As you can see, I've archived the page. For those of you who are new to the site, you can read the old posts via the Rail On Archives...

Andrew - Glad to have you back! How far north are you exactly? i.e., what's your latitude?

Travis

Trav,

Not sure what latitude I am at. Ft. McMurray is about 5 hours north east of Edmonton, Alberta. It is quite northern, but not arctic, it is surrounded by beautiful boreal forests for miles and miles. It is probably on a parallel with southern Alaska, so its not quite polar bear region. So far the weather has been crazy, one minute its about 10ºC, the next it is snowing. Winters can be brutal here, -30º to -40ºC isn't uncommon, but the summers are hot, plus it doesn't get dark until about midnight and in winter you have the Northern Lights doing their thing in the sky. Spring is almost here, or so I am told.

There are lots of aboriginal peoples here so I'm hoping to learn a few things about native culture etc. Perhaps we could convince Julian to do a book about north american native sites and convince him to come over here for a while.

Andrew

Having just purchased the 'Leperskin' compilation, ( which as an introduction to JC does appear an odd selection of songs ),it did bring to mind the previous compilation by Island Records, 'The Followers...'. At the time of its release, I noticed a flyer from Island Records on the wall of my local record shop, which stated that 'The Followers..' would be the first of three compilations released that year.

The second compilation was to be called 'Under Peggy', which at the time, I assumed, if it followed the same format as 'The Followers...' would feature the singles and B-sides that accompanied 'My Nation Underground' and 'Peggy Suicide'. The third compilation was muted to be a live album.

Obviously their releases were cancelled. Does anyone have any idea why? Poor sales of 'The Followers...' I would suspect!

I was surprised that JC was involved in the compilation of the 'Leperskin' CD, particularly in light of the comments he made at the time that Island Records were considering releasing a compilation called 'Creaming Off'

Trav - received the CD this week, many thanks. Comments to follow in due course....

Another pluget for the zine: Screaming Secrets is the Julian Cope magazine - a glossy B/W publication packed with stories, reviews and gossip. Although a lot of the rare early issues have sold out, we have copies of later ones still in stock. We even have T Shirts!

Follow the URL above for more info (ask Trav - he loves 'em!).

Paul B

OK. Here's another question for you knowledgable people to answer. Who was Leila Khaled? I seem to remember reading somewhere that there was a female Isreali terrorist of that name. I'm never too good at working out lyrics (especially with my crappy old tapes)so I haven't a clue what the song is about. Any ideas?

Similarly what's the story of "Trouble with Julian" on the first Blur album. Sure it's about our man but what is the background. I gather there's a Balfe connection.

Had a great time out on Fyfield Down on Easter Monday. For some reason we always seem to end up down near Avebury at Easter! The Devil's Den is really cute but the philistine farmer has ploughed all around it since the photo on the back of Peggy was taken.

Take care. Andrew

And confidence is valued in these days

From 'The Independant' 21st Feb 1996

Middle East

The Independent also carries a feature on Israel's decision to allow Leila Khaled, a former Palestinian airline hijacker, to return to Gaza. It recalls that she first made headlines when she hijacked a TWA flight from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv in 1969, and that her gun-toting portrait once competed as a revolutionary icon with that of Che Guevara. She now lives in Jordan, and is reported to have moved closer to the mainstream policies of Yasser Arafat.

No ideas about 'The Trouble With Julian'

John.

Not to be too pendantic (if thats even the right word) but on Blurs second album the track you refer to is called Pressure on Julian. Dont know how it refers to JC but there's also a track called Coping. So you get pressure on Julian Coping. Can you tell I'm bored?

didn't david balfe own food records, blurs label ?

Balfe did own Food Records. I think Blur are on Parlophone now though. I was wondering if anyone across the pond could tell me exactly how big Julian is over there. Obviously here in America he's not very big. So what's it like? Anyone?

I recall reading an old interview with Julian where the topic of Leila khaled was brought up...apparently he had seen a photo of her and;to paraphrase him slightly he thought,"she was a fox and I wanted to shag her"....not sure if that helps much,but does leave me curious to see a picture now.....

it won't take me to paradise for the day..

re : Blur

Blur are still on Food Records.

What is also interesting about the first Blur albums is the fact that they were produced by none other than Steven Lovell, the bloke who collaborated with Julian on "Fried".

Seems to be another proof that there must be a bond between Blur and Cope.

Who can help ??

By the way : Blur's "13" is great

Marc ( Blurred )

For anyone who want's to know how big Julian Cope is in Britain, my friends take the piss out of me for liking him. Does that answer your question?

But hey, just because it isn't popular doesn't mean its shit right?

Unfortunately anyone I speak to still thinks of Cope as someone who "had a few hits in the eighties". Philistines.

The dopes not the thing, oh how I wish that someone would ring.

Here in America no one even knows that he was big in the eighties. Our culture has completely burnt out it's short term memory. And if you do play Cope for someone they're completely confused by the fact that it's not top forty radio and end up pissing on you. Some things are the same in england.

too many people say it's good for you

Here's the differencve between the States and the U.K. If I tell someone I like Julian Cope, they just say "who"? They don't even know the man had a few hits in the '80's, let alone that he dropped a few hits after that!

Talk about Philistines!

Also, on the Courtney thread. Anyone out there seen the liner to Hole's Celebrity Skin. All those references to Drowning make me think of Peggy Suicide.

I've recently randomly encountered two books with Julian Cope in them. Fordor's has a travel guide titled "Rock &Roll Traveler - Great Britain and Ireland" which highlights locations relevant to rock music from yesteryear to yesterday in GB and Ireland.

The Liverpool section has a photo of Julian on the opposite page which is a pleasant surprise considering most folks going down to Liverpool are looking for you-know-who sights. Julian is described as "marveously eccentric" in the brief description of the late 70's Liverpool music scene. Besides all the you-know-who sights listed in the section, some of the various clubs and record stores related to the Teardrops/Cope are also cited (even though if they no longer exist).

The second book is called, "Kaleidoscope Eyes - Psychedelic Rock From the '60s to the '90s." It's written by Jim DeRogatis and he not only traces the development of psychedelic rock, but also argues that most of the artists have produced their best work when embracing it. I tend to agree with his thesis. If I were forced to choose, for example, I'd rather listen to Syd's Floyd than Roger's Floyd.

There's a chapter titled "Passionate Friends:The English Psychedelic Eccentrics"(there's that "e" word again). The chapter features Robyn Hitchcock, Andy Partridge, and Julian. DeRogatis succintly covers Cope's musical history up to "20 Mothers"(the book was published in '96) and considers "Peggy Suicide" a "masterpiece of pop-rock weirdness."

If you are at all a fan of psychedelic music(and how could you not be as a fan of Julian Cope?) I recomend the book. I picked it up at a used book store.

Trav - I'm still enjoying the "Tiny Children" CD. Well done to all of the muscians who contributed to it.

i went looking for a picture of leila khaled on the web, but couldn't find any, anybody got one ?

while on the subject of people in cope songs does anyone know who gary mitchell is ?

as in "trying to get into gary mitchells drawers, na na na naaaa.........."

Or indeed Jimmy Jones?

I was mad at him from when the lights went out...

I'm glad people like the Tiny Children CD! :)

I was thinking about releasing some old For Against material on CDR but I just found out today that the original band members don't talk to each other, so the chance of me ever getting permission for that are very slim. Therefore, my CDR effort can focus exclusively on Cope. For now, at least!

Screaming Secrets is great, guys - you should all check it out. I can't believe I didn't get into reading it earlier. Paul, are there any plans to re-release the old [out-of-print] issues in an archived collection? Also, when's the next issue due out, and what other mags have you worked on?

Over the past 2 weeks I've downloaded around 30 hours of Phish MP3s. [At about 1 meg per minute of audio, that's 1.8 gigs that I've downloaded, all over a 28.8 connection!] Anyway, this was my first heavy exposure to MP3s and I must say it's addictive as heck.

It would be interesting to start a live Cope MP3 repository. What do y'all think? A 60 minute concert would take me about 6 hours to upload. Not bad, since I could do it overnight.

In my opinion, this would be an attractive alternative [or addition] to the Live Cope CDs I had planned. The pros and cons of making a live MP3 repository instead of a collection of live CDs are:

PROS:

• MP3s are free.
• MP3s are considered "less illegal" than CDRs, mostly since there's no money involved.
• An MP3 repository can grow incrementally. A collection of CDR releases has to grow in spurts.
• MP3s are upload-and-forget. Once you upload a gig, you don't need to do anything else [like keep making CDs and shipping them].
• A public MP3 site lets everyone contribute.
• MP3s' slight loss in audio quality is insignificant compared to the wildly differing quality of live recordings.

CONS:

• MP3s take time to download. People w/o gobs of Internet access will need CDRs of MP3s shipped to them. [10 hours of MP3 audio per CD]
• An MP3 site is far more visible than a CDR release. The chances of getting in trouble w/ a label or musician, in my opinion, much higher. Phish fans can get away with it because Phish has given everyone permission to bootleg any live Phish recordings they want. However, I doubt Cope has made a similar gesture.
• MP3s need a computer [or special MP3 player]. This makes them less portable than CDRs. You've have to make your own dubs [on CDR or tape] if you want to take them in your car or play them on your girlfriend's stereo.

I personally prefer the idea of a live Cope MP3 repository to a set of live Cope CDRs. Maybe we can do both? Complete gigs in MP3, but a best-of live compilation on CDR every once in a while?

However, as for tribute CDs, I think we should stick with CDR instead of MP3. Reasons:

• MP3 quality loss is more noticeable [though still slight].
• CDRs are more tangible and rewarding for contributors. "See, honey, look at my name on this CD!" versus "See, honey, here's an MP3 of my song..."
• There's an opportunity for contributors to get reiumbursed for their efforts. Right now I've sold so few INTERPRETERS CDs [sold 7 and gave away 13] that it's not a factor, but once I've sold 20 I will be able to start reiumbursing the contributors. MP3s offer no opportunity for reimbursement whatsoever.

Feedback welcome!

Trav

On the subject of the Cope/Blur conspiracy. Kate St. John plays on one track on The Modern World is rubbish, and is it just me or is the vocal melody of Colin Zeal not a total rip off of Sleeping Gas.

On Thursday I visited Longleat and swung past the really rather impressive Cley Hill landscape figure and then the inevitable Stone Henge. Tommorrow I'm off to Avebury for the day. If anyone is in the area look out for me, I'll be the one whose trying to grow a beard.

It'll all wash down when it rains.

been a long time since i've posted, but i'm glad to be done this term at school.

1. for andrew (and other curious parties):
   • Fort McMurray
   • Province/Territory : Alberta
   • Feature type : Unincorporated area
   • Location : 89-9-W4
   • Latitude - Longitude : 56° 44' 00" N - 111° 23' 00" W
   • NTS Map : 074D11
   • data from : http://GeoNames.NRCan.gc.ca/
   • distance between Fort McMurray and Vancouver : 1141km (713mi)
   • Syncrude: http://www.syncrude.com/0_00.htm
   • Suncor Oil Sands process: http://www.suncor.com/OilSands/01oil22.html
   • i love thier applet. watch the little scrolling window to see the pipeline over the river and some nice aerial shots of their facilities.
   • Winspeaker magazine: http://www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/
   • Aboriginal star knowledge (the Lakota information is particularly interesting): http://indy4.fdl.cc.mn.us/~isk/stars/starmenu.html
2. for trav: i've been using mp3 for passing around music for a couple of years and the one major drawback to mp3 is that i have never been able to encode a live track at 128kbit and 44kHz and achieve the same quality you would get from encoding a studio track at the same specs. i've found, countless times, that live tracks end up sounding washed-out or under-water unless you go up to 25gkbit and 44kHz, in which case you double the file size! second, be very careful which encoder you choose. some encoders speed-up their operation bu cutting the dynamic range below 20Hz and above 20kKz before encoding...
3. for all: my copy of Modern Antiquarian smells a little funny--musty, glue-like. anyone else notice this? do all publications from britain smell like this?

jason.

does anyone know where I can get hold of Rite on CD (head Heritage have sold out) or Everybody wants to shag... on CD? I have never seen the latter in a music store but need it to complete my set.

Thanks Jason, now I know exactly where I am! It really is quite beautiful around here, just had a great weekend with temperatures up to 18ºC. The big event around here seems to be the spring break up of the river, should be anyday now!

I'm trying to find out if there are any native sacred sites in this area to check out.

Andrew

P.S. Re funny smelling Modern Ant: All of Britain smells like that, its something to with all the history over there! (Just kidding, I couldn't resist it)

Andrew

The UK does smell like that at the moment its all the bullshit thats on the TV over here. On a lighter note the new BLUR lp is the best thing i've listened to in a long time. I'll try and get the rest of the cope images on my site linked in the next week or so!!. If there are any of the discography pics you think would do well from a larger image let me know. I've got to add a few pics to the discography as well MNU jacket/toy cars ect over the next few days........... Has anyone had trouble with IE5 this is the first day i've been on line for days it just F@!KED my PC up

Russ

Greetings fellow Drudes:

I apologize in advance for the length of this message.

I've been happily rooting through the archives ('like a pig doin' a cartload of sausages') having a blast with the new-found trivia answers. I was delighted to see someone else noticed the Blur-Cope connection on Modern Life is Rubbish. I was all set to weigh in with my observations about Lovell, Kate St. John, Balfe/Food, and the song "Coping," only to find them posted further down. Did anyone catch the line on Interpreter about "commissioner Damon wants to have a baritone?" Possibly another Blur reference.

Jimmy Jones, aka Jim Jones, was the cult leader of Jonestown in Guyana, Mexico. (My spelling may be off.) This is the place where, in 1977, several hundred followers at his urging knowingly ingested cyanide-laced Kool-Aid with predictably horrific results. (I think the Food and Drug Administration made the makers of Kool-Aid pull that flavor.) Cope has at least two songs on this subject: "Me and Jimmy Jones" off Skelington, and the song "My Nation Underground."

I finally got to met the Arch Drude himself March 11th in Gloucester. I left Atlanta to spend a conjugal week in London with my luvily english sweetheart, and we found ourselves in Wales without enough time to drive back to London to see a play for which she already had tickets. (We spent way too much time at Pentre-Ifan and one other cromlech from the MA). Fortunately, I remembered Cope would be in Glouc, so we stopped. After the lecture, I introduced myself by saying: "meeting you is probably like you meeting Arthur Lee and Scott Walker all at once." He was visibly pleased as punch with the compliment and went into full glam-rock mode. We then spoke for about 6 or 7 minutes on a wide variety of topics, including a tiny standing stone near Dover Hill he had never heard about (he made me draw him a map). I mentioned that my favorite song was Search Party, and he told me about his plans to write the follow-up to Head-On and referred to this period as depression filled dark years.

I handed Julian my girlfriend's copy of MA to have him sign it. I forgot that I had previously forged Julian's signature and handwriting on the inside flap so that it read: "To Jane, everyone knows you are the real inspiration for this book--Julian Cope." He got a good laugh when he saw it and admitted he had done the same thing with a Steven Tyler book once. Finally, I got my photo made with Cope as he wrapped his big fake-fur trench coat around me.

My favorite Cope albums are: Fried, Wilder, WSYM, Skellington Chronicles, Droolian, Rite, St Julian, etc.

Following Copes' musical influences is highly worthwhile. I urge everyone to become huge fans of Arthur Lee by finding "Forever Changes" by his former band LOVE. Also, the Scott Walker compilation "Boy Child" is just unbelievable. But you must be prepared for something completely different, and you must be willing to give it at least six listenings to begin to appreciate it. Soon you will develop a taste for dreary weather and cigarettes at sunrise.

Finally, does anyone know what ever happened to Cope's fellow Crucial Three band member, Pete Wylie (of Wah! fame)? I heard he had a single out called "Heart as Big as Liverpool" and that he had suffered a really bad fall a few years back. His 1991 LP Infamy was brilliant.

'..showed an empty crisp packet and said Christo was here.'

theo-

great post and thanks for mentioning Forever Changes..I've been praising that album around here for quite some time..glad to have a partner

welcome to Rail On

nice to have you

..oh no,I'm not sure about those things that I cared about..

hi,

i got to see cope in dublin tuesday night

it was great, the best lecture i've ever attended.

he looked great in faux fur and 3" platforms

he spoke about why he wrote MA, about being 'scott walkered of a monday morning', glam rock, about the new book which is a three-parter, in a sleeve like MA (i gathered).

he looked pretty caned but had notes because as he kept saying, he was a pragmatic artist, and also that he would go back to dorian and she would say "you didn't just talk for hours did you ?"

i asked him to sign my book afterwards, but i didn't have anything to say so i just smiled

db

"i was busy thinking, i was thinking of a way to impress you"

That's interesting about the MP3 encoding rate. Yeah, some of the Phish MP3s I downloaded sound "swishy". However, many sound great, and they all seem to take up 1 MB per minute audio, so I assume they're all using the same encoding rate. However, maybe the better ones are twice the sampling rate, but mono instead of stereo?

