Rail On! gets a face lift! I archived the old page and added navigation "bars" to all of the archives, so they are easier to use. And I've also made extensive updates to my Cope pages. Lots of good stuff.

By the way, did anyone notice that I issued a new survey last week? No? Well, now that the page is nice and clean, here's a reminder! You can click on the "Surveys" link about to check it out. So far I've only gotten one respondent.

Gotta run, time for a fun-filled skiing weekend!

Take care,

Trav

Trav,

I've not had chance to check out the new pages but bring back the yellow please! This blue is horrible!

Cheers

Mark

Hi

Go away for 5 mins and look what happens

Right "LEPER SKIN An Introduction To" track listing

Phase One 1986-88

Shot Down/WSYM/Trampolene/Planet Ride/Transporting/Books/Charlotte Anne/Crazy Animal Farm

Phase Two 1991-92

Hanging Out &Hung Up On The Line/Soul Desert/The Mystery Trend/Pristeen/Double Vegetation/Upwards At 45 Degrees/Safesurfer

my copyis in a plain card diecut Island sleeve marked (advance listening copy not for broardcast or resale) as if anyone takes any notice of that

Not a bad comp but it could have been more exciting what about the unreleased stuff like the remixes of Soldier Blue and the 2 extra remixes of Head! yes they do exist and i'm still trying to find a copy

Russ

Just got this from the Coil Website

The musickian known as THIGHPAULSANDRA has joined COIL as a permanent member as of today. Thighpaulsandra is a member of SPIRITUALISED and QUEEN ELIZABETH (with Julian Cope), as well as working with Jodie Evans of ANAL. He is a classically trained musician who has made a long and deep study of the work of Stockhausen. He is a wonderful bright Pagan STAR in his own rite and I are very happy he accepted my invitation. Now we are 5 sided. Pentagrammatical. Complete

The blue actually looks better on my work computer, or maybe I'm just getting used to it...

Mark

Blue vs yellow... Sorry! Yellow was actually fine for me, and is probably more appropriate to Cope (he uses it on a lot of album covers) but I thought it would be helpful to make the Archives a different color from the active page. Also, I wanted to make it obvious that I've made some changes to the format.

Survey... Hey everyone, please take the Survey - the link is at the top. So far I have had 3 responses.

Live Cope CD... If you click on the Sounds link at the top, you can go over to the listening booth and hear some live Cope gigs that I've put online. If you want, you can tell me your favorite songs on those clips, and I'll add them to the list of candidates for the upcoming live Cope CD.

I went skiing this past weekend and took a friend along who is by now sick of me talking about Cope and Tolkien. He likes Lord of the Rings, but isn't the Tolkien freak I am, so as soon as I mention Tolkien he starts to groan and puts his hands over his ears. You know the reaction!

He responds similarly whenever I mention Cope, even though he'd never heard of Cope before I started talking about him. So anyway, this weekend in the West Virginia mountains where there are no radio stations I put on Peggy Suicide and I think my friend actually liked bits of it, although he didn't want to admit it.

The songs my anti-Cope friend seemed to like most were "Las Vegas Basement" and "If You Loved Me At All." I would never have guessed those two! They're great songs, of course, but I thought "East Easy Rider" and "Beautiful Love" were the two most immediately and universally likeable tunes. [I've never been a fan of "Beautiful Love" but lots of people seem to like it]

Anyway, do any of you get that sort of "Oh God, somebody shoot Julian Cope so I don't have to hear about him anymore!" reaction from friends, relatives, significant others? Have you been able to keep yourself from driving them crazy, or are you like me and have no willpower whatsoever?

Trav

Trav-

Get that kind of Cope reaction as well..did turn one brother onto him(the one I least expected)..still it was the early stuff...

Not the later drudian groove..(Love WSYM&Fried,don't get me wrong ...actually two of my faves)...Put him on for some people I think will like him and get the wandering ear..disappoints me,but everyone has their own thing...

As soon as my printer is back up,Trav,I'll do the survey..need to print out ponder it,y'see.....

ok...full dumb asking,but what is '..Mark Chapman' about really?

(yes,I know Who he is,but....)

seizure,

Steven

Ah, Jeez... I just tried to take the survey myself. Man, it's HARD!!!

The survey really forces you to get the albums out and look at their covers and song titles, and possibly re-listen to them. It's tough to get up the energy up to do this, but once you do, it's rewarding (no pun intended) to both you and the people who will read the results. At least, I hope it is!

The goal of this survey is really twofold: 1) give new fans an idea of what to buy next, and 2) inspire long-time fans to get re-acquainted with "neglected" albums. For instance, I really enjoyed listening to Autogeddon again just now; I always seem to forget about that album.

I suggest you fill out the survey over the course of a week or so, unless you're willing to tackle it all in one go. There's no rush, really. I'll give us at least a couple months. Maybe until the end of the month.

Trav

Most of my friends put up with my cope rantings but my wife finds it hard not only listening to it but the size of the collection

Hard, Trav? HARD?! If it was about anything other than the Drude (well, Aston Villa maybe) I'd have given up halfway through. Still, the final analysis should be good.

Having not trawled all of the Culture Bunker and Rail On archives (yet) I don't know if this has been mentioned before. However, the very wonderful (and cruelly underrated) Cathal Coughlan of Microdisney and Fatima Mansions fame had a side project called Bubonique. On their (only?) album "20 Golden Showers" (yes!) they cover Jelly Pop Perky Jean. Anyone who heard Fatima Mansions 'cover' Shiny Happy People or Everything I Do, I Do It For You will have a clue. It's interesting.

Leave it, leave it - you can't take it with you...

Hi,

There's a fine review of Julian in Camden in this weeks NME, they discribe him as 'a national treasure'. Which is nice.

Spacebound Kid

I managed to find in a cd/record fair in Manchester the cd single of "China Doll" which was amazing, bacause I was looking for that one for a couple of years, especially for the excellent "b sides". And the best of all is that I bought it for only 50p!!!

I am currently working on the survey and I realised that at the moment I really like the "My Nation Underground" album, the same one which I really disliked when I first listened to.

How people change is amazing....

One thing about the MA, it certainly throws light on some of the Drudes' song titles and lyrics. Not as mad as the press would have the world believe.

I've read it in books...

Yeah, I get the same reaction to everyone I play Cope to, except for my two ex-step children (16 &19), my daughter (8), and my musical partner Mickey. Mickey actually hated Cope when I first turned him on, though, after I started getting him to play some of Cope's tunes in our band without him realizing who wrote the songs he loved them. Now he's a Cope fan. My wife thinks Cope is terrible. She likes Country music, ugh! Also, my ex-stepson, Chris (who will be on Trav's next Interptreters CD, if were good enough, or, If he makes another one), is currently playing Bass for us. He says most of his friends hate Cope, also. I see many resemblences in Lennon and Cope. Do anyone else see familiararities? Not in Looks!

Lennon and Cope? Well they had their most succesful eary gigs over the road from each other as the Cavern and Erics were both on Matthew Street. But Julian's never seemed as bitter as Lennon sometimes did. Interestingly there's now a wall next to Erics (closed) and opposite the Cavern (half now a carpark) commemorating all the bands that played at the Cavern with a brick with the name of the band carved into it. One of the bands is Amon Dull(sic).

Speaking of which I know a guy who was a rocker in the 70s but they would occasionally go to Eric's as the rockers pub was just up Matthew St. too. He saw the Clash there! Probe records was also on Matthew St. untill they moved up to near Bold St. Old Probe is now a trendy clothes shop (and they put handrails on the steps-boo).

The line in that Teardrops song that goes 'And we all go down to Rodney St.' confuses me cos all there is on Rodney st of interest is a derelict church that has this wierd black pyramid in the graveyard (apparently the last resting place of a debt ridden gambler who was buried sitting up!).

As this is turning into a bit of a tour of Liverpool I know someone who lives on the next street to Laburnam Rd. and when I was at John MOores Uni we used CF Mott microscopes.

Laters

Mark.

I don't want to be too pedantic but it's actually 'Mathew Street' (one T).

Eric's Club has now become one of many theme bars that are springing up all over the place. The actual club downstairs is now a beer cellar.

Interesting point about the wall of bricks. Guess which bands *aren't* on there? Unless it's the Beatles, Liverpool does tend to shine its musical legacy which is a little sad.

Well there you go, I've not actually been down Mathew St. for a bit so I hadn't noticed that Erics had been made into a bar. I remember peering through the gap in the doors when it was shut and it being a graffitied mess...

The wierdest thing about the wall of bricks is that it claims to commemorate something like 'bands who played at the cavern and modern bands who follow in that legacy' or some such bullshit. ANyway they choose Oasis and Dodgy as the representatives of modern bands!?! I bet whoever decided that three years ago is feeling a bit daft now...

Mark.

I know this sounds suspiciously self-serving, but I'd just like to let everyone know how utterly cool I think the tribute CD is. Even if I weren't distributing the thing, everyone should go and get this CD. [In fact, if I weren't distributing it I would have plugged it a lot more aggressively than I have been.]

Tiny Children is really one of the rare CDs I have of which I never sick! Never! I've listened to it 30 or 40 times now, and I always get into it, never get fatigued. I might be totally brainwashed by now, but I just think it's a fantastic album!

Maybe it's the song sequence that grooves so naturally with me. Or maybe I unconsciously decided to like it so much because if I didn't I'd have driven myself crazy by now with all the previewing I do (I listen to each CD before I send it). But I really think there's more than that... there's gotta be!

