, Supergirl', 'Grass', 'Earn Enough for Us' (which is a WFUV staple) and the magnificent "Another Satellite" which should have been a single IMO.

And as much as I'm not really a Beatles fan, that dude Andy sounds like a real piece of work from what I've read. A real character. Comparing himself to the Beatles is hilarious. If my memory serves me correctly, Roger Rogerson from the Circle Jerks was that deluded as well. LMAO

You identified my 2 favorite songs on Skylarking, which are "Earn Enough for Us" and "That's Really Super, Supergirl." Andy really didn't want "That's Really Super, Supergirl" on the album and fought Todd tooth and nail over it. Of course, Todd was right and it's one of their best songs IMO.

Your point about Drums and Wires brings up a point I wasn't thinking about earlier re: that album. It has 2 distinct running orders and the one that is far better to hear it (especially if you're unfamiliar with it) is the U.S./Canadian one. That's how I first heard it and it hooked me right away. Here are the track listings to compare. Make a Spotify playlist of the better running order because on every streaming service the default is always the UK one (when they put it on CD, that's how they did it) and see if that helps you appreciate it more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drums_and ... ck_listing

[JGJR]

Patti Smith - Wave

Oh HELL yes.
Todd talks about this on his interview with Steve Jones (Jonesy's Jukebox).

Apparently he was friends with Patti before she made music and was just a performance artist/poet. He claimed that was something that the masses were robbed of seeing live since music was now her forte.

Either way, indeed he did an fantastic job on 'Wave'.

I'd really like to listen to that.

This is a pretty long interview. I had to watch it in segments, but its definitely worth your time.

Thanks; just added this to my queue to watch later.

[xxxMidgexxx]

So you're saying "New America" is your favorite Bad Religion album.

I have decided to deep dive into this album again today. Not as watered down as I remember. It's a different approach and I don't mind how "big" it sounds these days. Have to play it again a few times.