In any case, I think MP3s are fine to collect as background music and for getting a decent "taste" of the music. RealAudio is great for getting a taste, but it's not even close to CD quality and I doubt I would ever collect it or leave it playing all day in the background. Plus, everyone's streaming it nowadays, hiding their .ra files behind .ram files, so you can't download the whole thing, thus defeating would-be-collectors.

http://www.amazon.com/ doesn't have The Modern Antiquarian yet. Hopefully they'll get it soon. I order all my books from Amazon.com these days. They're fast, cheap, and have a great selection [except for no MA]. Plus, seeing all those reader viewers is extra cool. If they had a used section [or if they do have one, if they made it more visible], they'd be just about perfect. How can the local bookstores compete? Unless they sell used books, they can't.

Also checked: http://www.books.com/ (no luck).

I used to see Everybody Wants to Shag in the cut-out bins; that's where I found my CD of it, if I'm remembering correctly. Maybe I got it used. I don't remember. As for Rite, I've never seen it in any store. I'd say keep checking the used bins, and keep checking Rail On to see if anyone mentions having an extra CD.

You also might want to find local Cope fans. I got My Nation Underground [admittedly not nearly as hard to find as Rite!] from a hallmate who had gotten into Cope a few years previously and then "went Goth" and never listened to light n' fluffy Cope anymore. If you are in school, you might consider posting a WTB [wanted to buy] on the local bulletin board or newsgroup.

Speaking of schools and "going Goth"... How many parents kept their kids home from school today? When I have kids, I'm gonna think seriously about home education. Either that, or I'll move to stinky ole England. Or, are there any other countries where guns are rare?

Not that I'm against guns - I'm all for the NRA. Although I'm not a hunter [at least for now], I support what people like Ted Nugent are doing. However, guns aren't always used as fishing poles, and there's that empowerment factor; guns in the wrong hands are really scary [unlike fishing poles] because they let sickos and kids kill more people than they could by driving drunk. The scale of the mistake / lashing out is bigger with guns than cars, knives, fists, and fishing poles.

In lighter news, did anyone celebrate yesterday? I couldn't, because I have a big meeting this morning and I need to be in top mental form. :)

Trav

But Celebrating yesterday is the thing to leave one in top mental form. Hope everyone else had as good a holiday as I.

Theo,

You asked about Pete Wylie. Well Pete Wylie and his group THE MIGHTY WAH! released a limited-edition EP on Columbia, 'Heart As Big As Liverpool', on November 23. It is very rare for only 1000 copies on Cd were pressed up. I have it And I think it is a great single and if you like Pete wylie then you will like his new songs.

If anybody wants to obtain a copy of the single then your best bet is to contact HMV. For to my knowledge they were the only major record chain to stock the single and one of their branches might still have a copy for sale. Incidently there was also a 4 track promo cd in a card sleeve that was backed with two different songs not on the EP.

Recently he has won his court case, on february 5th, against his his Ex Wife. The NME reported that:'Wylie is pleading not guilty to threatening to kill Michelle Bass and John Milton on February 5 this year. He also denies causing fear of violence to Bass between September last year and February 5 by making telephone calls in which he allegedly made threats to kill her.'

THE MIGHTY WAH! are also soon to release an LP called 'Songs Of Strength &Heartbreak'. The release date I think is sometime in May.. The exact date I don't Know.

Also they were due to release another Limited Edition Single called 'Loverboy', I have heard it and it is another good song from Pete Wylie. Some have said that it is one of the best songs on his forthcomming LP. Its release date which was supposed to be a couple of weeks ago has been put back and as yet no record store can tell me the new date of release.

I will put the release dates for this single and the Lp as soon as I get them, on this site.

Richard Winchester.

I've also seen 'Everybody Wants to Shag...' in the deletes bin. And that's where it belongs if you ask me. Ouch.

Trav, if your looking for a place where guns are rare, you just need to look north to Canada. We take after the Brit model as far as guns go (almost), and its not the least bit stinky.

I just cannot believe what happened in Colorado. Extremely disturbing.

Derek

Some fathead on the box this morning was sure that there should be no change to the gun laws over the pond. Guns are inextricably linked to the revolution and overthrowing the English king. They are a crucial element of American history and what the US is. Marvelous.

The opposing viewpoint included the argument that men shoot people because they don't have any buffaloes to aim et anymore. Equally marvelous.

And Charlton Heston was in there putting the case for the NRA, presumably meaning that Colorado (and its ilk) makes no difference. Not even sarcastically marvellous. I'm so glad the Drude wrote about Robert Mitchum.

Greedhead Detector...

A message to everybody, but mainly to you across the ocean, in the U.S. You spoke about what happened in Colorado. Yesterday I heard Clinton condemning the use of guns and the increasing violence: I couldn't believe my ears, I couldn't stand to watch his face. I can hear planes flying over my head: they leave my country (Italy), they fly to Kosovo and drop bombs that kill both innocents and killers. Some families go with their children to see those new American planes take off.

I feel ashamed and guilty because I'm here playing with my dreams, my nice little things, planning to go out, planning to go to Liverpool. I feel stupid and small. With the face of peace, my country is at war.

The T.V. is full of sickening stories that were told before, only now murderers and murdered seem to have swapped places again: it's been going on for some years, you know...But I suppose it's so faraway for you. It used to be faraway for us here, and it's so ugly to admit that I pay attention now because I'm frightened. These are moments when you're not sure what to think anymore, and you feel you are being manipulated, you who thought knew the right stuff through the right people. Maybe I'm just thick, but I think I never really saw the colours until Derek Jarman showed them to me, and maybe it's just because of Julian that I realized my planet is me, and ignoring it would be like ignoring myself.

What has been destroyed so far, and what it's being destroyed there now doesn't belong to the Serbians or to the others, and no-one will ever give it back.

You might ask yourself why I'm posting this to Rail On, or think that I'm nobody, but, as I said, there are things you'd better not to ignore, and I'm trying to clean up my mind and put it together again, to get to know things first-hand. I'm trying to feel less alone with things I don't understand: I'm asking best friends their opinions, and I'm asking you.

And actually things like war are there in Cope's universe, even as an important issue. Unfortunately I don't manage to catch all the words: are songs like Disaster and Lunatic And Fire-Pistol about war? Does anyone know the lyrics? Does anyone know what Julian's actual opinion on war and peace is?

Thanks and take care to all.

Vava

The Colorado incident is tragic and my prayers are with the victims, their families and their community. But why has this topic it found a home on this page?

Isn't "Rail-On!" is a site to dicuss Cope's music and life?

Brian

Ba ba ba ba,ba ba ba ba ba...

Yes this is a place for Cope talk but its aslo a place where people can talk about whats on their mind as well. If the US wants guns then thats OK but to let kids have access to guns is sick and Charlton Heston can talk has he ever had one of his children shot and killed or someone close!. People in the world today should have a better insight in to whats going on and guns don't belong in a world thats heading down the pan at the speed of light. Whats wrong in getting back to mother earth as cope keeps pointing out. Vava's right to speak his mind both the US and the UK leaders are always looking for a fight to prove how big they are and how they both are doing it for world peace!!!!!

Russ

Hi,

Check out this site for an alternative tour of megalithic Britain/France/Italy: www.stonepages.com

I got a chance to speak to Julian at some length after his performance in Aberdeen a while back. I couldn't help getting caught up in the enthusiasm of the man, it's just infectious. I also thought the performance to be excellent and very informative. You rarely know what's in your own backyard until it's pointed out. The best part for me though was finding out that Julian used an illustration from a book I gave him a couple of years ago in the MA. The illustration of Tomnaverie stone circle was used (forget the page number) as it is almost impossible to photograph without an aerial view. Checked for me name in the credits, but no such luck. The book 'Antiquities of Cromar' got the mention.

Got to get in on some of the side issues here. Legally minors are prohibited from possessing firearms in the States, in fact the USA has thousands of gun laws. The problem is that they are just not enforced. Unfortunately guns cannot be un-invented, and criminals will not give them up. On the side to this; everyone focusses on the weapons themselves, not the fact that had any of these psychopaths been given some attention and help/support by society/social work/parents/schools all or some of these attrocities may have been avoided. This includes Thomas Hamilton, Michael Ryan etc. Don't know about the Colorado shooters, but previously it was discovered that over 95% of adolescents in the states who carried out mass shootings were on Prozac at the time - just pop a pill and your troubles will disappear.

One for you Derek: Canada actually has a high gun ownership, it's just that Canada has less of the social problems than yer Southern neighbours. Look at your own press for the massive fighting over the ongoing Canadian gun registration scheme. In the civilised Western World, Canada is only second to England in the rate of violent crime (not gun crime) per head of population; even higher than the US, believe it or not.

S'later,

Johnny.

Got my "Shag" in a cut-out bin at Target. The case was cracked and an agressive foot was apparently the culprit as it left a print. A few of the tracks are unlistenable because of a scratch on the CD that causes it to skip. I guess there are those who would rather step on the Teardrops than shag them. At any rate, I think we've firmly established to check the cut out bins for this CD.

"Forever Changes" is a great album too.

Where would it be possible to get in touch with Julian Cope directly.

Could someone mail me an address please.

The Drude got a mention in last week's NME in article about imaginary three-way fights between artists. Copey was up against Ian McCullough and Bono. No clear winner. Stupid article.

I work at Aston University and our Ents people have started running a club night called Club Zoo. No relation and nothing to report about it, just a piece of Cope related ephemera.

It's impregnated in my Daffy Duck shorts...

Thanks Richard very much for the update on Pete Wylie. "Heart as Big..." is just a single or is it an EP? Wow, I didnt know Wylie had so much legal action going on. Your report referred to him winning a case, but then your quote sounded as if his ex-wife was bringing criminal charges against him. Oh, well..

I loved the part in Head On where Ian McCulloch, and Julian gathered in Pete's living room to play. Ian was too embarrassed to sing, so they just sat around slagging current bands while Pete's mum brought them tea and biscuits. The Crucial Three indeed!

Trivia:

1. Julian has recorded at least two songs for which Ian McCulloch shares songwriting credits. Name them.

2. ALso, when I got to see Julian mid-March, he mentioned that Smelvin had died a few days earlier. What caused Smelvin to almost die back in the late-eighties?

3. Is it really sad that I should know trivia about some bloke's dog?

Finally, Kosovo, Littleton, Dunblain, makes me think that this old world lies helpless on its side. I hope these pages can be a refuge of sorts from all that.

..my eyes click like fingers where you used to lie....

I find it very hard to contain myself any longer after what happened last week in Colorado and after reading some of the varying views here. There are always two sides to every argument concerning guns and gun control but I am biased towards one--strict gun control. I am by no means a supporter of the NRA--I abhor guns and the militia-styled mentality of those who believe that we MUST be armed or whatever the right-winged extremist view exactly is--I've never been too certain as to what they're on about. Charlton Heston is a charlatan and a lying panderer. Back in the '60's, he marched with Martin Luther King. Now he's droning on about how great the NRA is. If (an that's a very big "if") I am correct, the American Constitutional right to bear arms is NOT meant as a call to have an arsenal large enough to invade a small, 3rd World nation readily at your fingertips, but as a PRECAUTION, should there be an unlawful invasion by enemy troops in a military action/crisis/emergency--keep in mind, this was written in 1787. Unfortunately, the Constitution is CONSTANTLY and CONVENIENTLY mis-interpreted for the wanton use of (again, forgive the anger in my tone) and dangerous people who use the Constitution and the name of God as their means or reasoning to get away with (no pun intended) MURDER.

Fact: these two murderers in Colorado are just that--murderers. Evil. I won't sit idly by and listen to people say that they were misunderstood or it could have been avoided if there had been some way to intervene. Okay--you want intervention? Where were the fucking parents when they were smashing glass to make the bombs? Or where were the parents when the two were arrested on prior occasions? Where were the so-called "concerned" school authorities when they'd march up and down the school hallways shouting "Sieg Heil"? What kind of school is it when students can do this kind of thing?

There are two kinds of people on this planet--good and bad--no in betweens. This was the work of evil, sick and twisted bastards and there should be no wringing of the hands, no "oh, what do we do now?"--how did they get the fucking guns and how did their parents not have any inkling that there was a serious problem right under their noses?

Episodes like this (amongst many others) make me ashamed to call myself an American, BUT then again, NOWHERE on this planet is Nirvana--not Canada, not Blighty (whatever happened to the Great Empire?). Certainly not Italy--remember that guy called Mussolini? Friend of Der Fuhrer, you know... People want to slag off the United States and the fucked up things the American government does but you know what? I don't agree with a lot of it either, but I don't appreciate the fact that a lot of GOOD people are being generalized by you lot who want to say that people like myself are all war mongerers or whatever--I don't want Americans getting killed in Kosovo for Milosevic's evil misdeeds. But then again, I don't think the Italians are going to aid anyone in particular themselves.

Don't lay the blame on me because I happen to be an American--BLAME THE ONES DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE.

Re: Theo's questions:

Answer #1

Books &Spacehopper

Answer #2

Smelvin overdosed on rat poison. (...accidently)

Answer #3

Nah

New Question:

Which Cope song is named after a part of the Roman Legislature?

Gee, before the 1968 Gun Control Act, ANYONE could send a check or money order to a mail order company and get a army surplus Colt .45 pistol for about $15.00. There was a couple bucks for postage and for a few more bucks, ammo would ship with it. Where was the school carnage then eh? WHERE ?????!!!!!

There was still some memory of God in school but do you know what the biggest concerns of teachers were in the 50's?

1. Gum chewing
2. talking out of turn &
3. blue jeans...things have changed.

There are more than 20,000 gun laws on the books including one from the '68 G.C.A. that states that ANY convicted felon found in possesion of a firearm must receive a minimum 20 years sentence. That doesn't happen because of deals made for snitching or pleading down charges. I am for swift certain punishment of anyone who uses a firearm in the commission of a crime. We need to stop placating to the self-esteem of these kids. But it's clear by now that the ways things are runs in schools are f#cked up.

That brings me to another point. Though only .002% of all firearms are used in all crimes (FBI stats) Every single death caused by a HUMAN PULLING THE TRIGGER is not a saintly life. Sorry. Ever read your paper about some scum with a long criminal career being found dead behind a bar or in a back ally or when someone defends their family from attackers or intruders? This is called 'The Good-Riddance Factor'. Gun deaths are less than autos, falls, disease, fires, diabetes, heart attacks etc... The press here in the states hates firearms. Last week ABC televsion issued a press release boasting of their increased ratings due to the Colorado shooting! Better than Lewinski's interview ratings. What are their true intentions?! Certainly not news. That means the Truth is at risk too.

Pipe bombs are illegal. As was one of the guns they used. Yet they still used / had them. Laws do not deter EVIL. EVIL will do what it has to to acheive it's goal. Remember a few years ago all the tourists being killed in Florida after leaving the airport? The press sure didn't report it. There was, and still is, a concealed carry gun law for Citizens of Florida. Why would a crimminal want to risk robbing a local person who MIGHT BE ARMED when they could rob/shoot a person who having left the airport they KNEW THEY were FAIR GAME. They were SHEEPLE. It was safer for the crimminals to go after the tourists. They don't like 'victims' who can shoot back.

Thank-You for your time to read this.

Brian

Excellent Answers Brian!

"SPQR" should answer yours.

Right, Im off to post some Cope trivia in the gun control chat rooms.

"..so lunatic and fire pistol deep into my brain..."

I've recently downloaded all the Cope b-sides off of Head Heritage and they're fantastic. I definitely recomend them to anyone who is a Cope fan (certainly no one on this page). Does anyone have any favorite Cope B-sides they can turn me on to and if so where can I find them? How on earth did poor Smelvin get a hold of rat poison?

In answer to your question theo heart as Big as Liverpool is a 4 track EP containing 4 new songs avaliable on CD only. More news regarding Pete Wylie is that while speaking to a friend at the Bunnymen Concert at Brixton, (which was excellent), last friday, I found out that he has just been dropped by Columbia Records. As a result Columbia will not be releasing the 2nd single Loverboy or the Album Songs of Strength and Heartbreak. For the moment they have been shelved, but a 1 track promo CD for the single Loverboy was circulated to the press, radio Stations etc before he was dropped and copies of this promo have been turning up in secondhand record stores. It is worth trying to find a copy.