I really do think the album is great by itself. It's strange to think that it consists of music recorded on cheap, hissy analog cassette tapes, by different bands with limited recording equipment and practice time, all spread over the period of 4 years! And yet it works! I don't get it!

It's not my own back I'm patting, really; it's the combination of Julian Cope's orignal writing and the bands' own writing and performances. The only things I contributed, in terms of musical content, were a single song and the track sequence.

Anyway, I just felt inspired to write this. I burnt another handful of CDs today, and hope to be visiting the post office this afternoon.

By the way, what do the other people who have the CD think? Honestly? Do you ever get sick of listening to it? Which songs do you really get into? Please don't butt-kiss (especially not me!); be honest! It'd be great if we could give the bands [and me] some honest feedback; it'll help them, and it'll help in the design of future tribute CDs.

Later!

Trav

This is pretty funny. It might be computer science humor, but I think it says something about people in general.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y-to-K Date Change Project Status
Our staff has completed the 18 months of work on time and on budget.
We have gone through every line of code in every program in every system.
We have analyzed all databases, all data files, including backups and historic
archives, and modified all data to reflect the change.  We are proud to report
that we have completed the "Y-to-K" date change mission, and have now
implemented all changes to all programs and all data to reflect your new
standards:
  Januark, Februark, March, April, Mak, June, Julk, August, September,
  October, November, December
As well as:
  Sundak, Mondak, Tuesdak, Wednesdak, Thursdak, Fridak, Saturdak
I trust that this is satisfactory, because to be honest, none of this Y to K
problem has made any sense to me. But I understand it is a global problem, and
our team is glad to help in any way possible.  And what does the year 2000 have
to do with it?
Speaking of which, what do you think we ought to do next year when the two digit
year rolls over from 99 to 00?
We'll await your direction.
  Thanks,
    MIS Y-to-K Project Manager
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        

Man, that's embarassing! I just noticed a HUGE typo on my Cope page in the section that talks about Interpreters. Instead of saying "I've never gotten sick of it..." I actually had "I've gotten sick of it." Ugh. This makes my head throb.

[Travis drops dead]

I will fix that typo and I will add a link to a page all about the tribute CD.

Travis

Y2K?

Easiest answer as far as computers go - BUY A MACINTOSH!!! No problem there as they have always been Y2K compliant.

As far as everything else goes, yes we should be worried, there won't be armageddon as some prdict, but chances are there will be disruptions to some services. Basically have a bit of extra food, some candles, water and some cold hard cash and the big thing is not to leave it to the last minute to take care of these things because, as the years goes on, I do think people will start to panic, its human nature. The Canadian Govt. have spent quite a bit on informing Canadians on what to look out for, they sent out an excellent information booklet about it all recently.

OK I know this isn't Copish, but bear with me please. The Canadian Govt has also banned all leave for military and police personnel from December onwards and are stationing troops in every major city across Canada as well as having navy vessels stationed off the coast around Canada. Which only leaves the question: Why? What do they know that we don't.

End of rant.

Okay, I updated my Cope page. There's now a lot more info about the tribute CD, including full liner notes and a cover scan. Clicking on the "CDs" link at the top of Rail On will take you to it.

My apologies for that "I've gotten sick" screw up. God, I feel like such a moron! That stupid typo was up there for almost a month! Argh!!!

Trav

I was wondering the other day... What would happen if everyone suddenly panicked, as you say, and tries to yank their money out of the bank in late December? There physically isn't enough cash for everybody. A run on the banks like that could actually cause serious problems.

Disasters don't necessarily have to have anything to do with computers. In fact, I trust the computers far more than I trust the people.

Hmmm...

Uh, pardon me, I just need to... uhh... slip off to the bank for a second... uhhh...

[whirls about, grabs keys and checkbook, and runs for the door]

Trav

What a lot of worry there is about the millenium bug. I take the millenium ostrich approach. By the time everyone has pulled their head out of the sand, which will probably occur around the 3rd or 4th of January 2000, the massive feeling of non event will be more likely to cause western society problems than a delay in accessing your finances. If there truly is not enough money to go round, then we'll have to start bargaining with food. Naturally this will leave some of us (like most of the worlds population) in a quandary. Of course, we could just print some more money and worry about inflation later on. Money money money money. I wonder how many people will look back and think, 'Oh what charming beliefs I had as a youngster.' When I was a new ager......Where Mr. Cope will always have my respect is that the ideas he has now are not those of a young man trying to find individuality - rather a man who lost identity and managed to start again.

Leaperskin an Introduction to Julian Cope has been released today and it should be available from most record stores. It is also good value for money costing only £9.99 in most stores or only £8.99 from MVC stores with an MVC card. as well as the 15 tracks there is a booklet containing a couple of photo, of which one I have not seen before. The booklet also contains lyrics to all the songs as well as details of which musicians feature on which songs and the instruments they are playing. It also states that Julian was consulted when Island was compiling The CD. So it is likely that Julian helped choose the track listing.

What is not contained within the booklet are any sleeve notes by Saun Hughes which I was expecting having seen the advert for the Introduction series placed in the February edition of Wire magazine which stated under Leaperskin: 'With sleeve notes By Saun Hughes' Having gone to the trouble of mentioning the fact that Saun Hughes will be providing sleeve notes why then have Island decided not to include any such notes. Perhaps someone else has some ideas why Isalnd have done this?

Apart from the lack of sleeve notes I still feel this is a good introduction to Julian and should appeal to Julian Cope fans especially those who are just getting into Julian's music for the first time.

Richard Winchester

The Boeing 747-400 has 35,000 date critical systems. The US and Russian governments have set up a special 'hotline' to deal with any accidental nuclear launches. Date critical systems in traffic lights fail on red. Experts predeict at least one of the worlds 400 nuclear power stations will 'go Chernobyl'. Proposed cut backs in the UK Territorial Army (hobby soldiers) have been postponed until after the millenium. The Chinese government are puttin high ranking officials on planes over new years eve as a gesture of confidence (or maybe they want to get rid of a few ministers...). The UK has spent proportionally more money on YK2 than any other country. Hospitals are so skint they're having to operate a 'wait and see' policy on life-support systems. The code that runs computers in banks is 75% unknown.

All because some one thought that we'd have like, written new operating systems before the year 2000.

Don't ya just love it

mark

A lot of people automatically say money is evil. Maybe Cope thinks like that? I don't know. To me, money represents the ability to:

• read JC's books [they aren't at the local library]
• read JC's music [need to buy CDs and stereo equip]
• check out all those Krautrock bands he talked about
• get Internet access so I can read about Cope and make web pages
• put together Cope tribute CDs
• travel to places talk about by Cope
• try out all the different drugs Cope talked about [just kidding!]

Seriously, though. Money lets us see different cultures [either on TV or in person], eat different foods, hear ethnic music, learn about science and math and music, make our own music, communicate with people all over the world like we're doing now...

Basically, without money, we couldn't SEE the world, we couldn't LEARN about the world, and we couldn't CONTRIBUTE to the world.

I think money is a GOOD THING. It is an excellent idea, allowing societies to reward and trade efficiently. Money represents a very personal slew of options; $50 can buy me 3 CDs, 10 books, 8 movies, a weekend camping trip, a party with my friends, a date with a girlfriend, a used amp for my system, a new tire for my car, cable TV for 2 months, internet access for 3 months, food for a couple weeks, etc.

Money is good. Even having more money than I have now would be good, because in order to get that money I will have had to have contributed [made life better for someone] *and* by spending money or putting it in the bank, I am in turn making it available to other people.

Greed in the form of hoarding is a different story. People who hide a ton of cash under their mattress aren't helping society. Neither are the bums, though. And neither are the communes of people who decided to give up money and "return to the earth".

Has any commune been self-sufficient for more than a couple years? I don't know of any communes who aren't [consciously or unconsciously] benefiting from the country's infrastructure, health system, and defense.

Those money-less people out there might be happy with themselves and each other, but in the long run, they are not helping to raise the standard of living for the ENTIRE planet. They are just helping themselves. They are being selfish, on that out-side-the-pack scale.

They say they are helping the environment or preserving some small kernel of goodness in human culture. To me, the *real* helpers are:

• people who invent eco-friendly products
• people who write songs which inspire people to go out and help the environment and other people
• heck, people who write songs which make other people feel "good"
• people in the space program
• people in any of the sciences
• people contributing to communications
• people in medicine
• people in politics

Face it, a wealthy politician or lawyer, what we consider the "lowest of the low" in terms of Individual Goodness, can do much more GOOD for the Earth and humans than a money-avoiding, back-to-nature naked guy. The naked guy isn't doing squat for anyone except himself and maybe his handful of similarly naked, selfish, pretentious...

Oooh, I've got myself all riled up here. Time to take a break and go buy myself some breakfast!

Trav, wearing his Republican hat this morning :)

"read JC's music." Sigh.

Trav

Errr, it sounded like I was pissed off when I wrote that big long thing about money. Sorry about that! I was just getting into the whole Devil's Advocate thing. All right, I'll shut up now.