Richard Winchester

Hello,

Was anyone out there at the Bradford concert of the HEAD ON tour earlier this decade, there was a song he sang during the accoustic stage that I hadn't heard previously or since. I haven't come across a bootleg of this concert either.

Also during the 2nd phase of head on tour His 4 nights he played in London were being filmed professionally-do you know if these will ever see the light of day (these are not related to the flyers being handed out post gig)

Has you heard Queen Elizabeth 3 yet, didn't get round to hearing the Drude speak on the 2nd leg of the book tour just got to see him 1st night Oxford St, Virgin Megastore

Regards

Andy

Just a tip for the Canucks...www.Chapters.ca has The Modern Antiquarian for $52.76. Seems like a very good price.

Derek

city living at ninety degrees, the sweat stays on in beads...

On the last musical tour, the Drude was playing a great number called (I think) 'Everything Blows My Mind'. Unrecorded as far as I know and I haven't heard a boot from the tour yet. Nothing to do with Andrew's query I know, but there you go.

This is Electrical Stormgirl...

Electrical Stormgirl! Excellent little song. Also, London Underground is another one that's just a little too short.

Do we have any guitar players out there able to shed some light on the 12 string intro to Search Party, or is that a little too obscure?

Has anyone ever heard of the now-defunct band called CUD? Brilliant they were.

...take these hands and do the dishes....

Speaking of deadly weapons, Nirvana, the UK, and music... Too bad about Adrian Borland, eh? I can't see Cope ever doing that, thank God.

How many of Cope's songs have a "goodbye" theme to them? How many could possibly be interpreted as "warning signs?" To me, the thought of killing myself, or Cope killing himself, is laughable. I think humor is the key, and I don't know how much humor Cobain or Borland really had. Cobain's music is gloomy and frustrated, focusing more on problems than solutions; Borland's is mellow and, to me, pretty devoid of humor; Cope's is funny, solution-based [though sometimes the solutions are zany], self-aware. Although you might consider "Peggy SUICIDE" to be a signal of sorts. I wonder if Borland had a wife and kids.

Okay, switching to a MUCH cooler topic... Cover songs! Feel free to send them in [my mailing address is on my main Cope page]. Like I said, my goal is to release the second INTERPRETERS CD near the end of the summer. So, there's no rush to send in tapes [Mickey] if you still have more songs you'd like to contribute.

Finally, DVD writers are out! Has anyone actually seen one? 5 GB would store about 75 hours of MP3's!!! :)

Okay, well, that's the good news. The bad news is that my printer is acting up. The black ink cartridge does not work at all. I can print color, but not black. I put in a new cartridge a month ago and I thought it was working then, but it certainly isn't now. I've tried auto-cleaning, calling tech support, taking the black cartridge out, shaking it, and stirring up the ink [yes, the ink is still wet] but it's not printing anything! It goes though the motions of printing, but no black hits the page, not even the faintest smears.

So what this means is that I can't print any more CD covers any time soon, unless you don't mind getting the liner notes in dark purple! :) I still have some CDs ready to ship, but anyway, my point is, well, to be honest I don't ready have one!

Time for breakfast: cereal and coffee! Every day! Same cereals, too: corn flakes and pops. Skim milk. Strong coffee.

I am curious; what do you eat for breakfast? It's the one meal of the day where you have [pretty much] total control of where, when, and what you eat. A fun little poll! :)

Trav

Weekdays it's usually Weetabix &Tea (milk, 2 sugars). Which is all well and good I suppose, except I always spoil it by having one of the wonderful bacon sandwiches they make at work. Don't often have lunch mind you.

Weekends often involves an exotic switch to toast (buttered), with peanut butter if I'm really living on the edge. Always with tea though.

Not like in Liverpool, or junior school...

I've recently been having the super-healthy breakfast of a Fudge Round (Little Debbie Snack Cake thing) and a Dr. Pepper. It does wonders for the constitution. Wonder what Cope eats for breakfast. He seems like the type to get plenty of "square meals". But is he a health nut or what?

Wonderful, Chris - thankyou! It will have me chuckling on the bus going home.

Whether the Drude is a health nut or not, I'm pretty sure he and Mrs. Drude are vegetarians. Can you eat badly/unhealthily as a vegetarian (other than in the opinion of those who believe it's the same thing)?

Great White Wonder...

Ah yes, breakfast at 5:30 a.m., whilst the lovely Elizabeth sleeps and I feed our three cats, usually means orange juice, cranberry juice, some kind of whole grain toast with fruit spread and 2 cups of joe, regular-styled--none of that wuss skim milk or sweetener bullshit...

If I'm feeling raunchy on the weekend, I'll usually stoke myself up for the a.m. with either a bowl of (organic) breakfast cereal (here's a plug for ya--Health Valley brand "Banana Gone Nuts" or Familia's Muesli) OR blueberry bagels with cream cheese. Woo-ha!

And yes, you CAN eat badly/unhealthily as a vegetarian--BELIEVE ME, I KNOW!

Blessings...

...Until you realize it's just a story...

Sure, I don't bother chiming in the important stuff like gun control or mysterious Cope songs, but ask me what's for breakfast and I'm in! I go for the sugary kids cereals, Captain Crunch being my fav. That and coffee with cream every weekday. On the weekends, I step up to bagel w/ cream cheese, or (on lucky Saturdays) its cold, leftover pizza from the night before. I challenge any to think of a finer breakfast than that ...

As for Copey committing suicide, I don't think that's a possibility now. But one one has to look back a few years (OK, quite a few) to some lyrics for the potential foreshadowing of:

"and he took the knife out of the bag, and spilled his guts out over the stage."

That would seem a fairly clear message to me. My apologies if I didn't hit the lyrics dead on, as the CD isn't nearby. Like I said, I don't think he's in that place now, but anyone's who has done any serious dosage of LSD knows it'll take you down some dark alleys now and then.

P.S. Trav- thanks for the Phish MP3 tips. I'm having a ball listening to the New Year's Show right now. Anyone else think Cope should host a spectacular for the millenium?

"and he took the knife out of the bag, and spilled his guts out over the stage."

***

Mark,

That lyric DID happen. Cope was leanin' on the mikestand and he forced his weight on it and, and, and he ended-up at the hospital.

and as Renyard goes;

"...spill his guts out all over the stage..." yes indeed.

Your breakfasts are very impressive. Ever get to fit some French Toast in there too? It's my Saturday standard. No butter or syrup. Just granulated sugar on top. yum Is that pizza peperoni?

Breakfast for me is Special K if I remember if not it's a sandwich around 11am and thats it while about 6-7pm. Now when I was alot younger last nights curry put in a nuke machine was quite a regular event. So come on whats the worst thing you eat for breakfast. My friend warms fruit up in the micro untill its really soft and then covers it in cream cheese.

I would prefer to eat bagels but in Worksop they might as well be from outer space as I can't get them anywhere!!!

RUSS

And tiny children have away of falling down...........

Mmmmm, breakfast for me at the weekends is a social event in itself. Usually leaving a club or bar half cut on Thurs, Fri or Sat, getting to the local International Casino at 03:00 and ordering a 'Full Monty' huge cooked breakfast with a basket of toast, real butter and a huge pot of tea. Normally this takes place surrounded (but not with) by the girls from two of the local Table Dancing bars who round their evening's work off at the same venue. Unhealthy? - definitely!, Quality end to the evening? - silly question!, Indigestion next day? - the one downside to the whole afair!

My mate Stefan buys two kebabs on the way home from clubbing, has one before bed, and the other microwaved in the morning. Sometimes doesn't bother with the microwave.

Did anyone else here like Cope's track "Levitation". 'The ocean rolls below me, penned in black and blue............'

John.

Slowly my american girlfriend has converted me to the simple joys of maple syrup so tomorrow it's ham, eggs (her choice which style), a side of french toast (thanks for the inspiration Brian) with maple syrup, orange and lots of strong coffee. Course can't forget the papers for a proper weekend breakfast, the guardian for me, the wall street journal for her (if it's in stock at the Bahnhof, which general depends on how late we rise). The only downside, she won't let me play JC in the morning.

John, Levitation has become my favourite track, (which is really what prompted me to respond though i thought i'd add my tuppence worth to the great breakie debate). I've never heard the elevators original but can it really be any better? I got "followers" about a year ago but rarely listened to it, I'd put the album as a whole in the "endearing but basically kak" cope category. But while i was sanding and polishing the floors in my apartment (long, slow, noisy, pain in the ass job) i became totally obsessed with this track and played it on repeat for hours at a time, it really is an example of Julian at his rawk and roll, ass kicking best. Umpteenth unnatural blues is the other gem on the album adn the interveiw is fun, but Levitation what a track.

...I've never seen a more dignified man in my life....

St.

St.

You got one of my other fav's: 'Umpteenth Un-natural Blues'. Out of all the Cope stuff I've collected since about '79, I probably play these tracks most regularly. I'm in the office just now and can't quite remember the name of the EP. Must be the drink affecting my brain. A young man (oh OK 33) ruined...

Just got some photo's back today. One of them is Julian with my girlfriend, Julian wearing leopard skin and various furry attire. A girl at work commented that: "Oh, who's that? He looks like a porn star!" Wonder what he'd say?

- - You and Carol Lombard......

John.

..chuckling as I read over the menus..tryig to shake the picture of Julian accompanied by bad wacka-wacka guitar music..

hmm..brayfast?

well since my surgery in December..my breakfast usually starts with about 12-15 pills and a cool glass of milk(cue,Spritualized's 'Medication" here)..Mmmmmmm..usually follow this with a muffin or breakfast pastry of some sort..a bowl of yogurt or cereal and a piece of fresh fruit..been on a pear kick lately,replacing my long melon binge...lost my taste for eggs,but a pice of ham on occassion isn't bad(well maybe it is,but I eat it anyway)

Have beeen known to eat cold chinese if its around and the occasional pizza,but the latter not as often..lately,its been Food I'll Eat It with not set time of day for any proper meal plan or anything

...off now to grab a handful of pretzels~l~

Not familiar with Electrical Stormgirl or London Underground..any more info?

..oh no,I'm not sure about those things that I cared about...

Speaking of Spiritualized, I've never heard them, but I've heard nothing but good things about them. If Thighpaulsandra is involved how bad could it be? What does everyone think about Spiritualized? Electrical Storm Girl and London Underground are really good songs on Skellington 2. Electrical Storm Girl is sort of like Buddy Holly on Acid. London Underground is much harder to describe but is also a good track.

Take these hands but do dishes

OJ. Tea. Banana. Oatmeal. Nutrigrain Bar. Rice cakes. Overall I guess I'm always trying to think of new mushy textured hassle-free type foods to stuff in my mouth in the morning.

I always have to read something when I eat alone. This morning I read that those dinosaurs with the long skinny necks could actually only lift their heads three to four feet off the ground. Until now it was commonly believed that they grazed off tree tops.

I wonder what would be misenterpreted about humans if all a future speices found left over from us were bones?

Another item I found interesting has to do with Mother Earth. The Earth's molten core will one day cool down. The planet will become "dead" like Mars. No more plate techtonics and apparently no more friendly atmosphere as well.

"...if I was in the same position, you know I wouldn't think twice..."

We went to Avebury a while ago but the Drude was not there. Don't blame him, mind, it was Good Friday. Thanks to the rain at lunchtime it got a little quieter. Speaking of veggie/health food, had the very best meal for a long long time at Stones cafe in the village, even though everything was swimming in the rain. Pricey mind, and National Trust I think.

So, what's happening with the Drude just now? Seems the HeadHeritage site hasn't been updated for a while and I'm beginning to pine.

Todd - I fear we will leave much more that bones. Perhaps future species will beleive we live symbiotically alongside four-wheeled metal-skellingtoned (sic) critters?

Anyone go any plans for the eclipse?

I've made a website for my mate James Lewis who is a photographer.

There's photo's of Standing Stones and musicians, performers etc.

Here's the URL: http://www.jessyjames.demon.co.uk

Just reading through the posts and catching up. I noted someone talking about the Cope and his mike-stand incidents. He apparently slashed himself up twice with a broken mikestand. The first time was at the Hammersmith Palais in 1984 (his first solo tour). If I recall the story goes that Cope watched the support band, the Woodentops, perform and their lead singer did an impersonation of Cope during their set. Cope was so freaked out that there was no way he could follow that, that he broke his mike stand duing Reynard and started to slash his stomach again and again, drawing blood and crying out the line from Carry On Ceasar (?) "Infamy, infamy, they've all got it Infamy", in a belief that he needed to give the audience everything. It actually had the opposite effect as most of the audience were completely grossed out and he got completely slagged off in the press for it. He also still has the scars across his stomach from this event!

The second time I believe was in Tokyo in 1989 (Please correct me if I am wrong) when Cope re-enacted the Hammersmith act, reslashing his stomach and drawing blood again. Hmmm....

Andrew

I stopped by a local downtown independent record store over lunch and they had a CD in the Cope bin by Anal. I believe it was called Zero Beats Per Minute. It was produced by Thighpaulsandra and directed by Julian Cope. It's an import and costs 29 bucks. Does anyone have it? Is it worth picking up?

Izzy, I was thinking hypothetically regarding the human bones. I agree with you, we will leave behind plenty of artifacts, especially in the automotive area.

Todd,

If you are an obsesive collector of everything Cope, then you should buy the Anal cd for sure. It is a strange cd, I'm not sure how you would describe it, I think we discused it here a while back so you may want to go through the archives and see what was said. It is lots of industrial type banging and crashing, somewhat like a sound effects cd in my mind.

Having said that it is now sold out at Head Heritage, so it is starting to get quite rare now, so it might be worth picking up, although the price may be a bit high for a somewhat unknown cd.

Andrew

Okay this may seem kind of ridiculous, but does any one know what DC comic it was that The Teardrops were named after. I used to be a truly huge comic book head before I discovered music. I would even be interested in finding it if anyone knows where I can.

i think it was daredevil, i knows hes not dc though

hes marvel

db

Yeah, I was a comic book head too in earlier days - almost strictly Marvel. For the sake of completion, it was Daredevil 77, a truly dismal edition featuring DD, Spider-Man and Namor, The Sub-Mariner.

I recently discovered that the US comics of that period (60's &70's) are now referred to as Silver Age. It means they're officially comic history now, which is a weird feeling when they were such a motivational force in the young Vybic-to-be.

Incidentally, if you take the time to trawl around some of the comic book sale sites on the Net, you'll find DD 77 without too much trouble. I found 3 for sale, but they were all in bloody dollars. US comic books for sale in US dollars! Unbelievable!!

Certain weekends will find me down the cafe at the end of our road, early Saturday or Sunday, gorging on a full cooked breakfast. With a huge mug of tea of course.

I'm making soup from your bones...

Andrew, thanks for the info on Anal. I'll have to swing by the store and pick it up. As an indie store the price of their CDs tend to be high and the Anal is considered an import so the price is even higher. At least they have a poster of Julian on their wall.

Hey do any of you Heads out there know how tall JC is ? My girlfriend and I have a bet going so if anyone knows, please post !

Augie - at least 7ft ( In those boots he wears at the moment )

Augie,

I reckon he's about 6'2" or 6'3". I've stood beside him a couple of times (when he's in sensible footwear) and he's just a couple of inches shorter than me.

John.

Does anybody know what music Julian is listening to these days ?

or is he just reading books?

.........we can't expect to explore without explosion.........

6'1" (I think). I remember reading it somewhere ages ago, probably in one of those crappy teen magazines back in the Teardrops days. Its amazing how much useless crap I have floating around in my head.

Andrew

Suddenly after thinking there was only Head Heritage and Soul Desert, I find all this...

Is there a mailing list too?

BTW, I thought the Teardrop's name came from a Fantastic Four comic.

simonf

Hi

i'm thinking about putting press releases and interviews from the press on my website so I want to know what you think YES or NO!!!

Russ

And I've been busy over the last few weeks so i'll have all the images linked by the end of the week

I've also been looking for my copy of Daredevil but it must have been stolen when we had our breakin. Joel's now 6 months old and he's starting to listen to music (well taking notice) so i'm playing all the good stuff and turning the radio off when bands like boyzone and steps come on!

have STEPS made it over to the US yet there the pits boy/girl teen bands total shite!!

I've gotten back into the Skellington Chronicles in a big way of late, and I thought I'd share that. Both 1 &2 are so loose, but nevertheless have some great songs and they also contain all manner of delights. The short guitar break in the middle of No How, No Why, No Way, No Where, No When is gorgeous.

I'll take QE3 and/or the Teardrops sessions as stopgaps when they come out, but some new Cope would be a dream. 2000 C.E. feels a long way off.

Welcome, Simonf.

It was definitely Daredevil. And yes - isn't Rail On good. I was as pleased as you are when I first found it.

Do it, Donn-eye...

Russ -

I say Yes to the press releases and interviews. Have there been many new interviews with the book and spoken word tour? I, for one, would like to see them.

Steps? I guess we're lucky not to have been struck by that craze yet. Still suffering through the Backstreet Boys, thank you very much. Keep the kids listening to the good stuff, I say. I had my son begging to hear more Julian and XTC by the time he was four. He'd actually have tantrums if we didn't put on certain CDs. Never too much of a good thing, although repeated listens to your favorite tunes can sometimes diminish the pleasure.

Mark

Talking of XTC what do you think of the new LP and has anyone been listening to the aussie band You Am I who on the odd track sond like XTC

Russ

thanks to you who answered the height question, I think 6'2" or 6'3" sounds rite, tho i liked wickerman's answer best..

I couldn't agree more with Vybik Jon that Don-eye's solo in No How, No Why, etc. is brilliant. Ive spent way too mnay hours trying to play it on my guitar.

Does anyone else suffer from this problem I have? The problem occurs when I find myself in a folkie bar listening to the umpteenth ball-breaking acoustic set of over-wrought emotional songs set to Neil Young's patented strum patterns, I fantasize that Julian Cope and Don-eye saunter on stage, perhaps Julian in his "St. Julian"-period leathers, with his cherry red modified electric 9 string Gibson, and they just rip the shit outta of stuff like Space Hopper, Trampolene, Read It In Books, or Out of My Mind on Dope and Speed. Do I need help, really?

Would anyone agree with me that the versions of Safesufer and I Got My TV and My Pills in their original incarnations, on Droolian and Skellington Chronicles respectively, are superior to the "proper" LP versions?

Trivia questions for the hard-core Cope fans only:

1. name the four members of the incredibly short-lived group called "The Mystery Girls." Hint: one was Julian Cope, natch.
2. Julian and Duke McCool (a.k.a. Ian McCulloch) were in three bands together; name them.
3. Passionate Friend was written for or about whom?

Answers will be posted soon...

....Battlin' not with Battling once again..."

No help needed at all, Theo, and your fantasy is glorious. Mind you, I'd just love to see him playing live again.

I've Got My TV And My Pills - original.

Safesurfer - undecided. Maybe because the Peggy Suicide version is so familiar.

Answers:

1. Can't remember off the top of my head. (Shame).
2. UH?/The Crucial Three/Nova Mob. (Not necessarily in that order).
3. Mac's sister. (Though her name escapes me).

Trav - finished collating the survey results yet?

Landfill has got me weeping - skip lunch, take out the trash yeah...

Well Russ, since you asked . . .

I've been an XTC fan for a long time. After waiting 6 years to hear a new disc, I was a bit disappointed by Apple Venus Vol. I, at first. Part of that was duie to the chalkhills list that I belong to. I obtained a tape of Andy Partridge's demos for the record almost a year before, and played them to no end. The CD stayed very true to the demos, so in many parts it wasn't like hearing a new record at all.

But, as I continue to play the f*ck out of it, I love it more each listen. It is very subtle and beautiful, and I'm usually one for the rough edges myself. But I like it a lot. From the arabic strains of Green Man, the bitter lyrics about his divorce in My Dictonary, and the lushness of Harvest Festival...I like it all. Except maybe Colin Moulding's tracks, which sound trite and like filler compared to Andy's work.

Volume II is said to be all the rockin' material that they left off the first disc. I can't wait to hear that. Of course, in keeping with the theme here, I think I'd rather hear some new music from dear Julian!

What do the rest of you think of XTC? What else is everyone out there listening to? Who are your other favorites?

Mark

My musical tastes outside of the Drude have led many to ask what it is I like about him. I'm a sucker for women singers, have a particular weakness for singer/songwriters (men or women), can't seem to shrug off an indie past (whatever indie means these days), still dip into an even older HM past on occasion and don't find myself offended every time by chart-pop and dance music.

All of which goes some way to explaining the Drude's attraction - it is the music, but it isn't just the music. The sum is so much greater than the parts. He's Julian Cope and I love him.

Driving on the far side of slow...

[If any of you guys can help Kevin guy out with some direct contact info, that would be great! -- Trav]

Greetings,

Do you have a contact address for either Julian, or his representatives?

I run a small independent record label, which specialises in archive recordings and reissues, and I would be keen to get in contact with Julian so that we could propose working on some of his archives.

Any help that you can give would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Kevin Crace,

Almafame,
125 Shoreditch High street,
London,
E1 6JE.
        

Very well put,Vybic

There's music you like

and then there's Julian

like visiting a friend

Mark - which New Year's Show? So far, my favorite gigs are 10-31-95, 11-2-98, 12-6-96, 2-15-99 [trey], and of course 8-16-96. The Pharmer's Almanac was a great investment. I wish Cope had something like that!

I haven't finished tabulating the survey yet. We only have like 5 results! Send 'em in, folks! Link's at the top of the page.

Just got done w/ finals. Back to real life - web pages, computer games, and travel! Summer's here!!!

Trav

[Got this one totally out of the blue! -- Trav]

I am a Cope also, I was looking for distant relatives

I have been a devoted Cope fan for quite some time now and like the rest of you early imagine seeing him play live. The difference (as far as I know) is that I live in a small rurual town in the middle of Virginia called Farmville. There's no way in hell Cope will ever play any where near here it drives me nuts.

Answers to hard-cope trivia:

1. Mystery Girls: Pete Burns (later of Dead or Alive fame); Phil Hurst (Nightmares in Wax and Hollycaust); Pete Wylie (Wah!); Cope.
2. Cope-McCulloch bands: The Crucial Three (May-June 77); A Shallow Madness (July-Sept 78) [acoustic version known as Uh!]; and The Teardrop Explodes (Mac quoted in mid-80's Rolling Stone Bunnymen article that Cope sacked him for never showing up on time for rehearsals .)
3. Mac's sister, named Julie I think).

Sources: Pete Frame's Liverpool family tree, Head-on, RS

Good work Vybik!

Has anyone heard Bill Drummond's 1984 LP, The Man, which contains the droll "Julian Cope is Dead"? Hopefully its not sacrilige to say it on these pages, but it's a brilliant album, particularly King of Joy. Sorry, Julian.

Theo- I had meant to tackle the latest trivia, but I was outa beer.

• Does anyone have a idea as to the value of a book that I purchased back in '88 or so called "Liverpool Explodes" It has great info and pictures of the Droppies/Cope/Bunnymen/Wylie and others.
• And what's the current value of the Rabbi Joseph Gordon single on Bam Caruso?

-thanks

I'm, I'm not afraid any more...

Trav-

The Phish New Year's show I downloaded was from 12-31-98, where they opened with Prince's 1999 (predictable, but a hoot!) I just saw Trey solo last week. I preferreed the acoustic set to the electric set, but both were a lot of fun. He did some interesting covers. I especially like the Guyute acoustic, I Can See Clearly Now and the Vodoo Chile closer. The man can rock, but I like the full complement of the band for the electric side. Mike, Paige and Fishman really add a lot, whereas his backup band for the solo tour was just that, backup.

So, when do we start hearing Cope via the magic of MP3?

Mark

Oh yes, many XTC fans out there, thankfully.

I saw those boys on April 18, 1981 at New York's (now-demolished) Palladium (the same plaace I saw The Teardrop Explodes a mmonth later) along with Jools Holland and His Millionaires (brilliant!) and the first tour of Joan Jett and The Blackhearts (please kill me...). They opened with "Reel By Real" and throughout the show, many of the songs had cartoon/animated backdrops that fit the lyrics--bombs dropping on the word "C-U-B-A" during "Living Through Another Cuba" and so on. I would have never thought Andy Partridge would have such a phobia about performing live--XTC were a f**kin powerhouse. I first saw them on an old t.v. show called "Twiggy's Jukebox" and they showed the videos of "Making Plans For Nigel" and "Life Begins At The Hop"--subsequently, I was hooked (this was January 1979). I literally cried when I heard "English Settlement" for the first time--still, one of the most PERFECT albums EVER--I refer to the original 1982 Virgin double lp.

And I still worship at the altar of The Dukes Of Stratosphear...

Okay, we've covered Teardrop, Petrols, XTC, some Damned--who's next? We could make fun of Weller--he ACHES to be mocked, you know...

By the way, Trav--my contributions to the next CD will be "Treason" (since I did "Books"), "Greatness And Perfection" (actually, it's done--I want to re-mix it) and "Bandy's First Jump".

Bye bye, kiddiwinks--for now!

Love,

Rob

And is anybody out there occasionally unfaithful to Julian Cope with The The, a.k.a. Matt Johnson, like I am?

Vava.

(Ciao Rob!)

And what's the current value of the Rabbi Joseph Gordon single on Bam Caruso?

I just bought a copy for $6 about 3 months ago, but otherwise, I usually see it for sale around $35. I guess I got a bargain ....

Rabbi Joseph Gordon single can sometimes reach upwards of $75.00 (I kid you NOT)--a friend of mine actually was nutty enough to buy one...

What about me? What about raving?

I am the milkman of human kindness...

Au revoir, kiddiwinks!

(XXX--Vava!)

XTC: great to see the mini-review below, though seventeen years late ;-). I worshipped them from 1986 or so up to 'Oranges &Lemons', which I claim is a really crappy album.

From what I've heard from 'Apple Venus' (My Dictionary), it seems that Andy Partridge has found a clue again.

Re: Colin Moulding's songs on AV "filler" - I can't believe that.

On all albums I've heard, his songs are among the best.

Re: Bill Drummond's "The Man": I have the album, and it's not bad.

However, I am biased, since The Triffids played on that album.

(Any Triffids fans here except for me?)

/Jörgen

The Triffids a very under rated band here in the UK i've just sold quite a bit of stuff on ebay including Bury me deep in love 3" promo cds. I've finished linking the cope photos on my site i'm going to start putting adverts/reviews and interviews on over the next week or so

Russ

I'm not going to bother watching the eclipse,It happens quite often. I'm waiting for "The Biggy"

Rumours are that Headheritage might be updated, but then again it might not.

Rumours of head heritages updating have been greatly exagerated.

John Loughney,

Hi John, I hope you are well. Oh my god, did you ever get a bargain on the Rabbi 7". Now it seems to go for anywhere around $50US mark at least. I managed to get a copy years ago when I still lived in England, I think I paid £12 for it, but it is very rare now. The single is a must have for all hard core fans, but in my mind it isn't a great record, it is just it's obscurity that makes it a valuable find. A steal at $6 though!

Matt Johnson, The The: The thought of The The brings back so many wonderful memeories of art school for me, when it seemed like Infected was on everyone's tape player. Classic. There was actually a series of videos for Infected that ran as a kind of movie, called Infected, which were pretty awesome, did anyone else see it? I think I have it on tape somewhere. Does anyone know what Matt Johnson is up to now?

Wrigglin' around like a lizard in a tin...

Andrew

Talking of the rabbi single, the GEMM website has a listing for it, (GEMM is a kind of music brokerage where lots of different sellers list their stuff. It is an excellent resource for those hard to find items, like Droolian, Skellington etc.), simply go there and do a search:

http://www.gemm.com

Andrew

I bought my copy the single from Martin who used to run the Pure Joy fanzine (where is he now?) for around £15.00 I think. I gave it to my then girlfriend (another Copehead) as a gift, and though we still get on okay I doubt I'll get it back.

Just as an item of trivia, the guy who ran Bam Caruso was interviewed a few years back and was asked about the single. It transpired that he still had 15 copies under his bed (!) and proceeded to sell them by post at £15.00 each on a first come, first served basis. My order arrived too late.

Just like Pooh Bear...

Mentioning The The reminded me of the Cope connection....The common thread is James Eller. He is best known as the bassest from St. Julian and Nation Underground and then he joined The The. But he first played on 'Wilder'. Check the small print. When I met him on the St. Julian Tour he hadn't any idea which tracks he played on Wilder. Years later Cope chanced upon James as he worked in a sandwich shop and re-hired him. I have a Nick Lowe single with a group photo which includes Eller. I'll have to find it somewhere in my collection for the year if anyone's interested. I think I bought it cause the 2nd 45 in the gatefold sleeve had them doing a live version of the great "what's so funny 'bought peace love &understanding?" Costello does it best of course.

later awl..

Brian

Thank-You everyone for your input on the Rabbi single. Here's an extra question on the subject: The b-side "belief in him" is co-written. Would this be D.R. Skinner?

Interesting new item I found in the Sunday paper:

Kenya Study Safaris is offering a December tour to note the millennium either in Masai Mara game reserve OR atop Mount Kilamanjaro. It's Dec 2 to Jan 4 ...blah blah blah ...only $6,000. 'Woohoo!' I'll be waiting for the video....

Brian

hop, skip, jump. wait for the bump!

Martin was last seen in Africa just after finishing Uni but that was a few years ago. I'm still trying to find him so I can buy some odds and ends from him. The The Soul Mining what an album not as good as Infected but still a gem. The video for Infected was shown on CH4 late one friday night under THE TUBE banner

I wouldn't have thought the co-writer was Donn-eye, as I think the single was a bit before his time. I'd be pleased to be corrected though.

"Damn it!" said Wayland...

Chris W - From Farmville, eh? Do you know Willie and Mickey?

Theo - Yes, I think I still have a copy of Drummond's The Man along with Troy Tate's LP (the one with the "Bart Simpson"-esque drawings on it). I still play the Troy Tate occasionally when I am at home where there's a record player, but I haven't listened to The Man in ages! It's a bit folky-sounding from what I recall, right?

Mark - Cope MP3! Well, right now I am trying to look into the legality of it. One of the Phish MP3 sites was actually shut down, upon request of the Greatful Dead lawyer, who I assume was also representing Phish. So far, I haven't heard of anyone actually getting sued; reprimand is usually in the form of a "Cease and Desist" letter. I can handle one of those, but I'd still prefer to get a better idea of the risks and penalties. Who knows, maybe Cope will encourage MP3s of his live material, but somehow I doubt it.

Even Phish has limits - they don't [or used to not] allow people to video tape concerts. My guess is that the anti-video restriction is at the request of the record labels, who might want to some day put together their own concert footage and/or documentary of the band.

Everyone else - Phish is great, and they have been getting better and better. My live tapes are from 1991/92, and enjoyable as they are, they completely suck compared to the MP3s from 1998. Phish has steadily improved as they have grown. The studio albums don't do the band justice. Their appeal is in their live performance.

Rob - Super, can't wait to hear your contributions! Speaking of the Jam, I love their greatest hits album, but I haven't gotten any actual albums yet; they all tend to be expensive. Do you have any recommendations? I think I saw All Mod Cons and In the City on the same CD once [I hope I got those titles correct].

Vava - Yeah, I like The The, but Hanky Panky kinda spoiled my impression; he needed to follow it up with a good solid studio LP of originals. But alas. What has Matt been doing since? I've been waiting and waiting for a new album but he seems to have disappeared. He contributed an instrumental track [a work-in-progress] to a compilation a couple years back [post Dusk I think]. I did a The The survey a while back; the results are pretty interesting! The The Survey (1997)

Trav

Trav, me lad...

First and foremost, get Sound Affects (1980)--it's Weller's REVOLVER (big surprise--"Start!" is on there; so is "That's Entertainment"); then get "All Mod Cons" and then you can work your way around them--or if you want to splash $80.00 in one shot, get the box set "Direction/Reaction/Creation"--it's 5 CD's and has EVERYTHING--A &B sides included for the singles and rarities/unreleased tracks. Also (and NOBODY get mad at me for this)--The Style Council boxset "The Complete Adventures Of The Style Council" is also FAB! You get all of Weller's career in two boxes (also about $80.00).

And yes, me being the marginal old geezer who didn't have a life except to see shows back in the early '80's, of course I saw The Jam at The Ritz and at The Palladium and I saw The Style Council at The Savoy (March 1984). And yeah, I've seen the old bastard (Weller, that is) solo as well.

Taking all questions and comments about them good ol' days...

Love to all--

le Modfather

Oh and I forgot...

which Troy Tate album do you mean, because I actually bought "Liberty", his second album from 1985, which came out on Sire (Deutschland)? Not too bad, either.

Does anyone know what the story is with QE3? I thought it was going to be available for the talking tour a couple of months ago. Was it? If not, why not?