Trav

..ok..not really keeping with the stream of $ here;this is more of a desperate plea..Does anyone know of any sites that still have copies ofFried?..I really need to find a new copy and it seems to be out of print/NA at all of the places I looked..help

Fried is currently on sale at:

• http://www.cdeurope.com/ -- $19
• http://www.tower.com/ -- $9 [original version]
• http://www.ab-cd.com/ -- $18 [reissue]
• http://www.bestbuy.com/ -- $10 [original]
• http://www.borders.com/ -- $9 [original]
• http://www.cdconnection.com/ -- $19 [*might* be the reissue]
• http://www.cdzone.co.uk/ -- L11, L9

I could *not* find it at these places:

• CD-Now
• German Music Express
• CD-Blowout
• Krypton Discs
• Amazon.com
• Albatross
• Island Records
• Rocktropolis
• CD Bargains
• CD Kings

There are of course tons of other places on the web but hopefully this will help get you started.

Trav

By the way, I kept an eye open for Rite at each of those sites but couldn't find it.

Trav

I'm mainly a fan of later Cope, but that's probably because I haven't heard a lot of Teardrops. Last week some kind of 80's site had the teardrops as artist of the week. I decided to check it out and I ended up downloading a song called ouch monkies. But due to my computer inexperience it didn't load in the right format. But now my curiousity is peaked. Strange song title.

Chris.

The one thing most experts are saying about Y2K is that there is a deffinate chance of there being a "run" on the banks in the months leading up to it. If only 20% of population tries to withdraw their money it will cause a worldwide recession and stock market crash equaling, if not exceeding the that experienced in the 1920s.

The best thing is just have a bit of cash, but get an updated print out of your balance before new years. Hey, how's it going to hurt you to have your ass covered?

In many ways I hope that the whole fragile system and our dependance on machines does come crashing down, so long as no one is hurt and people react peacably. I agree with Trav, that the problem here isn't the computers it is the people.

Anyway, this is a Cope discussion. There are a thousand and one forums out there for Y2K, let's keep focussed on reality - there's a new Cope cd out and live performances by the man happening!

Andrew

Trav-

Aces! thanks

Chris..'Ouch Monkeys' appeared on a Teardrop EP,but is also on 'Everybody Wants to Shag.."(the TE)

The Teardrops are well worth the time in persuing..great reward

sw

With regards to this LeperSkin thing...I think that we should remember what Julian said last time Island tried to release it (under a different title, just after they dropped him). Don't buy it, you've got all the tracks already, and if you must buy it get it from an independent record shop so it won't count toward chart position.

The space program, a good use of money??!? What about all the poor people living in sub-standard housing, in the Inner cities of both the uk and the us and the rest of the world. What about spending some of those billions clearing third world debt? In the UK we have a crap Health service and spend billions on arms, in the US you have to pay for health care! Incidentally if a UK arms company produces arms for another country (like they have for Indonesia etc.) and that country doesn't settle the bill, then the arms company is paid the ammount by the governmetn out of tax payers money. Nice.

eND OF RANT

Mark

Non-Cope: Mark, with regards to the space race... I'm speaking from an academic, idealistic, sci-fi reading college boy perspective. :) These are as close as I get to "religious" beliefs: I believe that life wants to propogate. Life on Earth can be regarded as a single [composite] organism; its universal fitness is not a measure of how well it feels, but how well it can propogate. It takes a certain amount of hygiene and selfishness to get to the point of being able to propogate. I think we are at that point now. You can think of the poor/sick people/countries on Earth as "just" damaged cells and organs. If we spread to the Moon and Mars and other places, then in the long run it doesn't really matter what happens to the Earth organism. Life doesn't intrinsically care if an animal is happy, just so long as it can produce viable offspring. Yeah, I know, I'm being totally impersonal [and maybe tactless] about it. But anyway I hope that explains why I mentioned the space race as being important.

I kinda agree with Andrew in that we should try to yank/spank ourselves back into focus. I don't mind talking about the religious, economic, and y2k stuff, but I realize it can drain our energy, make us frustrated with other, offend other readers, offend Cope if he ever does stop by...

Speaking of Cope [remember him?], I gave my sister Floored Genius for Valentine's Day. She says she really likes it, and wants more Cope! Cheers to memetics in action! :)

[I probably killed that term, but I think you get what I meme...]

:)

Trav

I've just picked up Leper Skin in my lunch hour - something to tell my doctor about! (Where did the 'grin' bit come from in earlier reports? I think Leper Grin is a better title). Anyway, I may have all the stuff on it, but it's a fine selection. It made me think of the question in Trav's survey about what I'd put on a tape. This wouldn't be exactly it, but a lot of it would be on there. Pristeen/Double Vegetation/Upwards At 45' in succession - a mother triumvirate of tunes if ever there was one.

I can't answer the question about the sleeve notes either, but the photo credits refer to many more pages in the CD booklet than there are so I guess it was a late change.

Russ - was your early copy a demo job? If so, did it have the notes and can you put 'em on Rail On for us all?

Julian Cope - the very sane...

Hi

No it came in a plain card sleeve

the grin came from a review in one of the magazines

must order my copy of the cd from Trav I just seem to busy at the moment. I'm picking my copy of Leaper today

Russ

hi

Just listening to Leaperskin

well i'm suprised how good it is to listen to

i've had the advance copy a while but its sealed so i did not want to open it. So it just shows that Island can sometimes get it right the money grabbing bastards

should have my Cope website up in a week or so (Oh not another one)

Russ

I think that Mark was right in his posting about buying the new album from independant shops. We all know that fans will buy it as they are not likely to let the Cope collection suffer on a principal. So best do it in the fashion which leaves the clearest conscience.

Haven't been into the site for a while but the Millenium excitement has even spread to these pages. My tuppence: Forget computers and cash crisis; the most important events will be perpetrated by all the nutters planning on celebrating in style. Every violent religious fanatic group on the planet will want to make their presence felt; there's going to be some impressive and costly fireworks displays, Remember the KGB losing these "suitcase" nuclear devices? Guaranteed one will show up in the 'states somewhere. Personally I'm goin to stock up on dried/canned food, water and 12 gauge cartridges.......

Wow, this site is really starting to take off. Took me my whole morning coffee to read the new posts. Good news for me, bad news for my boss...

Has anybody played 'Pristeen' for a non-Cope fan as an introductory tune? I did just that the other night. My friend made a face like he'd just had some rotten leaves stuffed up his nose.

I think that if somebody likes that song, they are definately a Cope fan. If not, they're just like everybody else. Lacking.

Derek

"Lacking." Love it, Derek.

In the survey Trav asked about questions for next time, and I suggested peoples favourite Drude puns. Why wait? Among my favourites are Jehovakill (natch), Charlotte Anne, Redirected Male (yeah, I know I've gone for that one before) and from a gig just after the birth of his second baby, the Drude's statement that he was now a pas de deux.

Anyone else got any good ones?

Battle ye not monsters...

I still think that Peggy Suicideis a pretty clever..oh..and there's another..darn..thanks Jon..time to flip through the discs..

"Pristeen" and "Uptight" are my least favorite songs on Peggy Suicide. Close behind them is "Beautiful Love."

Where are the puns in "Jehovahkill" and "Charlotte Anne?"

I understand "That'll be the Deicide"

Other song and album title puns:

• In-Psychlopaedia [encyclopedia]
• Saint Julian [there really was a Saint Julian]
• Trainsporting [transporting/trainspotting?]
• The Great White Hoax [the great white hope]
• Droolian [Julian]
• The American Lite [the American Life?]
• Christmas Mourning [Christmas morning]
• No Hard Shoulder to Cry On [shoulder as in road vs body part]
• The Mystery Trend [the mystery train]
• Julian H. Cope [Jesus H. Christ]
• Amethysteria [amethyst stone + hysteria]
• Cherhill Down [in the vocal version he says "Bringing Cherhill Down" I think, so it's down as in a landform and down as in direction]
• Autogeddon [auto + armageddon]
• Kar-ma-kanik [car mechanic]
• W.E.S.S.E.X.Y. [Wessex England + sexy]
• Elizabeth Vagina [Elizabeth Regina]
• The Dianaver [Diana + Ver]

What's a Chourney? If there really is such a thing, then we can add "I Went on a Chourney."

Ver has something to do with stones, right?

Interesting thread!

Trav

The pun in Charlotte Anne is verbal (charlatan) and Jehovakill is very layered (I think). The play on words (jehovah and overkill), too much god (an overkill of jehovah) and - as you mentioned - deicide (kill jehovah). And yes, That'll Be The Deicide is a belter - I'd forgotten about it. Thanks!

Can I also add By The Light Of The Silbury Moon?

Trav - the entries below yours have gone italic. Not a problem, but any reason?

Can't you see it's not a party...

Trav - they're not italic anymore. Must be my cranky old Mac.

Head-on...

I fixed the italics

Lest we forget 'Not Raving but Drowning'. And, although it's not really a pun as such the wierd was the Greatness and Perfection of Love actually says 'The greatest imperfection is love'

Mark.

Sorry should be 'the wierd way'

Mark.

JEHOVAKILL - of course, what an idiot, I never saw that before. I just thought he'd given his best album an unweildy, vitriolic (if appropriate) title. I shoulda known better.

I think my favourite has to be "That'll Be The Deicide" not just cause it's an excellent pun, but also cause it follows directly from Peggy Suicide and ties the two together. So are there any other big Buddy Holly hits that could be bastardised? The only other one i can even think of is "Oh boy" which doesn't have much scope. Pity, it could have provided a good title for Interpreters vol. 2. Oh well.

re: puns

i remember seeing cope in bristol a couple of years ago and he was wearing a pair of crazy fluorescent bridget riley style leggings.

somebody in the crowd asked where he got them to which he replied "i emitted them myself".

emitted-knitted, pretty punny eh ?

-donnie

I just noticed on the leperskin sleevenotes (even though it's also plainly stated on Peggy Suicide) that Mike Joyce played drums on Hangin' out and hung up..... Anyone know if this is the same Mike Joyce that was drummer the Smiths? I imagine it is (there can't be that many). I think Cope and Mozza should do a duet....

From his past comments I don't think Julian would go anywhere near that facist idiot

Mark

fascist? Nah.... Just misunderstood.

Today I recieved in the post a copy of the latest Issue of '3rd Stone'. 'The Magazine for the New Antiquarian'. Issue 33 January to March 1999. Contained within the Magazine is a good review of the Modern Antiquarian. Of the Gazzetteer they say the following:

"In contrast to the bland descriptions which make up some gazzetteers, these marvelous enthusiastic entries are a real pleasure to read, and best of all Julian fills his notes with an irresistible sense of self-depreciation which has him comming on like a very excited hipster Stukeley".

They then go on to say that the essays:

"Are rathur less engrossing. Julian certainly makes many interesting points and observations..."

The only criticisms of the book they have is the fact that "as a true believer in all encompassing prehistoric Earth Goddess much of the essay is a justification of Julian's Spiritual and mystical predilections". They also ctiicise his attitudes towards archaeologists of whom they say that "he doesn't have many good things to say about them"

They sum up by saying:

"Still, This Criticism doesn't spoil what is a singularly imaginative and wide-ranging guide to Britain's prehistoric sites. Just as importantly, The Modern Antiquarian will introduce a whole new bunch of people to the agreeable infirmity of megalithomania as well as inspire plenty of days in the field for more seasoned stone veterans"

To find out more About 3rd Stone Magazine visit their WEb Site at:

http://www.thirdstone.demon.co.uk/

Their site also has links to some good sites about Stone Circles.

Richard Winchester

For fear of getting into another off topic debate I'll close my end of the Morrissey debate with this quote (please correct me if it's slightly wrong, I'm quoting from memory):

"It's not that I hate Pakistanis, it's just that I've got an intense dislike for them"

What all of them? Every single one? And when he say's 'Pakistanis' we can but assume that he means all Asians. So he hates Gandhi?

Ho Hum.

End of my Morrissey hating thing,

Mark

PS my mate craig likes to sing 'I would go out tonight, but I won't because I'm shit"

The music press have been quick to label Mozza a fascist because he has written songs with titles like "Asian Rut" and "National Front Disco" (and because they love to seek out exciting "stories" that'll sell papers). Trouble is they don't actually bother to check what he's saying in those songs.

I'm not saying he didn't make that quote that you had below - he may well have done, but it wouldn't surprise me if he was saying it simply to take the piss out of some gullible music journalist. Still, it probably wasn't a very wise thing to say, whatever the reason, I'll grant you that.

So, idiot? Perhaps. But, fascist? I doubt it.

But, as you say, we're getting onto another topic. I'll leave it there.

Isn't that quote 'I emitted them myself' on the intro to Aint' But the One Way?

Someone asks about his Daffy Duck shorts, and the quote is his reply??

Derek

Nah, someone makes a reference to acid, which i never could quite make out and his reply is "it's all impregnated in my daffy duck shorts....I'll be selling of a few tabs later..........to the real heads" or sumfink like that.

That quote is something like:

(comically)"Actually it's all impregnated in my Daffy Duck shorts, I'll be selling off a few squares of it later" then somewhat menacingly "To the REAL heads"

Obviously a put down to the 'we know you're on acid' hecklers (almost as annoying as the 'REYNARD!' hecklers. Although I was tempted to shout that myself at the book signing in Manchester. For a laugh.

Incidentally, when we saw Julian at Phoenix in 199x (can't remember), he said that was the last time he would ever play Reynard, any sightings (hearings?) since?

Mark

Is, like, everyone monitoring this thing constantly today? by the time i've written a post another one's appeared!

Mark

Must be a slow day on the planet.....top chat though. Lets see, back to the puns, the only other two(and they're not very good) i can think of are "Scud-U-Like" and "Girl Call". Have we now got the definitive list?? I must say I think "Everybody wants to Shag...." while not a pun is a great trick/joke title. Much better than Kilimanjaro.

Later, St.

Not a definitive list yet (nor will it be after this) as I have a couple more to add.

Propheteering was very good, but the song didn't deliver on the excellent title. On the Head Heritage website, the Drude's poetry sits under the title Manic-dotes and Uni-verse.

Also, I'll pluck the other one I went for previously and is now tucked away in the archives - Citizen Caned.

Speaking of which, I really hope that Citizen Caned doesn't go the way of Propheteering, and does anyone know whether any of the rest of that planned album ever saw the light of day? Did any of it surface on Interpreter?

Everything is love and a pollution of that which was once love...

Just remembered 'Christmas Mourning'

Mark.

From the depths of Mike Hunt I am in pain,

A particular favorite

Mark.

Erm... the last message (or the one at 10.03.52) was me. Bad work day when I can't remember my name.

I'm just balanced so precariously...

on a similar note, the lines

"woke up in the fireplace, slept like a log"

or

"like a pig drawing a cartload of sausages and drawing my own conclusion"

-donnie

Ok, time to chirp in and thank you all: I am a girl and I live in Italy. I've been reading RailOn since last October and I read all the previous archives, so can I say I know you a little? Certainly I owe you something, for example all those new posts (their quantity and quality) really made my day better today. And thanks especially to you, Travis: if it wasn't for you, strange thoughtful American boy, all this could be my lonely dream.

Here's my contribution to puns and word plays, though not in Julian's own words: recently one of my pupils made a happy mistake and created the word 'Wonderfool', which I want to use as a title for a homemade Cope compilation I'm going to tape for my brother, and another actually wrote in a composition (divine inspiration, I think) that we had visited 'The "Bridgit" Council'! More directly Cope-related: some months ago, a close friend told me that in my enthusiasm for Julian I was beginning to sound like a Jehova's witness, to which I replied: "Jehovakill's witness, please," as if it didn't hurt.

And talking about bothering other people with JC and anything related to him, here's something that happened to me the other day. I was at the dentist's, having a tooth killed by this particularly talkative guy. He had been going on some fifteen minutes with his fingers inside my mouth, talking endlessly about his holidays in England and I was just thinking that could act as a sort of philosophical consolation to the patients, by showing them that there can be worse things than physical pain. Then, without notice, he started describing this place he had been to in the Orkneys, called Maeshowe. I was so surprised that I gave out a faint cry and he said in an understanding tone: "Yes, I know it can be painful now, but it'll soon be over..." and on he went with my tooth and with his story: he told me "everything" about Maeshowe, all the while sticking needles in my tooth. I endured all he did (and said), but couldn't help thinking that was a punishment for all the times I had deluged people (=my boyfriend, my friends, my colleagues, even my pupils) with the stones and The Modern Antiquarian. I only gave him a wild look when he said that inside the cairn he had met a funny man... the ticket seller.

Derek, what you wrote about Pristeen made me laugh so loud that my cat gave me that typical 'are you nuts?' look!

Anyway, I really like that song for its metaphor, because I think it gives a clever and true picture of a certain aspect in a relationship between man and woman (although I know the song is mainly about the way mankind exploits Earth), but maybe some issues just strike you differently if you're a woman. And it could be interesting to apply this concept to other Cope songs (Sunshine Playroom, The Tower, Lonely As A Cloud, just to mention some): I think I would "feel" them differently if I were a man... not to mention his theories, or call them beliefs. What do you think?

Bye for now.

Love to all from

Vava.

Just about to leave this company , but before I do it's about time I spoke to some Cope Heads and got some feedback and E-mail addresses to take to my next job.

Talk about Hero's ~~~~~~~

I never thought that I would ever hold a Musician in such high esteem as Mr Cope!!

From my first ever concert in the Royal Court in Liverpool in 1986 to my total infatuation in 1999 the story has developed.

I think the best feeling ever was walking to one of the sites in 'the modern antiquarin' on new years day 1999 and realising why he had spent 8 years writing the book ...... everything fell into place

I will continue corresponding if I receive some replies

Speak to you all soon Steve

Vava-Voom, what you were saying about sunshineplayroom etc. reminds me of something i remember julian saying in a mid-80's interview about how it would "feel to get fucked as a woman" i.e. the idea of being the penetrated one v. the penetrator. rail on!

Just looking through the archives and I came across an interview from JC taken from Vox and typed by Jo Hart. Excellent stuff, shows just how focussed he was on the Modern Antiquarian from the beginning. Well worth a look if you haven't seen it before, it's at the end of archive 3.

Bit quiet today?

Have a good weekend y'awl,

St.

Wow!

Welcome all new faces!Been away for a few days and just look what happened..delightful..

Almost knocked myself silly slapping my forehead as I read the puns..lots of 'of curse's and 'missed that one's! Just adds to the respect I already have for Julian..never thought I'd meet so many people that admired him as I do..from the sounds of it,maybe I will pick up LeperSkin after all...make a good started kit to give to a Cope novice..The first taste is free,y'know....

Vava..always liked Cornu-cope-ia as a comp tape title...

(odd bit...although when I say it my mind twists it to 'crane your cornea'..don't ask me why)

take that..ha-ha-hee-hee-ho-ho....