Andrew

P.S. Russ, I too prefer Soul Mining. Infected was a classic, but Soul Mining somehow has a stronger durability in my mind. Must dig through the old vinyl and refresh my ears to both.

Wow!

so much stuff going on here..where to start??

• Trav-I agree with the Modfather,Sound Affects is a great place to start(no pun intended) Jam-wise..its available on a double CD with All Mod Cons;which I'd highly recommend seeking out..Setting Sons and yes,The Gift are very good as well..the early stuff is ok,but a little too derivative for my tastes..you may like it..all depends
• XTc?got into them from the early videos also,such goofy fun..followed them up until The Big Express and then drifted away a bit..Just listened to Black Sea and English Settlement(sadly not the doulbe album)the other day..just great to hear them again..heck,this page has been directing most of my musical choices lately~l~..agree with Andrew on The The..Soul Mining is my prefered album..just have a special spot for Uncertain Smile and This is The Day...
• Vava-my bit of guilty listening..The Cure...I know I'll probably get it for liking mopey Bob,but up Disintergration,I think they're a great band~shrug~...anyone out there listen to Elliot Smith either?Nick Drake?

Been reading a great book,now that I can read again(eye probs)..actually two books;finally getting to read Head On!..but the other is "Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll : Psychedelic Unknowns, Mad Geniuses, Punk Pioneers, Lo-Fi Mavericks &More"(phew!) by Richie Unterberger..the book is worth it for the mad geniuses section alone..

pieces on Syd,Roky,Scott Walker,Nick Drake,Arthur lee(Love) and more..a very entertaining read...Julian merits a few mentions as both a willful eccentric(not mad,y'see)and for his Krautrock Sampler book,which the author regards very highly...you can always check out Amazon.com for more info...oh and it did come with a sampler CD as well,guess it still does....

what else..hmmmmmmmmmmm?

guess that's it for now..Be well all

Love on Ya,

Steven

my bottle's in the fireplace,and my dog lies hypnotized..

um.....

that was from me,btw

OH COME ON NOW PEOPLE!

The Cure is NOT guilty listening. Doesn't anyone remember how brilliant "A Forest", "Primary" or "Charlotte Sometimes" ARE? Guilty listening is...um, wait for it...SPANDAU BALLET! Woo-hoo!

Okay, now for the serious s**t...

1. SOUND AFFECTS, dammit! I have spoken and you shall know I am the FACE, baby--is that clear?
2. As far as those Swindon wonders go, ENGLISH SETTLEMENT is Partridge's REVOLVER.
3. As far as the Tamworth wonder goes, KILIMANJARO is Cope's REVOLVER.
4. As far as the lads from Liverpool go, REVOLVER is their REVOLVER
5. Vava--XXX. You rule!

I'm only concerned with looking concerned...

Shalom,

le Modfather

The Cure's 1984 The Top was an excellent lp I thought.

Nike Drake is a recently aquired taste for me, his voice is hard to get used to but his guitar playing was excellent. Riverman stands out as particularly good.

I never knew about the Troy Tate Lps, what did they sound like?

Has anyone heard the old Pete DeFreitas' band Balcony Dogs or did they never record anything?

Okay, Steve, I saw you sneak that Arthur Lee quote in there.

...If I don't start cryin' it's because that I have got no eyes...

Has anyone out there heard "Exile on Coldharbour Lane" by Alabama 3? Far and away the best album of the last couple of years, I reckon. If you get a chance to see them live, don't miss it.

Dear all,

it was a joy reading your messages in my grey day (and tonight I'll read the survey, thank you Trav!).

Still on The The:

• connections: besides James Eller (have a look at him inside the sleeve of 'Dusk', his HAIR"STYLE"), there's also Warne Livesey ('Infected').
• news: I really don't know much, but I know there's this interesting site called True Happiness This Way Lies (http://www.ingsoc.com/thethe/ sorry, I forgot my HTML, so I can't make it a link). Among his albums (I have Soul Mining, Infected, Mind Bomb and Dusk) I think I prefer 'Soul Mining' and 'Dusk', but then they are all special to me: the thing that makes the difference for me between simply liking somebody's music and feeling it really has a place in my heart and mind is when I find I can share the obsessions I always had and absorb new ones from that somebody! So... I don't know Hanky Panky like I don't know many other things about Matt Johnson and you see, I'm almost afraid of getting better informed, because I have this tendency to dive deep into things and people, and I think I'll never manage to change my incredibly old car if I continue to blow all my money on these wonderful individuals.

Still on the topic of musical tastes, maybe the best description of "where I'm coming from" could be the line-up of two tapes I've taped for a friend recently: those are all songs I simply LOVE for many different reasons. Just to share something... sorry if it's boring. Anyway, here they are:

GLOOMY-DREAMY TAPE

• A) UNCERTAIN SMILE/Matt Johnson (original single vers.) - WHAT/Soft Cell - JACK THE RIPPER/Morrissey - CREEP/Radiohead (from Pablohoney) - THOSE FIRST IMPRESSIONS/The Associates - TORCH/Soft Cell (Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing ext. vers.)
• B) I FEEL LOVE/Marc Almond + Bronski Beat (Love to Love You Baby-Johnny Remember Me mix)- THIS IS THE DAY/Matt Johnson (orig. single vers.) - MY LOVE LIFE/Morrissey - GREATNESS &PERFECTION (album vers.) - LUNG SHADOWS/Matt Johnson - THE PLAGUE/Marc Almond

PARTY-FACE TAPE

• A) DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY/Communards - GET INTO THE GROOVE/Madonna (orig. single) - A TASTE OF LOVE/Den Harrow (ext. vers.: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF HIM? He's Italian, but he pretended to be English and we used to laugh at him, but this song IS the Early Eighties in Italy) - SEND ME AN ANGEL/Real Life (orig. single) - THE MEANING OF LOVE/Depeche Mode (album vers.) - BOYS DON'T CRY/ The Cure(orig. single) - THIS TOWN/Hey!Elastica (orig. single) - DISENCHANTED/Communards
• B) DON'T YOU WANT ME/Human League (original single) - HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT/Bronski Beat (ext. vers.) - I WANT TO WAKE UP/ Pet Shop Boys - WHAT IS LOVE?/Howard Jones (ext. vers.) - SOMETIMES/Erasure (orig. single) - I WANT A LOVER/Pet Shop Boys - YOU ARE MY WORLD/Communards

Er... Does it say something about my age?

Of course, there's much more I could flood you with, but I just can't, because of that marginal aspect of life called work...

Only: The Cure is definitely NOT guilty listening: I really can't pick favourites among their songs, I used to love them so much (Let's Go to Bed? Killing An Arab? No, I can't choose). However I meant "unfaithful" just for a joke, maybe just from the fact that a friend I hadn't seen for ages and who knew I had some sort of crush on Julian Cope in the Eigthies she came to visit me, saw my pile of cds, then looked at me slightly horrified and just said: "I never thought you would MARRY him!"

Yes, I've finished.

Ciao, Vava

(this all is also for you, Rob, of course, to help you at work).

Geez..folks I'll be more careful with my wording next time...I love The Cure..ok?~l~

Steven

..shot down fromm heaven above....

Ah, what a way to start a grey and dreary Wednesday (I'm right there with you, Vava--in thought, spirit and heart)--rainy, foggy, muggy--it's great to be a New Yorker...

Let's get down to brass tacks--yes, this is a Cope chat room, but being the kind of followers of Saint Julian as we are (does that constitute a tax break for us Americans who can scream "new religious order"--wait--n.R.o.? That would be me...), it is our duty as open-minded folk to listen to all sorts of vast and miraculous music (like some of the delightful Vava's choices) so that we don't get stagnant whilst the Tamworth Wizard comes up with his next epic. That said...

My ideal "Moods For Moderns" tape (and I've made a few of these already): When I Dream--Teardrop Explodes/Armalite Rifle--Gang Of Four/Down In The Park--Gary Numan/Mexican Radio--Wall Of Voodoo/Swords Of A Thousand Men--Tenpole Tudor/Me Or You--Killing Joke/Uncertain Smile--The The/Bad Life--P.I.L./Flaming Desire--Bill Nelson/To Cut A Long Story Short--Spandau Ballet/Absolute Beginners--The Jam/Speak Like A Child--The Style Council/Whistle Down The Wind--Nick Heyward/Rich--Lloyd Cole and The Commotions/Lucky Number--Lene Lovich/It Says Here--Billy Bragg and so on--I have (so far) four volumes of these mixed tapes...

Keeps you keepin' on when you're at work...

Love to all--

Rob

Not only do I know Billy and Mickey, but I have joined their group as bassist. The version of "Highway To The Sun" that Mickey sent you featured my bass talents (or lack thereof). Billy is the one who introduced me to Cope as a young lad and I've been Hooked ever since. Yes that's right Farmville, VA has the world's highest concentration of Cope fanatics. I'm surprised too.

Opps just went back and read Steven's second to last message. Got to Love the Elliot Smith. Have you ever checked out Heatmiser his first band. They have one really good album (can't remember the name the one with "Plain Clothes Man"), and one which I hear isn't so good.

All these mentions of The The, and not one included the BRILLIANT Johnny Marr. Ahem...one if the most overlooked guitarists of the past ten years? "Kingdom of Rain" is a fave of mine for his guitar playing and for Sinead's haunting vocal. I'm also digging the mentions of Nick Drake, Elliot Smith, and The Cure..."Pornography" to this day gets regular play. And a mention of the Associates!!! I thought I was the only one...does anyone else still like these guys?

All these mentions of The The, and not one included the BRILLIANT Johnny Marr. Ahem...one if the most overlooked guitarists of the past ten years? "Kingdom of Rain" is a fave of mine for his guitar playing and for Sinead's haunting vocal. I'm also digging the mentions of Nick Drake, Elliot Smith, and The Cure..."Pornography" to this day gets regular play. And a mention of the Associates!!! I thought I was the only one...does anyone else still like these guys?

Some serious practical info: I just found a site that is probably the coolest and best way to find rare material from any band, http://www.gemm.com ...it is sort of a connector site for dealers and record stores worldwide, seems to be a cross between ebay and amazon, if you can imagine that. They have just about everything listed that Julian Cope has ever done as "available". I just ordered the Rabbi James Gordon 7" for $25, and Droolian on cd for the same price. Hope y'all find it useful.

hi, i'm trying to get an exact quote from the inside of the Rite 2 insert (my copy is in temporary storage) it's the one that has to do with the risks in freedom versus bondage..can anyone out there please post the exact quote and who said it for me ? thanks alot..

Jordan:

Happy to oblige.

"There are always risks in freedom. The only risk in bondage is that of breaking free." --A Guide to the Advanced Soul.

Now tell me how Rite Squared compares in your estimation with the original Rite.

If you like that quote then read "Disturbing the Peace" by Vaclav Havel. Every country should be so lucky to have such a civil and brilliant person at the helm.

I loved it when Julian said at a recent lecture: "And the last thing we all need is another New Age Fix." (Admitted non-sequitur)

Not to switch gears entirely from the topic of really old music but I can recommend "Chrominance Decoder" by April March (1999). Different, definitely, but quite good in a Francophone way.

"The Plague" by Marc Almond I saw pass through this way recently. Hmmmmmm, Marc Almond put together a brilliant Scott Walker anthology called "Boy Child" the first track of which was "The Plague," an incredibly haunting song by the Master. I urge all to run out and seek it out from your discriminating record shops. I would love some info on Julian's compilation of Scott Walker tunes called "Fire Escape in the Sky."

Just got on CD Pere Ubu's The Modern Dance. Julian definitely did a better version of "Non-Alignment Pact" in my humble opinion.

After reading all the word on The The, I may have to check them out. I always avoided them because their band name was a little lame. (Or so it seemed in my younger days.)

....Chrominance Decoder sends a signal to light up your name....

..My head is in the oven, won't you help me please?

thanks for the response, theo. i was just listening to the original rite on my walkman when i checked your post. that's just the way things happen. a psychic watercourse by which events can then flow indeed. i like the first rite alot, especially amethysteria, to me rite is the one recording where julian's band is on equal completely footing with him, reflected in the fact that he's not even pictured on the sleeve and there's no vocals at all. But rite 2 i like even better, it's got great flow and it feels much more like his record than the first because of his voice is present and then there's the adddres druidion and of course that cover (i love the packaging on this cd the most among all his, i think he's always had excellent graphics, photos, layout, on his sleeves). yourself ? about fire escape in the sky, it's got a very plain greyish sleeve with the title in a very cool green small font, no photos, no info really-- very mysteriously packaged, as if he wanted you to just check out what's inside w/o knowing much going in. ps- thanks for the book recs; my other two favorites quotes from the sleeves are the israel regardie one from 20 Ms and the Mandela one from Interpreter.

Does anyone know if it's worth getting the remastered Fried cd.

Is mic mac moc a different version to the one on sunspots ep ?

ungup annangingoutoodri!

Julian did a better version of 'Non-Alignment Pact', I'm sorry but, did he bollocks. David Thomas vocals are just like scarier maan.

Does anyone know who actually recorded the old punka classic "I Can't Get 'Bouncing Babies' By The Teardrop Explodes', and how much it goes for these days?

I recieved a copy of Leper Skin yesterday (thank you Todd!). It is a pretty good collection of songs from the Island years, a few surprises on there, but nothing new as such. Good to see Crazy Farm Animal on there. But it all leaves me with a few questions...

1. Why did they decide to seperate Leper and Skin as the title? Wasn't it all one word, Leperskin, when it was a track on Peggy?
2. Am I missing something, because in the photo credits it refers to page 24 and another page that clearly does not exist. What's the story? Is this another incidence like the credit for The Butchers Tale on Wilder in that originally a bigger booklet was planned but never happened?

Just wonderin'...

Andrew

P.S. Finally got off my ass last night and did some more work on an updated look for Trampolene, so I should get that done very soon and posted. The content isn't going to change too much, but it will have a new look as the old one is getting a bit tierd now. I'll keep you posted.

P.P.S. I love Cope's version of Non Alignment Pact, but I think I have to go with the original version if forced to choose, Thomas' vocals are amazing. I did manage to see Pere Ubu live in Birmingham (UK) in 1990, July 4th actually. Incredible gig, blew me away. The support band was The Miracle Legion were also the best support act I have ever seen, truly amazing, I went straight out and bought as many of their records as I could.

"The Butchers Tale on Wilder"

what is this ?, never heard of it.

i got the vogues 5 o' clock world on mp3 recently and it funny to listen to, as its practically a different song

~db

Ladies and gentlemen, how do? (This is a shameless plug/reference to MY album, The Damned's "Machine Gun Etiquette"--ask Trav...)

1. "I Can't Get Bouncing Babies By The Teardrop Explodes" was done by The Freshies!
2. "Butcher's Tale (1914)" was credited on the inner sleeve of "Wilder" (UK release). It apparently is in the vaults.
3. BEST version of "Non Alignment Pact" is by THAT PETROL EMOTION--on the 12" of "Can't Stop". There is an unbelievable version that is unreleased (and will always be) by THE PUNCH LINE (guess who was in that band?).
4. As far as the re-issue of "Fried" and "W.S.Y.M."--what the hell were the people at Mercury thinking? Those liner notes suck and the artwork looks like shit. They would have been better off borrowing the American films to do the covers over, because the quality of the UK versions are relly blurry and cheap looking. No difference in the version of "Mik Mak Mok".

Just go out and buy the first four Scott Walker albums. Don't question it. Just do it.

Have I mentioned (quite unashamedly) that I am madly in love with Geri Halliwell?

TELL ME YOUR PLANS

(hey man...)

le Modfather

Andrew- Miracle Legion are fookin great. They are from Connecticut, where I went to high school, and I've seen them many times live. They were indeed an incredible live band, and were so cruelly overlooked, always being tagged as an "rem sound-alike", which in my opinion is such rush to judgement. If you haven't already bought lead singer Mark Mulcahy's solo record that came out last year, I highly recommend doing so, it is better than anything he's done previously, really...a true gem. Its mail order only, you can get it at http://www.mezzotint.com/ordering.html.

kevin

"The Butchers Tale" credit on Wilder is there because the Teardrops recorded a cover of it and it was originally listed to be a track on Wilder but at the last minute it was pulled off, but the credit was left on the inner sleeve. I think it was originally recorded by the Zombies?