Steven

(one of a plethora)

...should have added..."his sense of humor" to my post pun/pre-respect comment

Also..although I figured it was intended to be 'Deicide' on the JehovahKill back cover.. mine says, "That'll Be The Decide"...loses a little..

sw

Though not strictly Drude puns, I find it hard to believe he didn't have a hand in these from the 2 non-Cope albums on Head Heritage.

From the Anal album is the excellent E-Wrecked. From the Universal Panzies album is the wonderfully silly Transcendental Floss.

People disagree with their heads full of E...

Mr. Zvonko: my observation on JC's songs hadn't much to do with the sexual side (it sure has a part in the story, but I'd rather keep it to myself). I meant it more in the sense of what William Burroughs once wrote, that 'women are not only a different sex, but a different species than men.' And I think Cope lyrics, and his attitude as well, gave me some interesting points about the way these two species look (and have been looking) at each other.

I know why the list is quiet tonight: I bet you are all watching the Festival of Sanremo on your satellite channel!

Bye,

Stupid Vava

The Cover picture and main feature in todays Times Newspaper, Magazine (Saturday 27.2.98)is on Julian Cope. It is a 4 page feature and includes an Interview as well as exclusive pictures taken of Julian at Averbury.

Richard Winchester.

Please email me with dates of the spoken word tour of "The Modern Antiquarian" commencing in Leeds on March the second.

TOUR DATES FOLLOW...

January 1999 CE

Hello and Happy New Year. It's been beyond busy around here since October. Julian's book has been a huge success, and so has the Head Heritage offer for £5 off most shop prices. We are only now beginning to surface... So, for one who naturally hates emails in any case, these have been neglected. If anyone is reading this who has tried to contact us via email over an urgent matter and has not had a response, our apols and please could you send a letter, fax, or phone.

Julian's new Address Drudion for this site goes into more detail about how well The Modern Antiquarian has been received, no small thanks to his faithful fan base. Do you think folks might finally stop thinking he's crazy now??? The book tour was also a great success - nearly every stop was sold out. Julian enjoyed it so much, particularly the opportunity to meet people during the signing sessions, that he and his publishers have arranged a more in depth tour - Julian outlines his plans for this on his page in this site. Again, he'll be signing copies of the book and for those of you have been sitting on the fence not sure whether to buy it, it'll be for sale on the night (as will a new Queen Elizabeth CD!).

In answer to my own question!

"Spoken Performance Modern Antiquarian"

MARCH
Tues 2nd Leeds Irish Centre
Weds 3rd Sheffield Leadmill
Thur 4th Milton Keynes Stables Theatre
Fri 5th Brighton Sallis Benny Theatre
Sun 7th Cambridge Junction
Mon 8th Liverpool Everyman Theatre
Tues 9th Birmingham Glee Club
Weds 10th Gloucester Arts Centre
Fri 12th Bristol Watershed
Sun 14th Manchester Dancehouse Theatre
Mon 15th Aberdeen Lemon Tree
Tues 16th Glasgow Arches
        

Does anyone know how I can contact Julian Cope, I know he lives in Avebury in Wiltshire, I live near Devizes which is pretty close.

I have a friend who is doing a photography diploma and really wants to photograph Julian.

Any help would be gratefully received.

Hey guys! Just got back from another ski trip. :)

I fixed the italics again. What's happening is that people (and I've done this plenty of times too) sometimes forget their closing HTML tags, or mis-type them. So, if you use HTML, please be extra careful, because there's no way you guys can fix the typos.

Okay, off to check J's address on HH! :)

Trav

Leper Skin - as I've got it with me at work I'm playing it quite a bit. I'd forgotten just what a storming version of Books this one is. Wonderful.

Also made me think what a cracking song it is - whoever wrote it. I mean, how many songs has he recorded 3 times for public release?

What a man. If it wasn't for Dorian (and a couple of minor technical legalities) I'd ask him to marry me.

Since I lost my head, it's awlright...

Vybik John,

Books was one of the songs that Julian and Ian McCulloch(Echo&the Bunnymen) wrote back when the were still mates.Remember reading an article in NME way back when Fried came out...Julian was just slamming Mac and his songwriting...always liked both bands,but my how Julian has shined far more brightly..head student of the (remember)'new psychedelic' class..

If you listen to the song you'll notice that Julian edititorializes on the line "You said that I spend my lfe chasing rainbows",by adding'"I say thats a cliche phrase and anyway..."...musta been a writers dispute;or just a good dig..always liked that..

who wants love without the looks?

Steven

.....or was that whoever wrote it facetious?

no matter..felt like babbling anyway..

Tah!

crazy?... I always thought of Mr. Cope as one of the more sane of the bunch. Why is it that those who think outside the box are labeled as crazy, starstruck, etc.. Thankfully, Jules chooses to ignore the critics, and naysayers and continue to do what he does best, entertain us, expand our minds, and enlighten our poor miserable unsaved souls.

What is this Leperskin everyone continues to mention, did I miss a release of something? I checked Island.UK, but didn't see anything, although, I do belive Julian is one artists pictured in the 'C' section, upfront in the middle. Let me know if I am mistaken. Currently listening to The Skellington Chronicles (a lot), which I received a while back with the Modern Ant. "Head"y stuff indeed, how about the groove on 'Poppins'?

covered in sin...

i bought the modern antiquarian in dublin last christmas and it rewired my brain. my father died last october and one of his last wishes was to visit ireland one more time. my mother and a couple of friends made that trip possible and they visited ireland during the summer. dad was in a lot of pain but the trip did him good. during that trip they finally managed to find "killeen cormac", a sacred druid burial site, close to a small place called "dunlavin". my mother told me that my father, though weakened that he was, literally jumped over the fence like he was suddenly seventeen.

after he died, we decided to go to killeen cormac (for me and my wife it was the first time we visited ireland) and leave a stone there in his memory. when i was seven my father opened up my world. we went to britain and saw glastonbury, avebury and an incredible amount of stone circles and holy places. and now, thanks to julian and his modern antiquarian, i'll be able to do the same favor for my son when he is seven. i'm already preparing the trip.

jeroen

It was indeed facetious, Steven, prompted by a fairly recent comment from The Mouth that he wrote it with no input from the Drude at all.

I know Julian's shot his mouth off about McCullough in years gone by (as he did about Courtney) but I think he's mellowed a lot, or grown up, or both. I agree that he has come out of it better, musically and integrity wise.

Bet the Drude never wrote Robert Mitchum either.

Me and Jimmy Jones had a falling out...

SCOTT WALKER!!!!!

Bet the Drude didn't write Scott Walker either, Mark. Neither do I think Scott Walker wrote Books or Robert Mitchum.

It's been a long day, folks.

We discussed and discussed your disgusting routines...

Hi just thought Id say something ..It has been ages since I have stoped by here.

No, it was just that I got 'Scott 2' at the weekend. I never realised how much of an influence he was on Julian until I heard is voice, and on some songs Julian 'does' Scott to a tee.

Anyone know which are the best of Scott's other records?

Mark

scott 4 is without a shadow of a doubt his finest hour, also one of the greatest albums ever made.

1 and 3 and also good, anything else could go either way, wildly experrymental (tilt) or just plain naff (stretch)

i think julian has never sounded more like scott than on the track china doll, its uncanny.

anyway heres a handy cut out and keep bio:

http://www.frankenstein.com/castle/rooms/scottwalk/scotty.story.html

-donnie

spaceship mark..glad you found Scott Walker..he is cool,innit he?I only have the Walker compIts Raining Today (just too many CDs out there,so little time/$),but I'd persue him further if I could...

jeroen..a very beautiful and thoughtful post,thank you for sharing it

Hi

My web page is up but it still needs alot of work on it

the Teardrop explodes discography is all but finished a couple of photos to go. The Julian Cope discography still needs the singles formating and the photos adding. i have to start work on the other sections. I'm doing a site for work at the moment so i don't get much time to work on my own

Russ

Sheffield tomorrow can't wait

Scott Walker

I can rember seeing the Scott Walker show on TV my mum made me watch it. I have all of his Lp's and the reissues on Cd. I have alot to thank my mum for

Russ

sorry about the multiple posts there

my browser just went bannanas

-d

good evening .... this is a distant echo from the past ......

how the heck is everyone?

apologies for my absence/lack of input etc ... had a fairly turmoil ridden eight months or so ... the outcome of which is that i am no longer a (low) flying star wars entrepeneur (if indeed i ever was!) .. but am now one of the unwashed student masses studying my real love ...... Music.

anyways i'll be at sheffield tomorrow with my good lady (which is why i'm posting)and i'll be wearing a damo suzuki's network t-shirt should anybody bump into me please feel free to introduce yrself!

now my act is somewhat together again i shall try to contribute a little more to all things drudewise .... i'll start with a major overhaul of my copesite ... hopefully over the next two or three weeks...MEGALITHOMANIA will arrive!(eventually)

Danke

HEX

i'm sure me an gribbles can start some sort of interesting debate up again <VBG>

Any match reports from last night? Or the night before?

Mark

PS Select magazine has Julian in Brighton (and the rest of the tour) in its recommended calender for March.

Well last night was the strangest night of my life. (Leeds Irish centre). It got weirder when an Amaerican girl decided to snog Julian...

Mark Silver

oih Mark, you can't leave like that you old tease!! Come on, give us the full run down on the nights activities.

St.

{Gribbles staggers into the room, blinking in the light]

Wow. Been a long time folks...

Theres *so* many people here <GRIN>

[shuffling sound as Gribbles digs through the Rail on Archives...]

I just thought I'd throw in an adjunct to the Cope wordplay thread. In this month's Uncut they review Leper Grin [sic?]. The reviwer (didn't get his/her name 'cos I was only flicking through in the the newsagents &I've slept since then<G>] cites a track called 'Going up at the 45 degrees'. (or just 'up at the 45 degrees', I can't quite remember...)

Sheeesh!

Gribbles

Hi,

Saw Billy Bragg last night at the 'Lemon Tree' in Aberdeen. I know, I know! At the end of the set Billy said:

"For all you Julian Cope fans, we will be burning an effigy of him in the next door church car park at midnight"

Does anyone know of why there should be friction between the two?

Cheers,

John.

Dunno, but they do have the same guitar tech in Mr. Rizla Deutsch

Mark.

Well went to Sheffield last night had a good chat with Julian and all that . he could have done with an extra hour of so for the talk . But the main question i asked him was when can we expect a new cope lp ............... Late 2000

ARRRRRRGGGGGG

But we should have a new book sooner

Russ

Spacehopper was played for a few seconds on The Holiday Show last night on BBC1!!! I'm still quietly listening in the background of your Rail On pages. Does anyone know what has happened to Michael Mooney (Moon-eye)? I think I heard that he joined Spiritualized (didn't they all) but last time I saw them (on TV) I couldn't make out if it was him or not.

Thighpaulsandra and Michael Moon-eye are both in Spiritualized. Mike's hair as grown quite a bit since the mohican of the Propheteering tour though!

ANother Cope pun (kind of): An Audience With The Cope and also the Copeulation video.

Mark.

Thanks, Spaceship Mark - those two had got lost in my head too, and they're very good. The Audience one especially.

But I can't keep the fire away...

Thanks, Spaceship Mark - those two had got lost in my head too, and they're very good. The Audience one especially.

But I can't keep the fire away...

Hello! Just found your site. Heck, lots to read but thought I would make a contribution. I've not had time to go back through the archives so perhaps this has been dealt with before but:

has anyone noticed the almost exact resemblace between a part of Ver on Rite(squared) and a section of the long instrumental bit on the second side of In the Wake of Poseidon (King Crimson '69). As it all segues into each other i' not sure which bit it is but it's the Devil's Triangle et sub. You know!

So what is going on. Is Copey a closet Crimhead? Or is Thighpaulsandra the culprit? It think we should be told. Or is it convergent evolution and Fripp just got there 20 years earlier. Or is it the "Wiltshire sound" and our man has been secretly creeping off to Salisbury to see laughing boy.

More of this drivel another time perhaps. Keep up the good work. Believe it or not I'd not twigged Charlotte Anne until reading your site! Thick?

Hi

I've finished the discography on my web site (just the cope sleeves ect to place) added a for sale page/inserted the biography and family tree/updated the fanzine in the discography section and the postcard section in the photos area.

its taking shape and will soon be finished (i hope!!)

Russ

I have also just started to sort out my live cassettes the early to mid teardrop stuff is ace brings back a lot of memories!!

to spaceship mark &don bosco, last night i when i was stoned and listening to "i got my tv &my pills" (Interpreter version) i noticed that song has some of julian's most scott-like delivery &voicings of all esp. the "they keep on skinnin' away..skinnin' away..", but alot of it really.

i love that song, too.

Does anyone know where I can get hold of QE2 ?

Or poss exchange for Anal on dat/cdr not cassette.

....seconds on the QE2 request....I f I have to wait til late 2000 for a release..I'm going to need provisions!

(stocking the culture bunker?)

tah

care

sw

Just returned from seeing Julian at the Junction. As usual it was a highly enjoyable talk. Whilst at the signing afterwards Julian was talking at great length to many fans. What seemed to please him was that fact that many Archaeologists think the book is great. These include Timothy Darvil and Aubrey Burl who have both written books on Megalithic Britain.

Julian also mentioned that in October this year Queen Elizabeth will be playing a one of concert in London. He has already made enquiries as to the booking of a venue in London and has had replies from several venues wishing to host the performance. He also said that it is likely to be a 4 hour show. I for one am looking forward to seeing QE live though whether I will be able to stand 4 hours of live QE music is a different matter.

Richard Winchester

Hi kids, I have some old Pure Joy mags forsale, anyone interested?

e-mail me with swaps or what have you!

music for the ears. spontan

Being new to this site, having stumbled across it on route to Cope's Head Heritage thing, it has been interesting to read your comments on Julians past and present work. I've been into Cope's music since 1981 and the Teardrops right through to Interpreter,( yes, I'm 33yrs young) having seen him five or six times in this period,(the peggy/jehova period being the most togethter set 'live'). I would agree with all of you who cite Peggy Suicide and Jehovakill as containing an artistry, fluidity and essentially a 'magical'quality that perhaps other albums such as Autogedden, 20 Mothers etc, contain only in fleeting glimpes. But because of julian's deeply introspective, third eye approach to his art, he will always reflect his current mental state and perceptions, conciously and sub-consciously, onto the music, the vehicle to his visions. His unwitting untogetherness (drug or otherwise orientated) at periods in his musical adventures, is in fact, part of his personal charm and honesty that draws us to affiliate with his own triumphs and tribulations.I feel that I have grown up with his music, having no favorites of Julian's as such, because certain tracks and albums excite different pleasure states in me at different momenets: but I remeber beieng completely freaked to fuck on hearing Jehovakill, mainly beacuse of it's strong spiritual intensity. There are no bad Cope songs, just Cope songs. Oh, by the way, I've met Julian twice wondering around Silbury Hill and Averbury, living only a stones throw away myself, he was walking his two daughters around and I was walking my two twins. I always found him very unassuming, shy and off guard, particularly when he's with Dorian, and nothing like the St. Julian, god-like status which is perhaps more media hype than fan appreciation.

I was talking to Julian once about that channel 5 documentary about Ozzy Osbourne and he was saying how he and Dorian have a similar relationship. She has to run things so Julian can be 'out there'. And he's always getting told off for talking to people when he's supposed to be watching the kids/cooking the tea/writing a book/doing an interview.

Laters

Mark.

PS Has anyone ever seen Ozzy tell the story about the alcoholic midget? Funniest story ever (well almost).

The Modern Antiquarian in Birmingham. I saw the Drude last night and I feel better for it today. As I'm supposed to be working at this very moment I'll leave my impressions of the gig until later, but the news update is:

Definitely no Cope album until 2000

The QE gig will be at the QE Hall in London (nice touch I thought) in the Purcell Rooms (?). Taking place some time in October.

However, I might have got this wrong and it could be that there are 2 gigs planned - the QE Hall and the Purcell Rooms. Keep watching the Head Heritage website he said or QE Hall listings.

Hang 'em on the line, next to mine...

It is often mentioned by music critics that Julian Cope is the modern day Syd Barrett ( ex Pink Floyd founder !967-69: see Piper at the Gates of Dawn), arguably because they are both renowed English eccentrics who use the music medium, and have infamiously expanded their cerebal cortexses in various ways. However, the fact most people ignore in this comparrison is that both view their music as art. Julian mentioned in one interview that the fact his passport read 'musian' often wound him up, much as Barrett, a former art student in London, found it restricting to be thought of as such. For Syd, the music was his painting, a personal statement of expression, a one off compistion that he found difficult to reproduce live( although Cope is more of a performer), and may have led to his reclusive pychosis dimise latter on. I would'nt be suprised if this is not dissimiliar to Julian's own philosophy and approach to his own 'art', although musically, Julian's music is probably more rooted in a melodic astral sense. In Barrett's autobiography (1990), Julian writes a foreword suggesting that Syd was the ultimate genius behind early Floyd success and although Floyd went on to be massive, Barrett's contribution was instrumental in touching and changing many musical heads. As mentioned check out 'Pipers' and if you can 'The Madcapp laughs' solo album, the latter being in my top ten 'out of my tree' list. Ending with Julian, there is difinitley a corralation there, particularly when you think of the diversity in atmosphere, style and continutiy from one album to the next. e.g Comapre Teardrops to Peggy Suicie and Peggy with lets say Autogedden. We know the Cope essence is there and the musicians (Donneye, Cosby et.al for the solo stuff) are pretty much the same but the differing vibes derive form Cope brush strokes. One message I read here suggeted that Jehovakill was a very 'blue' album etc.., thats exactly what I belive Julian does best of all.

P.S check out early Hawkwind, Pink Faires, Amun Dull II, Roy Harper, same vibe... different colurs. thanks for understanding. Love Guru

The Birmingham gig was one of the later ones on the tour, so I guess most of those who were going to go will have been and know what it was about. However much I was pleased to be there just because it was Julian, I still can't make my mind up about it. A bit like the book really - pieces of eye opening brilliance and untogether passages that seem to lose themselves.

Mind you, when your subject matter is Neolithic people and their environment I guess it would be unfair to expect total clarity. Many of the sites disappeared or destroyed, little or no contemporary records - a tall order. Overall it was worth it and he put in a fine performance with some very funny moments. The Cult of Reynard story was lovely.

Maybe all the truly great explorers start off this way - unwavering belief in their ideas and a fervour to take it out to other people. The more he gets into it, the more lucid and convincing it's going to be. He knows he's on to something, you can see it in his eyes, but it's not completely coming over to the audience yet.

I wasn't sure about the whole idea of seeing the Drude outside of his music, but he pulled it off. On the same basis I'll also board the Queen Elizabeth in October, but that may be more of a strain.