Kevin, Good to hear that someone else knows The Miracle Legion, I have 2 of their albums, The Backyard and Me and Mr Ray, both awesome. When I saw them they came on stage and everyone (about 100 paople) was just sitting on the floor hanging out waiting for Pere Ubu, but by the end of their set everyone was up on their feet, dancing around etc. Incredible band and a great way to celebrate Independance Day, even if it was in England! I kept my eyes on the music press for ages after to see if they were coming back to the UK to tour but never saw them again, which is too bad. I think they did appear in London, but I was living in Scotland at the time and it was just too far (oh how that attitude has changed now that I'm in North America, I drove 600 miles last Friday just to take my girlfriend to the airport in Edmonton and back!).

Andrew

600miles,Andrew?

wow!

anyway..a bit of Miracle legion info..if you and Kevin are interested..ML do have an album called Glad that has some tracks that they recorded with Pere Ubu..I've omly hears My Backyard by them,but I did see them several times in Boston and they put on a very good show

...was reading Head On last night,Julian was just raving about Mark E.Smith and Pere Ubu on the same page..so it looks like The fall and Modern Dance will be getting played tonight

Not heard TPE version of Non-Alignment Pact,but I think I side with the Ubu version as well..Julian's version is very good,but I just like the mental pic of ol'Crocus Behemoth spitting and warbling out the words..

oh

and

Ordered QE and Droolian from gemm...tried getting Skellington at a great buy of $11,but it was out of stock...the forty something they're asking for it otherwise is just too much~shrug~

Steven

oh and Chris..haven't heard Heatmiser(remember the Rankin-Bass claymation thingie it was taken from?)...just so much stuff to persue

..Mekons,anyone?

...and if you want to swing in trees...

The artwork to the Freshies single of "I Can't Get Bouncing Babies by The Teardrop Explodes "is a exact copy of the Teardrops art, even the 'Zoo' logo is replaced with their 'Razz' logo. And it's a piano ballad, not 'punka' song... I brought my copy to Julian when he played the Roxy in L.A. for the Peggy tour. He hesitated and ultimatly refused to sign it. He admitted to not having a copy himself. Donald signed it and Rooster was going to, but when he learned Julian refused, so did he. Outa respect for Julian.

The Freshies also gave us one of the great pop tunes "I'm In Love With The Girl at the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk".

It contains some timeless lyrics:

...She takes money,
She gives change.
She sells records.
And that's special...
        

This song is on the Cherry records best of the Freshies CD with 23 tracks (lots unreleased and demos) cat# cdmred129. However 'Virgin' has been replaced with 'certain'. Both in title and in the singing

AAARGH! damn the lawsuits.

Brian

I've got all of sleep's secrets hidden in my bag...

There was a 12" single from the Bill Drummond LP. I bought it for the b-side which was Drummond telling the listener how to 'make it' in the music business while atop a horse. Occassional galloping included, I think it was between 8 - 12 minutes.

BTW; "Julian Cope is Dead" is the result of Julian hitting B.D. with a cream pie at a Creation records Christmas party. Cope of course felt his own actions where "Brilliant".

Brian

Here I stand, awaiting a loving command

Andrew

now there are 3. steven speaks the truth...if you were into that show that you saw, Miracle Legion put out a record called "Glad" that included Pere Ubu playing with them, on the same tour you saw, it was recorded at the old 34ST Ritz in NYC. You can get it at the website that I listed before. Great record.

a heart disease called love....

eGad- Fergot to mention- Creation Records lists the Bill Drummond record that includes "julian cope is dead" as available.....

http://www.creation.co.uk/

Hi

Gotta get in on the Freshies info Chris Sievey the singer is better known as the one and only Frank Sidebottom the guy with the big heed.The single I can't get BB is as rare as rockin horse shite!!!and if you have a copy look after it as i've seen it change hands for £40+

I've met chris a few times both as the freshies and Frank Sidebottom and he's a really nice bloke. Julian got a bit miffed at the single when it came out and slagged it off big style!. I had a Freshies tshirt on at one of the Teardrop gigs and after the show Julian gave me a TX shirt and told me to get rid of that shit I had on which I was glad to for a free TShirt

Russ

Yes, yes, yes...

Yep, The Zombies did "Butcher's Tale" on their "Pet Sounds"-like epic "Odessey And Oracle" (that mis-spelling is deliberate).

Why does everyone like Heatmiser so much? Snowmiser was funnier and his song had a better rhythm and you could dance to it...

Rob

"..if I were France And you were Germany..."

I agree Snowmiser definitely put out some good ablumns. I definitely preferr the pyschdelic period to his dance period though.

Hi

I have added The Julian Cope webring to my site the links are not working at the moment but all you site owners can submit your site if you want to . I have to work on the code at the moment so you can cut and paste the HTML into your home page. If you think the webrings a good idea let me know. I've put a bit of work into it already and just want to know if you would use it for all cope related sites

Russ

Thanks for the Jam info! CDNow.com has Sound Affects and All Mod Cons on one CD, for $21.49. Sounds like a great deal! They also have Direction/Reaction/Creation for $64. 117 tracks!!!! Choices, choices... I am really tempted to get the box set.

Yeah, I have Liberty (Troy Tate). Also, according to my records, I have his "Love Is" EP, although I don't remember anything about it. I have too much music for my own good!!! [Hundreds of CDs and tapes and all I ever listen to these days is Phish] :) As for how Troy Tate sounds... Ummm... I don't remember! I do remember I liked it, and that it sounded a *little* like the Teardrops, but when I switched to CDs, I forsook much of my vinyl and tapes.

The The - I actually like Mind Bomb a lot. It's not as intense as his earlier stuff, but it is still very catchy (in parts). Dusk is a little too mainstream-sounding for me, though. Johnny Marr rules. Darn it, when will the Smiths reform???

The Cure have been so good, for so long. It's amazing. What have then done recently? The last CD I bought of theirs is Wild Mood Swings, which is fun to listen to and has some memorable bits [bits that still run around my head]. -- short term and long term enjoyment

Was listening to Peggy in the car today. My friend, who says he hates Cope [simply because I like Cope], again remarked on liking the songs. When he found out it was Cope, he got really quiet. It's just a matter of time before he asks to borrow Cope CDs... Now that's gonna be a dilemna. Do you guys even lend your Cope CDs to people???

On a completely unrelated note, has any been able to get a null-modem and a modem working at the same time? I'm using Windows 98, and am trying to network my computers [via the null modem] while still being on the Internet. If you have any info on how to get a cheap home network going, fire away! Thanks!

Trav

The All Music Guide has this to say:

Direction Reaction Creation is the ultimate Jam package, offering 117 tracks over five discs -- essentially the band's complete studio recordings. With a strict adherence to chronological order, the box presents each single followed by its B-side(s) (six of which appear on CD for the first time, including the brilliant "See Saw"), followed by the proper album tracks -- oddly, though, the album versions of the singles are chosen in most places. Unfortunately, this approach sometimes disrupts the flow of the albums, especially in the case of All Mod Cons, which loses three tracks to the treatment, and Setting Sons, which loses "Eton Rifles" to a separate disc. This is a small point for purists to debate -- the difference is really unnoticeable in light of the truly great music found on the discs. In addition to the regular studio tracks, Disc Five offers over an hour of studio demos -- 22 previously unreleased tracks of considerably different takes of better-known material, a few never-before-heard Weller and Foxton originals, and some interesting covers like "Rain," "Dead End Street," and "Every Little Bit Hurts." A lavish 88-page booklet accompanies the set with great liner notes, an extensive band chronology and discography, and the band's complete gig list, along with plenty of rare photos and memorabilia. The Jam, simply put, were one the finest bands in rock &roll history, and Direction Reaction Creation offers the proof, showing both their remarkably rapid growth and their incredible consistency. -- Chris Woodstra, All-Music Guide

Usually I don't like to directly quote commercial sites, but, well, what the heck. AMG's a great site.

So, guys, I think I'm gonna do it. Gonna get the box set. It sounds awesome. How are the liner notes? Is it 88 pages of pictures and set lists, or is there a nice history as well?

Travis

[Posted by Travis]

Are you looking for any Teardrop's 7"s I have several for sale.

Drop me a line if interested.

Ben

[Posted by Trav]

Dear Trav

I was trying to search for the lyrics to "Sleeping Gas" and my search threw up your mail which mentioned that you had a discussion about these lyrics...

My boyfriend and I were discussing what exactly the lyrics are (and I'm sure my version is right) so if you could enlighten us it'd be great.

I thought the other stuff about bands covering Cope songs sounded really interesting and I'd love to hear some of it if you could let me know how I could.

You can email at the address below, Cheers.

Sarah

--

Andrew Moreton - andrew@fatbeehive.com - www.am.fatbeehive.com

Sarah / Andrew -

Good question! I have no idea what a lot of the lyrics are. When I did my cover version, I made a lot of stuff up [the same stuff you probably have questions about].

Tiny Children is a really cool CD [in my opinion] and we're getting ready to do a second one [by the end of the summer]. Right now I don't have any songs online, but I will probably either MP3 some or RealAudio some when the new album comes out.

Trav

I never really got into the Jam, but plenty of friends were. One song stood out and I occasionally will spontainously start singing it. And that's 'The Butterfly Collector' forgot which lp, but didn't almost all their releases have diff tracks between the UK/USA ? 'Sound Effects' is a good one I recall.

-B-

I'll get the lyrics to 'Sleeping Gas' up in a day or so.

Whilst looking on the internet today I came across the Following site which has a five part interview with Julian Cope which I have not seen before. It is called 'Traversing The Cosmos With julian Cope' Parts 1 to 5. The interview dates from November 1995 and it is from Music News of the World. To see the interview go to there website Addess below and type in Julian Copein the music news search and it should come up with a list of news features and the interview featuring Julian.

http://www.addict.com/ATN/Music_News_Of_The_World/

Richard Winchester.

been a while since i last caught up with the list. so i've got a question: how many singles were released in conjunction with floored genius? i recently picked up a wsym b/w doomed 7" that says it is "taken from, 'floored genius.'" the 7" was released in 1992 on island as IS 534 (864 206-7). any ideas?

just out of curiosity, how many of you have heard "julian cope read excerpt from his new book the modern antiqurian"? i got the disc a little while ago and if anybody wants to hear it i can mp3 the 5 tracks and up them...

trav, as for networking while on-line, i simply separate the protocols for the dial-out modem and the nic. for ease i use co-ax on the machines here. i've tried using one machine as the dedicated dial-out and then route the packets through the nic to the other but it became a hastle if the other machine wanted to dial-out because a variety of settings would have to be toggled each time.

chris, regarding spiritualized, yes! CDNow.com has a variety of tracks from the albums in mp2 and ra for listening.

jason

Greetings everybody,

I've searched the web until my mouse starved to death and I can't seem to find more than two or three Cope tunes in TAB (yes I am plebian and can't read music)does anybody know how I can get my hands on some from somewhere other than OLGA or Soul Desert.

Ta very much

Verian

Okay, I ordered the Jam boxed set from German Music Express, for $58.27

I also got the new Fall album (The Marshall Suite), for only $22.87

That's the cheapest place I've seen, and GME's treated me well in the past.

There were a bunch of releases scheduled for this spring that haven't popped up yet. I'm especially eager to hear new albums from: Buzzcocks, Wipers, Catherine Wheel, and, of course, Springhouse and For Against.

Has anyone gotten the Sumosonic album? I'm a big Jazz Butcher fan and wonder how Sumosonic is. The online clips sound decent, but I wonder how the album is as a whole.

Jason - What's a nic? Also, what do you mean by separating the protocols?

Trav

TAB

Soul Desert has "Bill Drummond Said", "Reynard the Fox", "Sleeping Gas", "Soul Desert", and "Sunspots". The URL is: http://www.fsa.ulaval.ca/personnel/gaumondp/cope/p_chord.html

There also might be some in the Culture Bunker archives. I checked 01-04 (none there that I could see).

Trav

oops, i missed that "other than soul desert" clause... my bad!

Trav

I was stoopid earlier this week when I said that "...Bouncing Babies" by the Freshies was an exact dupe of the original art...Well soon you'll be able to view the actual cover on Russ' web page.

My memory failed me awfully bad.

Brian

Okay, here are the complete and as accurate as can be lyrics to "Sleeping Gas".

It's taken from the original picture sleeve to Kilamanjaro lp.

I quote:

SLEEPING GAS
Kwalo Klobinsky's Lullabye
Sometime I wonder
If you're really living
What is this feeling
You think that you're giving
You can sit down;
Erect and dismayed
Wondering what are all
The plans that you laid.
You can watch Rafferty
Turn into a serial
Just like a cartoon
By a.a.p.
Wheher to phone you
Or whether to see
I never do anything
You never do things for me
I wander around
I just wander around
Here comes my hand and
My head's just behind
So; Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.
I stand in the street
I look for someone to meet
But you don't call me or phone
Although you're never alone
I wander around
I just wander around
I wanted to see you
I'm making you smile
I wanted to see you
If just for a while
"But I couldn't see you
But I couldn't see you"
Kwalo Klobinsky was
Saying to me
You can watch Rafferty
Turn into a serial
It's just like sleeping gas
It's so ethereal.
        

re sleeping gas: its "By A A Reid" not "aap" if I remember rightly - tho considering my memory on the style of 'I Cant Get BB'...

I'llcheck it up tonight, but REid (it might be A P actually)was the artist.

On "The Fall". The Marshall Suite is a geat album saw them at Sheffield Uni the other week and they were on great form Mark E. actually seemed to be enjoying himself, and didn't even storm off stage.

And for all those who liked the Fall, and especially the Spiitualised & early Cure fans, check out Mogwai 'Come On Die Young'. Sounds a lot like 'FAith/Pornography' and is generally monstrous.

i know what you did, and i'm proud to admit it

I was in Los Angeles for the first time, visiting my friend. We went down to the Sunset Strip, and down by the famous clubs like the Whiskey A-Go GO and the Roxy, was a huge billboard that said, I swear to gods, "Honk if you've listened to Queen Elizabeth this year"....it was an ad for the upcoming MTV music awards show. You can guess what came to my mind, but I doubt that was what MTV had in mind. Does anyone know what the hell they might have been talking about?

-kevin

Belbin,

I'm sure it's: "Just like a cartoon, by AAP", as AAP produced many a classic cartoon. Julian talks about AAP cartoons in, if I recollect correctly, some interview, or even in 'Head On'.

John.

Hi

I've added Brians photos of The Freshies single and The Freight Train single onto the Followers page in the photo section. I'll be adding a related section in the discography section for any other records like this in the near future (Starfish/reymans ect) and also a Zoo Records discography

Russ

Thanks Brian

if anyone has scans of related singles (Covers versions ect either done by cope or of cope songs (original p/s of the artists songs or p/s of the records of people covering cope songs) please e-mail them to me at the above address

thanks again

Russ

The aap controversy rages on~l~

anyway..just who in the world is Kwalo Klobinsky???

I'm assuming its a made up name,but any idea of the source??

Had the greatest Coe related dream last night..I was in a used record store in Boston(actually the place looks totally different now,but-hey!.its a dream)..I walked through the door and one of the clerks said,"hey,I saved you something by that guy you're always looking for(who else?)..he held up a battered 45 with a big piece broken out of it..I think one side of it had a song named "Downed(not sure)..anyway..I continued hunting the racks and found all these never reorded albums and eps..including on recorded with "Scotland's greatest Tenor"..an old guy that looked like someone from the Chieften's and Julian in a red hunting jacket(reynard the fox hunting,maybe??)..there was also a "new wave' Xmas compilation with "Reward" as the contribution.Julian reading,"the poetry of Dylan Thomas"(??..for 4.99) and..best of all..various copies of both TE albums..all with different covers..and best of all..both albums on one CD with 6 bonus tracks!!..ahhhh...When I Dream,indeed....

Once again, a truly shameless plug for you all--if you want to read the definitive review of The Jam's "Direction/Reaction/Creation"--get the spring '98 edition of "Suburban Voice" magazine--a five page breakdown (w/ pictures) by yours truly (yes, I am a whore). The same magazine has a wonderful review of The Undertones' back catalog (by me) as well (I can't remember if it was the same edition).

Good job, Trav--trust me, you will NOT regret it. If you are 100% satisfied with the Jam's out put through the box, then finish off your collection with "Extras"--I'm not really a fan of live albums, even though I have "Dig The New Breed" (Vinyl, naturally) and "Live Jam". As I write this, I am listening to disc 1 of "Direction..."--tomorrow is Weller's 41st birthday (I brought the box w/ me to work)--tomorrow I shlep "The Complete Adventures Of The Style Council" with me. Say what you will--The Style Coucil stilll lend themselves quite nicely to getting older--I can easily see putting "You're The Best Thing" on in the background whilst having a romantic, candlelight dinner with the lovely Miss Elizabeth (oooh, yeah) as opposed to "The Eton Rifles", if you smell what the Rob is cooking...

"Use your common sense And don't take things for granted..."

Kevin - so did you honk? Have you listened to QE in 1999?

Rob - Where can we get Suburban Voice? How many pages per issue, how often is it issued, what's the price? Jam and Undertones in the same issue - that's an excellent sign!

Trav

All right, you groovy f**kers...

E-mail your questions to the glorious Mr. Al Quint (king of the Boston scene) for back copies of SUBURBAN VOICE at: alellen@shore.net.

Trav--the answers to your questions are:

1. about 100 or so pgs.--maybe more
2. twice yearly
3. $5.00 an issue--comes with a free 45 every issue

...and when I shout I shout about you...

His royal mod-ness

I'm sorry to re-ignite the 'Sleeping Gas' ka ka. PLEASE e-mail me & I'll send a scan of that part of the lyric sheet to finally settle this matter. >>>just put "Sleeping Gas" in the subject line<<< I'll zapp a jpeg copy to you. I've already sent one to Trav.

As far as the "Kwalo Klobinsky's Lullabye", I only know that on the "To The Shores of Lake Placid" LP from ZOO! 1982 (cat#4) there is a song by 'Whopper'. Played by Kevin Stapleton aka COPE and Buff Manila aka Gary Dwyer the song is; "Kwalo Klobinsky's Lullabye"...

It's from the never released "The Fuel of The Big Engine"

-B-

hurry back, hurry to the scene of the crime...

"The Fuel of the Big Engine"?

interesting...thanks,Brian

I had just never seen KK in relation to Sleeping Gas but had seen the name on Piano (taken from Shores..of course)

I was wondering why Suburban Voice sounded so familar..it is a cool mag,Trav

...my worlds very beautiful today...

Good going Rob, I always think that the style council has had a rough time of it. Café Bleu is a stonker of a record and there's lots and lots of good bits and bobs on other albums. Of course in overall terms the Jam was the tops for Weller but still..... The stuff I really can't listen to is his solo stuff. Soz, but it's all too comfortable and easy, I can feel myself slipping into a coma when wildwood has comes on. I await vilification for this point of view.

Anyway, with the return of the old sleeping gas/a.a.p. (yes that's right) debate, I was thinking of another poser. I don't know if there is a name for them, but you know when an artist records lyrics which seem intentionally ambiguous, normally to cover some form of naughtiness. Ok, an example, the beatles did it with "Daytripper" the line supposedly being "she's a big teaser" but sounding for all the world like "she's a prick teaser" (by the way Hendrix really wimped out on this one and sang clearly "she's a big teaser" on his version).

It seems to have under gone a revival recently with Blur's beetle bum, (he's on it/piss on it, what are those lads singing)and the new and rather wonderful Supergrass "Can you hear us p(h)umping on your radio. So if you follow what I'm talking about the question is a) is there a name for such a thing, if not can we make one up now to negate such lengthy explanations in the future and b) are there any cope examples of this, I'm sure there must be but I haven't switched my brain on this morning.

This is more than just the word play thing again, it's more like a way of slipping in a rude bit and still getting played on radio one....... not that Cope would ever want that......

except for the fainting,

St.

Rob's comment about "Your the Best Thing" brought to mind my wedding day. Almost 14 years ago, my wife and I did the bridal dance to "Your the Best Thing." The bridal dance is where the entire wedding party: bride and groom, bridesmaids and groomsmen, parents, et al are paraded in front of the rest of the wedding. Is that strictly an American tradition?

Anmyway, it was the perfect song, both lyrically (she is the best thing that ever happened to me) and musically. I can't picture the party slow dancing to Spacehopper or something. We still listen to it every anniversary and it brings a teardrop to the eye.

Anyone else have any interesting choices for wedding music or other momumental events they'd care to share?

"...every girl has your name, until they turn around"

To avoid confusion with my name, i'm a bloke!

My wife and I played the theme from 'Mission Impossible' at the registry office as we had been engaged for ten years and she had finally managed to get me there.

At the reception we had the first dance to one of my wifes favoured songs 'we have all the time in the world' though I slipped the DJ the 'Fun Lovin Criminals' version which was a bit cooler.

Despite the above, the best piece of music played was 'East Easy Rider' my family and friends showed willing and tried to dance to it for all of thirty seconds before the dance floor cleared. I laughed loud and long.

V

I hope you are well. Oh my god, did you ever get a bargain on the Rabbi 7". Now it seems to go for anywhere around $50US mark at least. I managed to get a copy years ago when I still lived in England, I think I paid £12 for it, but it is very rare now. The single is a must have for all hard core fans, but in my mind it isn't a great record, it is just it's obscurity that makes it a valuable find. A steal at $6 though!

That it was, plus I did manage to get the Fear Loves this Place CD2 for $8 and the Heed: Of Penetration &the City Dweller picture disc for $12. Of course, shipping to Finland was a killer ...

Has anyone thought about putting Julians various, out of print b-sides onto CDR? If someone has time &a CDR machine, maybe we could make a nice 'box' set, sell it for a nominal fee &send Julian a dollar per disc (or so) in royalties. I'm not talking about selling it outside of this list or anything, though. Since Julian doesn't quite have control of his back catalog, this wouldn't be that unethical. Just a thought, because I'm sure there are some people on this list who wouldn't mind hearing the Rabbi single, but don't feel like shelling out $50 (which julian won't see any off ...)

John

I recently got a radio interiew with Julian from 1985/86 where the DJ (maybe Mark Radcliffe) asked Julian about some incident where Julian thought that he was a town center. Julian seemed rather embaressed about the whole thing and the subject was quickly changed.

Does anyone know what this is about? My feeling is that some drugs may have been involved ...

John

Brian (Farbcore) sent me "Sleeping Gas" scans - thanks! They look okee-dokee to me. Any scans can be faked, of course, but I totally believed him from the start.

The Trouser Press Record Guide (4th ed) refers to "Kwalo Kawlinsky's Lullaby" as "basically a rhythmless interstellar dub of 'Sleeping Gas.'"

Cope B-sides - we've discussed something like this in the past... "Best of the Boots" and "Best of the B-Sides." A CDR "Box of the B-sides" is an interesting idea, but I wouldn't do it myself; it's past my "ethics threshold." :) Also, if Island + others indeed plan to release future B-sides collections, then a bootleg boxed set becomes less useful, assuming Island has better recordings.

If someone did do it, I suggest NOT sending that dollar to Julian. Even if 50 of the things were sold [limited to this list, that'd probably optimistic], that's still only $50 to Julian, and it would greatly increase the risk of getting in trouble. I think the $1 "ethical compromise" isn't worth it. But that's just me...

Plus, if Island found out... Yikes.

I don't know. If someone else does it, and if there are songs on it that I don't have, and am dying to have, then I might buy it. I think I have all but a handful of his unrelease songs, and most of my favorite non-album tracks have already been released on CD, either on Followers or on the WSYM and Fried reissues. Do I really want "Butterfly E" on CD??? Mmmmm....

I really hope Island releases more B-sides CDs. Some of those Peggy Suicide dance mixes are really fun! I like the longer version of "Head" and I think the "Beatiful Luv" remix is much cooler than the original, if I remember correctly.

Here's an idea, John... What about a 10 hour MP3 CD of non-album tracks? That'd be a little less unethical [since it doesn't replace CD versions], would be cheaper [since it's only 1 CD], and could be uploaded.

In fact, what about simply uploading RealAudio and/or MP3 versions of currently unreleased songs to a dedicated FTP site? Would that satisfy most people's cravings for Cope B-sides, or do people really want to have those songs on an audio CD?

Trav

i think the mp3's are a good idea, saves one person having to duplicate cds.

and if they want to, people can burn their own cds. i'd love to get the rabbi single.

i don't have much to contribute myself, maybe some tx b-sides, i also like to hear the ma readings that someone mentioned earlier

~db

Someone must go through with this MP3 idea. I for one am starved for Cope songs that I haven't heard yet. I've heard all of the solo albums and many TX albums, but some B-sides would be most excellent. I don't think the record companies would mind since it would only be sold to people on this site. And it's not like you can stop us from buying a Cope album. Bring on the B-sides please someone.

Shit, take one day off work and all these messages to reply to--

Yes, well on the Friday Liz and I got married, after the ceremony (which was done at Staten Island's lovely Borough Hall--a minute away from our front door), we went out to breakfast; my cousin drove us all out there (there were 5 of us) and the first song that came on the car's tape deck was "Love Song"--NOT THE CURE, THE F**KIN' DAMNED! Talk about appropriate; on our way back, we were listening to I Just Can't Stop It--The (English) Beat--the song was "Hands Off...She's Mine", so make of it what you will--but yes, "You're The Best Thing", along with "Long Hot Summer" are two of THE most romantic songs ever--say what you will; I still believe in the warmth of romance and even though it's faggy to say so, "When I Dream" and "Passionate Friend" are two very romantic songs... I only wish I could have danced the hora and smashed the glass to either "...Best Thing" or "Holiday In Cambodia" (THAT WAS A JOKE!).

Agreed, Weller solo is a snooze--no villification. I'd like to take a dump on his peacock suit. What a schmuck.

I'm going to make some fresh robaccino when I get home--write for my incredibly superior recipe...

Le Cappuccino Kid

"Subsequently my reaction's getting rather strange..."

Craving b-sides and Cope obscura as well..but......don't have MP3 or RealAudio and don't foresee having it anytime in the near future..I know that it won't make any difference,but figured someone had to be the voice of the Have-Nots~l~

Steven

..but people are people with the added advantage of the spoken word

Hi,

The thing with cope and the city centre. St Julian was issued with a limited edition interview disc and I think there is some mention of the city centre on there, the one you refered to was probably with Andy Kershaw and it went like this:

AK: When you disappeared rumours were rife that you completely wigged out, that you'd taken too much acid, you recorded with no clothes on and that you frequently imagined that you weren't a musician at all but a city centre. How much truth is there in all this?

JC:Well, that's true but -

AK:(interrupts) All of that is true?

JC:Yeah, but that doesn't mean to say that you can't actually be normal as well at the same time.

AK:Right, so tell me the circumstances under which you believed that Julian Cope was not a human being but a city centre.

JC:(Laughs) Well, it was quite a chemical experience.

AK:I See.

JC:But that's in the past now, I'm no longer a city centre.

AK:Did you have what might be called a drug problem?

JC:(Laughs) No, I don't think that it was a problem.

AK:But you've stopped, is that what you're trying to tell me?

JC:I'm Healthy, I'm a speed walker, I've got muscles, shows Andy his muscles.

I think the explanation was that he would lie, stretched out on the floor on the floor and his veins where roads and his blood would flow around the roads to his extremities and so on and so forth.

With regards to the b-side thing - why not?

V

FWIW:

I agree with Travis's assessment of $1 ethical compromise.

Anyone out there really like SPQR as much as I did?

what does ~1~ mean?

Hats off to the person confirming my suspicion that Cope was singing "You could watch Rafferty turn into a serial" Who or what was Rafferty?

Also digging the sign-offs featuring obscure Cope lyrics

"Consequently, my reaction's getting rather strange" is how I remember it, but I remember everything a little askew these days

And I too think Passionate Friend and When I dream are great luv songs

Earlier commendation of April March's Chrominance Decoder must now be retracted as Ive grown sick as hell of her little girl fake Frenchie thing Mon apolgies mes amies

Trivia time:

1. name 2 Gary Dwyer aliases
2. who or what was Reynard the Fox all about
3. Kolly Kibber was based upon which historical/literary figure
4. who fancied the occasional odd-pint and was more "of the people?"

I'll give sufficient time for research and beer consumption this time before divulging the answers.

Any guesses as to Metranil Vavin's origin?

Over and out Funk Power!

On the Roman Road I found you.....

1. CONGRATULATIONS (to quote cliff richards) to the Modfather and the Modmissus, blessings upon ya and all those who sail in you.
2. As usual I'm completely stumped by the trivia, please don't delay too much though, cause I'm dying for the answer to number two.
3. Tune for the day is The Great Dominions, don't even think of asking why, just stick it on.
4. Doesn't JC look like Iggy on the cover of screaming secrets.
5. mmmmmmmmmmm b-sides.
6. I've real audio.
7. Eazy trivia - what's the connection between Tom Waits "Franks Wid Years" and Copes "WSYM" and since y'awl know the answer, any other (reasonably well known) artist/albums that fall into this category?
8. Oh ok then, well done Man U.

St.

...suddenly I came to my senses....all halloween orange and chimney red......

Ps. Cor lummy 24 people on the list, whats the record Trav?

St.

...seems to have a will of her own.....toda anaranjada como una calabaza de Halloween

Passionate Friend is a song of the day every day for me!! Anytime I want to fall asleep, on she goes. That whole album is just as powerfull as three pints of lager to get me to fall asleep. The funny thing is that song get my girlfriend very all turned on... similar experiences out there?? Wilder is a very female friendly record.

Derek

...son of clovius doofus...

Okay, if we haven't heard this before--

1. Rooster Booster (my favorite)/Buff Manila/Jimmy Luxembourg/Phillip Brittle/Rocky/Ringo Starr...
2. Reynard The Fox is a children's fable
3. I don't remember who Kolly Kibber was based on
4. Kevin Stapleton--soccer loving schoolboy international...
5. Rafferty was a character played by Patrick Magoohan (isn't that right?)
6. Joss turned the Drude on to 8 poems by Metranil Vavin, a Russian fidget (think "Die Krankenhaus" here)

What song did Joss and Droolian sing in the car while hanging out by the priory? (Bonus points, here!)

Actually, back in 1986, I was dating a really lovely girl who I would later go on to have 7 1/2 pretty great years with--we were together about 3 weeks and I suddenly had the desire to ask her to marry me--when I proposed in tbe middle of the madness, the song playing on the car stereo was "Passionate Friend"... I didn't marry her, you know...

Actually, for you cappuccino cats and kitties, the song playing when I proposed to the lovely Liz (Le Modmother a/k/a Sweetie Spice) was "The Dreams Of Children"--we were watching The Jam's "Video Snap". How

f**kin' romantic, eh? The next week, when she moved in, the first thing we did was watch The Style Council's epic "Jerusalem" and it was her idea...

...A red car And a green car...

new Rob order

This is nothing to do with the Drude or indeed much to do with anything else that's been Railed On lately. However, the aliases idea set off a curious train of thought ending up at Spizz. Anyone remember him?

I never rated the band (Where's Captain Kirk? was a novelty record) but the changing band names was a source of much amusement. Spizz, Spizz Oil, Spizz Energy, Athletico Spizz '80 (my favourite to date) and The Spizzles (also pretty wondrful).

I'd be pleased, and hopefully amused, if anyone out there can come up with any more versions.

Pumps blood where no blood should be...

Derek and all-

As for ''Wilder' being 'female friendly', I would quite agree, but really very much on the romantic side, more to dream and fall asleep with a tear in the eye (oh 'Tiny Children'!)... Although what Julian says in 'Head On!' about 'Bent Out of Shape' (if I remember well) simply makes my head spin ... but I won't report it. However, strictly from THAT point of view, 'St. Julian' is really my thing: it is cocky and bold, and... no more, because I'm blushing!

Yours,

Vava.

I believe the subtitle is "I Love You (In Ragtime)"... A headtrip supreme...

Yeah, "Wilder" is a romantic-type of album, innit?

VAVA--

Stop blushing!

"St. Julian" is a knee-to-the-nuts ROCK album. Heavy duty leather gear for the drude, eh? Personally, me likes the lost-it strains of "Fried" for its' SOLIDNESS (yes, that's the appropriate word). "World Shut Your Face" is still my fave album--"Sunshine Playroom", especially, 'cos it reminds me of this mysterious girl...

Screaming Jesus HELP ME!...

Rafferty was indeed a character played by Patrick McGoohan, but I rather think that it's a different Rafferty.

Made at Warner Bros in 1977 McGoohan plays Dr Sidney Rafferty of the City General Hospital, a crusty but dedicated doctor/surgeon who places his patients welfare above all else. So bad, the series was never completed, and most of it never shown in the States. I really hope it wasn't the same Rafferty.

'Passionate Friend' at a wedding? I'd always plannd to have it at my funeral (along with I Wanna Be Your Dog, and Chime, by Orbital), which is a damned sight more likely to happen.

an amphetamine pethary up the psychic jacksie

belbin

Rail On Vava !

Wilder always makes me fell good about my self, If i'm feeling down I just listen to Wilder it not upbeat or anything its just the songs Seven Views and Tiny Childern are my faves!!!!

Russ

A really shit day to end a shit week. Serious hi-fi abuse is coming and the Drude will lift me above it all.