Cedric Brown says it hurts when he smiles...

As I'm one of the unfortunates that didn't get a copy of QE2, can one or two of you out there give me some impressions of it ? The description on H.H. sounds so good..what can anyone add ?

Thanks alot.

Hi

I'm putting a photo page of fans photo's on my site if anyone has any then scan them and e-mail them to me at the above address.

Russ

Come on ! - Someone must know where I can get hold of a copy of QE2

Hi

My site has changed again! I have updated a few pages.

Another big update should happen over next weekend.

Russ

re. : Ladies and Gentlemen we are playing on words

( and related stuff )

Sorry, I am late, but look out !

1. Starcar - probably refers to Starr Carr, a Mesolithic site in Yorkshire, mentioned in the MA
2. Mavis Grind, Dorian's nickname - Mavis Grind separates the North Sea from the Atlantic Ocean up at Shetland ( also in MA )
3. Ambulence - ambience / ambulance
4. E cho S pecial P rojects ( QE 1 )- E xtra S ensory P erceiption ???
5. Rite 2's D - c.o.m.p.o.s.e.r. - one of Julian's favourite musicians, Mikhail Chekalin, once released "Concertos for decomposed electric organ" ...
6. Planetary sit - in - there is a track by the Cosmic Jokers called "Planeten sit - in" ( Planeten is the German word planets )
7. Jehovahkill's "Akhenaten" - "Akhenaten" used to be a king of Egypt, who tried to establish the worship of the sun as the only religion in Egypt ( 1353 - 1335 BC )
8. 20 mother's "I wandered lonely as a cloud" - Anybody who does not know the famous poem by Bill Wordsworth ???

---------------------------------------

re : to Wickerman

I have got a spare copy of QE 2 left.

You can send me a messsage if you want to do a deal.

----------------------------------------

re : QE 3 / tour

any news on QE 3 ? Is it cancelled ?? Postponed ??

any news on the tour ? Anything fixed already ??

Yours,

Marc

Re: QE3,

It's gonna be a double, they've got two offers to play, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Rooms. The track Julian was using in Manchester was QE3s 'Beyond Rome', which appeared to consist of people going 'ooooooommmmmmmmmoooooooaaaaaaaaoooooommmmmm' for a LONG time!

Viva Cliff Richard, a pagan to Christ!

Mark

Today I received in the post a copy of Issue 3 of the Echo and The Bunnymen fanzine "Watchtower". It contains an exclusive Interview with Paul Simpson (SKYRAY).

In the Interview Paul talks about Julian Cope's Book Head On and the early days of the Teardrop Explodes. Which I thought would be of interest to readers of this site. He says the following:

"... It was the same with the Teardrops. No one could understand why I left on the verge of them being big. I met Julian outside Eric's in a queue, and he was carrying a copy of the Modern Dance Album, by Pere Ubu, which I had just brought. So we started talking about it. We were both massive fans. So the Teardrops were formed out of this. Mick Finkler, the original Teardrops guitarist, was a big Captain Beefheart Trout Mask Republica fan. He came off really badly in Julian's book.

Julian fired him didn't he?

"Yeah just before they signed and got their advance and went to do the first Album, they sacked Mick, and he was a big part of the early teardrops. No one knows it, because Julian never really acknowledged it in print. I didn't think I came of particularly well in the Teardrops book, considering "The Teardrop Explodes" is my name--I found it! And I wrote Camera Camera y'know? And that stuff was a big part of where we came from. It was weird shit. As the months went on, I was getting more and more frustrated because that influence stopped being part of the band. Julian was trying to do Touch Me by the Doors., trynna bring pop into it, and these visions of brass didn't interest me at all. So I left, and, although we stayed friends, I don't think he really forgave me for that. In Head On he doesn't mention the thinks that me and Mick brought to the sound Teardrops at all. I think Julian really did go wrong. I hate saying that--I like what he's doing know, I like the way he's just following his vision completely-- but I don't think he always was. If you look at early photos of the Teardrops, just after the first album, he's got all these session players in with mullet haircuts. How did that happen? When the Bunnymen looked great right through and the Wild Swans looked Great. I mean you might not think it's that important."

...What else about Julian's book did you think was inaccurate?

"Julian's got an amazing memory. There are things in that book where he remembers things in amazing detail, things I was involved with That I had forgotten. And I thought, "Hang on... if he can remember all these events in such detail, then he can remember everything." He's obviously chosen to omit certain things that don't paint him in such a good light. But now, I've got nothing but fond memories of that time, and the Teardrops and Julian I don't blame him...it's his story, it's not my story or Mick's story."

His book Magnetic North he has been working on for several years has been temporarily put. He says when the time is right he might release it Possibly on Ochre Records. He says " There's a lot of Julian Stories, and a lot of acid stories. At the time, I was so into punk that I didn't realise how desperately Julian was trying to be Jim Morrison.!"

All Quotes are From Issue 3 of "Watchtower" The Bunnymen fanzine Details on how to order a copy can be found on the official Bunnymen site:www.bunnymen.com

Richard Winchester

I'm dying for a new album I think it's great that Julian's working on his books. And from what I understand MA is Hugely important. But it is not a Julian Cope Album.

Had a particularly nice day yesterday..gorgeous out..a tad cool,but spring like(joyous equinox all)..had gone out for some errands and picked up my replacement copy of Fried that had arrived at Borders(thanks for the lead Trav)..got home to find two packages awaiting me..one containg the Zoo compilation..a nice period piece to have...and the other holdingPiano...

needless to say it was a very 'walk in the sun and groove to the Drude' kinda day..

how dee ?

cope is coooooooool maan. we've shared many a blitzed time.

Hi

I've inserted most of the photo's I have and just tarted the site up a little. I will be placing larger images on the site as soon as I get more web space.Just the news and links pages to finish at the moment.If you do visit please leave your comments on the guestbook page

thanks Russ

Hi y'all,

I'm off to work in Carnac, Britanny on Wednesday so unless I can find some form of internet access out there I won't be posting for seven months!

So I just thought I'd say bye and cheers for all the insights...

Head Heritage sampler news: 'We'll be hastling you for a tape at some point' said Julian to me. So I'm still holding out, maybe it'll be out before the millenium!

Anyway I may stick me nose in before I go but TTFN,

Mark Spaceship

Blackpool, March 22nd 1999CE

Say hello to the stones when you're over there, Mark, and let us know when the spaceship lands in Britain again.

I've got Megalithomania...

Hey guys!

I just got back from Spring Break in Colorado. Lots of skiing, scenery, and time to plan the rest of my life! Did I plan? As Cope would say, "No, not really."

Todd, I finished your CD and will mail it today. :)

Paul B, thanks a ton for the issues of Screaming Secrets! Guys, these mags are great! They are funny, insightful, and honest. Well worth checking out.

Wickerman - sorry the image didn't inline correctly. The problem is that the URL got auto-expanded. I'll try to remember to fix the image when I archive this page, which should be sometime soon.

I can't get over how cool Screaming Secrets is... There's a review of the bootleg of the same name. This makes me want to dig up that boot (I have it on tape somewhere) and make a CD version of it. But that'd be clearly illegal, eh?

My Cope Carnival-related goals are to release Interpreters 2 and the first "Best of the Boots" live Cope CD by the end of the summer. I plan get my master's degree and move out in August and after that I have no idea where I will be. Ideally, I will be living out of a backpack somewhere in the NorthWest. I guess I can paste up a "Will Code for Food" placard if my funds sink too low. :)

I'm really not ready to return to the world of cubicles, carpools, and communal coffee. Been there, done that, ya know...

I know this is wayyyy off topic, but if any of you are strategy game players, Heroes of Might and Magic III is mega-addictive, the best commercial computer game in my opinion. Hence my scarcity on Rail On! :) It'd be fun if someone could put together a scenario based on the sites in the Modern Antiquarian! What an odd juxtaposition that would be!

All right, enough geeking!

Um, the survey... I completely forgot about it. I remember that it took me two days to put together my answers for it. So far I have 6 responses. If I can get, say, 20 responses, then I'll tabulate the results. I've half a mind to scrap it and start a new one, but that'd be unfair to those of us who actually pushed through the whole thing. So, please try the survey if you haven't yet. Thanks!

So, Mavis Grind = Dorian, really???

Trav

Tah ssmark...

.....and all your ships at sea

you'll be most assuredly missed

Be Well

Steven

Spaceship Mark!

My wife and I will be visiting Carnac sometime during the week of April 18-24. Would love to meet up with you. Email me at mrrunion@palmnet.net if you have any inkling of how we might find you!

Hi,

I believe this will be my very last posting. Mike; I'm not sure if i will be in Carnac by then but if I am I will be at Camping La Grande Metairie which is off the road that runs by the Kermario alignments. Go to reception and ask for Mark from Canvas and if I'm there by then I'll be there. I'll say hi and chat and stuff and hang if I am.

Bye Y'all

Mark

Hi

I have recieved a copy of the MA virgin promo CD. I will be placing pictures and info about the disc in the news section on my page sometime today. As i suppose real work has to come first sometimes.

Russ

Thats better tell its early morning can't you good job i noticed the address was wrong

Russ

HELP,

I'm a big fan of Julian. I first saw him in London, in the Sheppards Bush Empire, it was excellent! I've noticed on the 'Trampolene' web site that there is a recording of that gig 7.10.95, so can anyone give me the email address of the person selling them? Thanks.

Tim.

TRAV!! Great job on tribute cd.Billy gave you the wrong credits on the billy and mickey songs,though.If you care,I,ll give them to you.All I,ve seen is good response to the songs.

Trav,

Screaming Secrets Bootleg: Transfering it from tape to cd can't make it any less or more illegal than it already is, so I would say go for it. I wouldn't imagine that the original bootleggers would press charges, although the cd does contain studio and radio broadcast material which could be a bit tricky.

Tim Jeays:

I am the Trampolene person. Email me at common.era@hotbot.com and we can arrange something. I would have emailed you direct but you didn't leave your email address!

Andrew

Unrelated topic:

I am moving April 1st and so my old email address will be defunct. I can now be reached at: common.era@hotbot.com

Relocating from the wet coast (yes, I do mean wet) to a town just south of the north pole (!) called Fort McMurray, Alberta, where I have a new job.

Andrew

I first "got into" Julian's music in 1990. I had heard him before this time, but for whatever reasons his music never really leapt out at my ears. I tend to think his late 80s stuff suffers from slick production.

Then along came "Peggy Suicide." I've noticed a lot of the fans pick "Jehovakill" as their fave, but for my money I'll take "Suicide" first, which isn't to say I don't love "Kill", it's just that "Suicide" has that extra fraction of musical magic for me. "Kill" has moments of filler while I think "Suicide" is solid from the opening track to the last. And a lot the grooves on "Suicide" are killer -- "East Easy Rider" and "Drowning" are two examples. The atmosphere of the album is special. There's a loose intimacy to the performances that makes each track sound fresh and spontaneous.

I ended up picking up the album in an odd sort of way. I saw the video for "Beautiful Love" on MTV and I liked it not only because it is one of those finely crafted pop tunes that JC seems to effortlessly whip out, but because the video featured Fungi the Dingle Bay dolphin, who I had visited that summer. So anyways, I think I got into Julian all because of a fish (I know, he's not a fish, he's a mammal).

Last summer I returned to Ireland with "PS" as a soundtrack for the road.

Interestly, both "Suicide" and "Kill" took awhile to grow on me. I believe the best music always does. I think those two albums and "Skellington" are Julian at his peak.

Sorry, an interjection entirely devoid of any JC content, but I can't help myself...Andrew, Natasha Henstrige (of the movie Species) is from Fort McMurray, so you know the drinking water there is better than average.

A few changes to the look of my web site I'm now working on linking the images to larger more printable ones

Russ

Is it true that Julian wrote a song about Courtney Love?Also, that she gave him some real strong acid and he had to leave Liverpool and move to a goat farm????What's up with that????SPRING IS HERE,enjoy the outdoors once in a while!!!!

re : Courtney Love

The song "Queen / Mother" from 20 mothers contains the line

"And I hate myself and I want to die", which is - as far as I know - a reference to Kurt Cobain ( and Courtney ? ) - check out the booklet for more details ...

There is a poem/song that the Drude does live on occasion about Courtney Love, Madonna and Margaret Thatcher in a boat. I can't give you the gist of it right now, but it is very funny.

Queen/Mother is definitely centred around Courtney, and reports a few years back suggested that she and Julian had settled their differences to the degree that Courtney had been to the Cope house for tea. The connection between this and the song (if any) is unclear.

Did anyone notice that the Drude got 43rd place in a recent Melody Maker Top 50 Maddest People In Rock? Surprise, surprise - the references were to cutting himself and turtle shells.

I came a long way before I came across the sea...

Different subject - anyone heading for any of the Devon/Cornwall stones for the eclipse in August? I wanted to see it anyway but thought it would be cool to see it from where the ancients would have seen it.

I've identified a few possibilities from the Gazetteer in the MA, but if anyone can recommend a particular site I'd be grateful.

Walking around with my very best friend...

I've always entertained the notion that "Incrediblely Ugly Girl" on Skellington was on ode to Courtney. I can't recall any specific lines but the whole bummer vibe is so Courtney

A bit late with this interjection, but... I finally heard Scott Walker, and I am looking forward to hearing more.

A friend has a weekly radio show and for 1999 is doing a history-of-rock-type-thing for the whole year. He began in January with late 1940's stuff, building the groundwork for rock's arrival in the fifties, etc, etc. Anyway, he is up to 1967 now....he played "Jackie",and said in his on air commentary that Walker never achieved great success over here in the States but that he was a great influence on Julian and others. This is what he told me about the track he played------ ""Jackie" was from Scott 2. I have it on a compilation of British singles that I picked up somewhere. That song was written by Jaques Brel, so it is a bit more cabaret than other things I've heard of his.

A good place to start is "No Regrets - The Best of Scott Walker and the Walker brothers 1965 - 1976". (Fontana records, it's on CD).

So I am passing along this info for anyone who cares. I hope to purchase this cd soon , and then perhaps more and then I can join the discussion as to whether "Scott4" is, indeed, his finest hour!

Thanks for the heads-up on more cool music.

Jennifer

*Off of the Hole web page.

Bored and restless, Courtney gives up her occasional studies in Dublin and heads for mainland Britain; specifically Liverpool, England, hotbed of the burgeoning new wave scence. Much as Manchester would come to dominate the UK indie scene in the '90s, Liverpool is where it's a post punk-wise in the early '80s. The biggest names on the local scene are Echo And the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes. Within days of arriving, Courtney moves into the house occupied by Teardrops singer Julian Cope and his friends. Imprudent and frequent doses of the hallucinatory drug LSD and a brief and unsatisfactory fling with the band guitarist led to he being "asked to leave" the house. "I took a lot of acid in Liverpool and basically I never recovered," she later reflected. Cope and the rest of Teardrop Explodes have sine publicly denounced Courtney's time with them, claiming her influence was a purely destructive one. Cope's autobiography, Head On, published a decade later in the blue-flame of Nirvana's first flush of success, contains a damning profile of Courtney as a drug-taking, band-leeching teenager in the Nancy Spungen mould (the deceased, bleached-blond American punkette who moved in with Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious - also now deceased). Cope even took out an ad. In the music press to denounce her. "He portrays me as a demon 16 year old, which I was," Courtney latter tells Amy Raphel, author of Never Mind the Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock (Virago). Her time in Merseyside leaves Courtney's vocabulary littered with some choice Scouse-isms - the words 'ponce', 'cack' and 'twat' still puncture her conversation today.

I have linked most of photos on my site just the cope ones to do so you can now print the photos

RUSS

Spinadisc Records in Coventry (lower precinct) had a copy of the WYSM album on CD in their sale for £3.00, if anyone in the area hasn't got one and is interested. It's the original issue without the extra tracks. It was there as of 5.00 p.m. today (6/4/99). There may have been other Cope albums there too, but I didn't have time to look.

Spacerock with me...

Not hugely important, but the version of 'I Gotta Walk' featured on the 'Class of 94' cassette listed in various discographies is slightly different to the one on Autogedden (extra wierd noises). The cassette was given away free with Vox magazine.

I was a bouncing baby...

hello drudes. I've just found this page and felt I should leave an item of trivia. did you know that the track "if i could do it all over again, i'd do it all over you" was recorded live in April 1996 at the anti - newbury bypass gig at portsmouth pyramids in england?

I was there, and although it's not especially apparent on the recording, but the bass frequencies that thighpaulsandra was pumping out were incredible. Almost got a nose bleed.

er quote,

...just remember women aren't supposed to fart.

hello there,

heres some more trivia, in the ur pagan magazine

it said that thighspaulsandra once blew the power supply in his house, by plugging about all his gear about 24 plugs worth into one socket and playing a monster version of yes's "going for the one"

p.s. cope is playing a spoken word gig in dublin on the 19th april in a new venue called HQ, however its a little spendy (imo) at 15 punts

...aint but the one way

In case anyone is interested

the usually pricy Music Blvd is having a sale until 4/11..$10 off any order over 20 ollars..had an old store credit and with the additional discount,picked up Wilder (import..and one of my fave albums) for 99 cents...total!Not bad..not bad at all!

celebrate

the great escape..

Sister Ray are advertising in this weeks NME and have the majority of the Drude's CD's at £6.99.

By the way, the song/poem about Courtney, Madonna and Maggie T is called 'Conspiracist Blues' I think, and Trav has it in his Sounds section. Haven't listened to it though as I don't have the software.

Just like a cartoon by AAP...

Excuse my ignorance, but I've always wondered who is AAP ?

......"Just like a cartoon by AAP.."

Keith.

AAP were the company who produced the "Popeye" cartoons. Don't know what it stands for but was told something like:

Associated Artists Productions, but that may be crap.

John.

And not just Popeye!

If any of you have ever seen any of the old black &white cartoons that predate the Warners/Disney domination, you may recall the surreal nature of them. The work of stimulated imaginations I think and quite wonderful in their way.

Given the drug induced mayhem that Sleeping Gas mutated into (according to Head On), a reference to the warped reality that is found in AAP cartoons was quite prophetic.

I took her down to the twilight home for the clinically insane...

Hi Everyone,

Back after the small hiatus of being homeless while we moved from Vancouver to Fort McMurray, and despite it being a lovely 12ºC on the day we arrived, it snowed the following day! Now I know what Julian talked about when he moved from London to Wiltshire, it is such a relief to get out of the big city.

I recieved a tape of Julians recent talk in Camden but haven't had chance to listen to it yet. I will post my thoughts when I do.

Best wishes to one and all

Andrew