Off the top of my head, I Come From..., Shut Your Mouth and 45' will go on. Much more too.

What does it for the rest of you lot when you need noise to unwind?

But don't ask me what that means...

The week wasn't so bad, but it always blows at my job (the oppressive air of a major record label that shall remain...), but I do get out of here at 2 p.m. for the 3 day weekend.

After getting home (as I write, "When I Dream" is on--one of my "Moods For MODerns" tapes), I shall probably listen to Blur, Copey and more likely than not, The Style Council (just shut up!--I hear you chuckling...).

If the day is bad, I'll usually unwind by going down to the Village and going through book and record stores; maybe going to a cafe or buying some clothes before I go home--I do NOT like to get home in a shitty mood for the Modmissus as she works long hours and hard enough for a bitch of a boss. I always try to be diffused by the time she gets in.

If the day has really sucked (and that usually means Mondays), I watch pro wrestling--it's the only salient manner of working out one's frustrations with the bastards I work for and with. You turn off your mind, relax and watch these behemoths beat ten shades of shit out of one another--better them being mindlessly violent than me raising my voice in frustration and aggravation.

Having cats helps to no end...

Love to all of you--have a happy weekend.

Le Modfather

The parachute's in my bag / I'm throwing it over to you...

hey, lets not forget that gem on Wilder,

"...and the fighting takes over".

trivia;

Q) On 'all I am is loving you', what song are the children in the backround singing > backwards < ?

Not trivia, I just don't know:

• Who's that on the back cover of St. Julian?
• In 'Christ vs Warhol', who's the voice to speak the title? Gary?
• B-side lyrics available anywhere?

Brian

Running and jumping wins the race

Has anyone heard anything about QE3, I thought it was supposed to be out ages ago ?

Andrew-

Just pulled back in from the great white north. Didn't get to see as much of Vancover as I would've liked to...esp. the 'coffee shops' ;) Thanks for the 'heads up' Unfortunately Victoria something or the other was going on, so the stores were all closed. Also, to my dismay, Victoria day has absolutely nothing to do with Victoria's Secret.

I've got Levitation...

Trivia answers:

MFRob was correct on almost all counts

1. Gary Dwyer aliases: also include my fave Sam Uruguay
2. Reynard: French approximation of an Aesops' fable for kiddies
3. Kolly Kibber refers to Colly Cibber, Eng. poet laureate (1730-57)
4. Kevin Stapleton enjoys the odd pint

As for Rafferty, and Metranil Vavin, thanks for the info. I was thinking maybe some connection with the Metro stop called Vavin, but what actually is a "fidget?"

Hmmm, no comments on SPQR

Ive reached new levels of success in girlfriend training, as Fried has now been accepted into rotation between Blur's 13 and Manic Street Preachers. (Yeah, I know it's easier when your woman has good (musical) taste to begin with.)

Propellerheads latest is quite good

Trampolene is my choice to clear the fog away.

Can anyone recommend any other current musician whose sound is along the lines of Julian's Mecury years?

"taking men aboard we began to have misgivings"

Speaking of Gary Dwyer, whateverhappenedtoim?

Someone asked recently about Teardrops covers. I could only find one in my collection. The Mighty Lemon Drops are on a a Janice Long BBC Session on Nighttrack/Strange Fruit #SFNT-004.

It's a 4 track 12" with "When I dream" clocking in at 2:10 / recorded in '86 and released in '87

I 've seen the Lemon Drops a few times (w/ the Chameleons) and the funny thing is with the accusations of MLD being Bunnymen rip-offs, and then a doing a Teardrop's song...wonder what Mac thought.

Brian

I know it's not love it's agreed

Hiya, Brian was asking about the voice on Christ vs Warhol - I have a tale to tell ...

I was at a party in Birmingham a couple of years ago and got talking to a 45-ish bloke who was borderline boring/interesting and insisted on showing me the Grateful Dead cartoon strips he'd been drawing. Just as I was deciding he was falling on the boring side, we somehow got onto the subject of the Teardrops. He turned out to have been a roadie on the infamous US tour (I did check this later with someone else!), and was hanging around in the studio when C vs W was recorded. He was caught on tape saying 'Christ versus Warhol? What the F**k's all that about then?', or words to that effect, in his strong Brummie accent, and that's what you hear on the record. Of course, I was highly impressed with this and spent the rest of the evening trying to pump him for interesting stories, but he didn't have much to say. Either he was to out of it to remember, or he wasn't included because he was, in the end, a Boring Bloke. His name was Dave I think, and that's all I know.

Lia

PS - got Daredevil 77 off my boyfriend for my birthday!!!

Okay, so I forgot Sam Uruguay...

A fidget is "Little Rascals" speak for midget...

...er...look out...

Hey you buncha' wankers...

It was "Angels Of Ashes" from Scott 4! (that's the trivia answer...)

Not raving, but drowning...

I often need to calm down after running the gauntlet of Burgess Road on my bike. Autogeddon is rather reasurring under these circumstances. Hot fretful days are quickly diffused with a good blast of Verve's A Storm in Heaven. I've just bought a replacement CD of this as my vinyl has nearly worn out. When its the male-dominated engineering department that gets me down - there's always Joan Armatrading...oh and flying kites.

After a not so hep day at school, I like to hear anything by the Drude. It has a most soothing effect on me to know that someone is that far out of their tree. Or merely bash my frustration out on a guitar of some kind.

So that's what they call it these days Chris.

Sorry

[Posted by Travis]

Hey Cope heads check out our tunes at http://www.poppyseed.com. Described by HMV's INDIE NATION MAGAZINE as ...recalling the prettier parts of the Teardrop Explodes, Scott Walker, and early Pink Floyd. Cheers Steve

Dear fellow Drudes:

Me thinks my posts are too long, so I'll keep this one short:

Has anyone heard whether Cope has plans to go back into the studio in the near future to create a Julian Cope CD (As opposed to a QE or Rite project?

Would anyone other than me like for Cope to put out a CD in the style of Wilder, Fried, or WSYM?

Suddenly, I came to my senses....

Theo

blather on as much as you wish..I always enjoy it..(have a babble a' building about recent events,but..my time is limited for now...)

anyway

re:Copey doing a Cd along the lines of that trinity you listed

YES OH YES!!

nuff said

..fa fa fa fighting again..

StEven

btw..just got QE..more on that in my more on that..later

~bangzoom!~

I've seen a lot of people wishing that Copey would revert (even for a short time) to his WYSM or St Julian style. Here's an interesting story:

A few years ago when Copey was playing the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen, he was being given a hard time by a girl in the audience. She kept telling him not to play the "new shite", but "give us back St Julian". Copey said that he was moving forward, and not planning to cover any old ground as he loved the old styles, but felt he had to move on. The heckling went on for a few minutes until Julian jumped off the stage, ran across the room, grabbed the girl round the waist, hauled her across the stage (the Lemon Tree is a very small venue), and physically threw her out of the front door!

You have been warned!

John.

Question: As re-writeable CD drives become more prolific, what do y'all think about compiling and trading CDs of Julians b-sides, rare tracks, live stuff, etc? I am certainly not interested in making money off of anything, just more interested in sharing and trading. I have some cool stuff, yet there are a lot of tracks that I want. Curious what everyone thinks? I wonder that if it is out of print, would we would be hurting him, pissing him off? If we found out that something would be re-released, then the trading on that/those tracks(s) would stop. Again, I am talking about trading ONLY, NO $$$ exchanged.

-kevin

Didn't mean to appear that I wanted the old boy to do anything other than what came naturally to him..I enjoy his whole catalogue...but it doesn't hurt to dream

..well..maybe if I was psysically ousted it would hurt a tad,but....

oh and anyone wonder if "Girl-Call" is a play on 'mail(male) call'??

..and no,I'm not sure not anymore..

StEven

The topic of fan-created compilations of unreleased material has surfaced several times on here. The last time it was discusses is 26 May (on this same page). It's also discussed repeatedly in the archives. If you're curious about the topic you might want to go read those posts.

In my opinion, there are different levels of "appropriateness" in trading behavior:

• selling copies of in-print studio material -- the worst, least ethical
• trading copies of in-print studio material -- really bad
• uploading (mp3, RA) in-print studio material -- pretty bad
• selling copies of unreleased/out-of-print studio material -- really bad
• trading copies of unreleased/out-of-print studio material -- pretty bad
• uploading unreleased/out-of-print studio material -- I'm borderline on this one
• selling copies of live material -- I wouldn't do it, but I'd buy it
• trading copies of live material -- doesn't bother me
• uploading live material -- doesn't bother me

Of course, different people draw their lines between "bad" and "okay" in different places. Island records probably draws its line much lower on the scale than I do.

For me, I ask myself the question, "Could my behavior take away from current or future sales for the artist?"

Material that's not in print today can be in print tomorrow. We need to keep this in mind. Even live material might be released tomorrow; we don't know. We do know, however, that there are future B-sides compilations planned. We also know that there's a fair chance that albums will be re-released with extra tracks. Also, currently hard-to-find albums might be re-released in their entirety [like Skellington was].

In our experience with Cope, we've seen B-sides released on CD, but we've not seen live tracks released on CD [with the exception of live tracks that are themselves B-sides: "Pulsar", "Spacehopper", "Sleeping Gas", etc.]

If Island or somebody started releasing, or expressing interest in releasing live material, then I'd scrap my own plans for making my live Cope stuff available to people, even on a trading basis.

So, right now I'm comfortable with the thought of trading live material, but not so much with B-sides. With a borderline case such as B-sides, I think the trading medium becomes significant: CDR, tape, MP3, RealAudio...

Personally, I don't think RealAudio can be a threat to sales because in terms of sound quality it doesn't even come close [in my estimation] to replacing a future official release. CDR audio, on the other hand, can substitute for an official release. Tape and MP3 are on the border for me.

Anyway, that's just how I feel. I have no idea how Julian feels, or how his record companies feel. I would guess that it is simplest for them to outlaw all forms of distribution of any of Cope's performed material. Legally, all those things I mentioned above would probably be labeled, "Illegal." Ethically, though, that's where I think people have to make their own judgements, and that's what I was discussing above.

On an ethical level, I'd say live material is fair game, but studio material has been claimed by the record companies. If a few years pass and no more B-sides come out, well, then maybe we can pick up where they left off. But I think we should give the record companies lots of room, and lots of patience.

Trav

Trav- I did read the May 26th posts as they went a few weeks ago, but there seemed to be people asking but not much resolve. I do understand that this is your list, so maybe I should take the hint that you really don't want this type of stuff going on through it. However, my situation is this: although I have been a fan for almost 15 years, I have never been able to see the man Julian live, and I have precious little live material. What I really want is live stuff, but all I have to offer are b-sides, Rabbi, etc. Also, for some weird reason in San Francisco were I live there are no bootlegs in any stores (of any band), and I haven't been able to find any live Julian CDs on the web. So I'm stuck!

My two cents on CD-Rs, MP3s etc:

There are lots of stuff I've never heard, and never will through the normal channels. However, I must ''vote'' NO.

I would not want to see Julian in one of his hate frenzies of the past, this time directed at his own fans.

To paraphrase the guy who wrote J D Salinger's very unauthorised biography, having your hero pointing his finger at you, saying ''It's _you_ I hate, you disgust me'' is not a great experience.

Risking that isn't worth it IMHO.

Kevin - Eek, I was thinking about what I posted and I was afraid that I might have sounded a bit, um, official, if you know what I mean. I didn't mean for it to come across like that at all.

No, I was just giving my personal opinion about copying stuff, kind of the reasons why I am not all that eager to copy Cope's material for people, especially stuff that's either in print now or could be shortly. I, too, want to avoid the "hate" frenzy that Jorgen mentioned.

Okay, I agree that we need some resolution. Remember, I'm not an "official" person when I say this stuff, I'm just one of the more gabby [and boring!] Cope fans. :) So here's one fan's ideas:

LIVE material - I like the ideal of a Live MP3 ftp site. The question is: where can we house it? The local disk isn't all that big; I can handle a few RealAudio gigs, but a huge MP3 repository would be too much.

Personally, I like the idea of a distributed set of MP3 sites. I can put together a page which "points" to the available MP3 files at different sites. We need volunteers to house these files. Each hour of MP3 takes around 60 MB of disk space. I could house one or two live shows locally, but that's it. I could also put a couple on my school's server.

I'd prefer RealAudio as it's smaller and due to the sound loss it's less threatening ethically. However, if the vast majority of people want MP3 instead of RealAudio, then we should go with MP3.

B-Sides - There are a few I don't have, but frankly I'm not in a rush to hear anything. I remember when I was desperate for B-sides, however, so I'll try to sound a little less preachy about it. :) :) :)

Personally, I don't intend on uploading any B-sides, and I'd rather not store any on the local disk. I might put a handful of impossible-to-find cuts in RealAudio on the school server, but I'd prefer not to put either swa.com or my school at risk. Both disks are likely to be audited occasionally.

Links - Now, if someone does decide to upload RealAudio or MP3 clips to a disk somewhere, I can update my links pags to point to them. No problemo. I have nothing again providing links to MP3s, warez, XXX, whatever.

I like the idea of a centralized MP3/RealAudio directory. I started one a while ago, with my "Listening Booth" and "Julian Cope Live" pages. I can expand those pages, or if someone else want to be the librarian, he/she can go for it. Centralization is good. I'd love to have all the links to all the live MP3s all in one place. Yes, hunting for MP3s is fun, but listening to MP3s is IMO more fun. :)

Anyway, that's my babble for this afternoon.

Now that I have my big hard disk (and a LAN!) I can start digitizing stuff. I have several gigs and interviews I can upload.

So, some questions:

1. Who wants to be the Audio Librarian? We should only have one, or at least one site with perhaps multiple maintainers. If no one is interested in doing it, I can do it.
2. Which would you prefer: MP3 or RealAudio?
3. Who's willing to volunteer some disk space? We need FTP sites (preferably not http) that are reliable (most important; we want the site to be available), fast (not as important, especially if we don't plan to stream audio), and big (so that it can house entire gigs and not just single songs, which are a collector's bane).
4. Do you have any other comments/questions regarding an audio library?

Trav

Hi all,

Many thanks to Russ for putting together the Julian Cope web ring, which is a way of linking all the drude sites together. I have just put Trampolene in the ring. It really is a great idea and I recommend any of you who have a Julian Cope web site to connect to it. Once someone looks at your site it is easy for them to go to the next etc if you are in the ring plus it is really easy to set up.

Trav, Rail On! should deffinately be part of this, and I know a few others out there have sites, so lets all join hands!

Drop a line to Russ at:

russ.sanders@dial.pipex.com

And thanks again Russ, it is an excellent idea.

Andrew

Trav,

Way to go grabing the "audio bull" by the horns. I wish I had the disk space to offer, but I don't. I will place my vote for MP3 as the preferred format. I have three cope tapes (quality OK) that I could donate to the cause, if saomeone has the ability to upload them. I also have a Cope Video from a performance on MTV in the St. Julian era, but that sounds like major copyright infringement to put that up on a site. I'm happy to do dubs of it if folks have tapes or other stuff to trade. I guess I don't see that as a moral dilema.

Mark

"Make no mistake, this is redirected male . . ."

Trav, You have never sound either official or officious and, by definition, a Cope fan cannot be boring. Your spot-on analysis reveals you to have the keen mind of a team of high-priced lawyers, but you are clearly much too interesting to actually be one. (For $5 bucks you can list me as a reference on your resume.) ;)

I agree with your bottom line: if it takes food from the mouths of clan Cope then, no way, don't do it. Nevertheless, if it is restricted to trading among people like me and the subscribers to Rail On, it is almost guaranteed that a subsequent release of something we previously traded (and the offering is accompanied by even the most modest of packaging) then most all of us would go out and purchase it regardless of having downloaded it. At least I would. Hey, even if it isn't actually true, I still have to maintain my reputation as the dude in Atlanta with the most complete Cope collection, and downloaded versions wouldn't count in my collector's eye.

As for the comment about Cope pitching the inconsiderate lassie from the concert, I actually read about the incident in NME, or a similar one, perhaps. I can verify that he almost did the same thing at his Gloucester MA lecture last March. In that case he would have received an ovation had he exiled the particular beerswilling rowdy-girl.

Kevin, we agree. I like everything Cope has done (although Autogeddon was briefly employed as a beer mat), but I personally preferred the Poet to the Priest.

My mountain bike is calling me! Funk Power, Over-n-out.

Poet as Priest is Beginning to Move!

Hi,

With regards to the ethics of copying etc. why not contact Cope via head heritage and ask him if he minds?

V