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Thread: XTC- What Makes The Song Great EP 76- Mayor of Simpleton

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    Moderator Sean's Avatar
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    XTC- What Makes The Song Great EP 76- Mayor of Simpleton



    Rick picks another great tune to dissect. This time, Tim Smith from Jellyfish drops by (they both live in Atlanta) to play some of the bass bits too...

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    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    Very cool. No one could accuse XTC of making simple music.
    The DVD that comes with the Nonsuch Wilson 5.1 mix has some tracks on how they created songs. Facinating to me, a non musician.
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    Misleading to use a 1979/80 photo of the band for a 1989 track that didn't involve drummer Terry Chambers (far right) who left the band after 1982's English Settlement.

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    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneTull View Post
    Misleading to use a 1979/80 photo of the band for a 1989 track that didn't involve drummer Terry Chambers (far right) who left the band after 1982's English Settlement.
    Busted.
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    But according to Progarchives XTC is not Prog or even Prog-related.

    Ridiculous!!! What a great band. One of the best...
    The Prog Corner

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    This was great! LOVE them. I shared this on Facebook big time. My share to the Big Big Train group-for obvious reasons-was well received.

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    Member mnprogger's Avatar
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    as I posted in the comments

    With Tim there, Rick should schedule:

    What Makes This Song Great? JELLYFISH - NEW MISTAKE

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    Moderator Sean's Avatar
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    Yeah! That would be great!

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    "Mayor of Simpleton" is a terrific pop song with excellent lyrical content. The video is quite fantastic as well.
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    My fave XTC disc, even before I knew P@t from KC
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  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by mnprogger View Post
    as I posted in the comments

    With Tim there, Rick should schedule:

    What Makes This Song Great? JELLYFISH - NEW MISTAKE
    BINGO! My very favorite song from them.

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    ^ Dave is tha man! I love that guy.

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    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    ^^ Nice! The sound at 42:20 minutes is cool.
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    I was really thrilled to see him acknowledge XTC, Simpleton wouldn't have been my pick but after watching i didn't realize just how complex that song really is.

    If i'm not mistaking this was probably their biggest/most mainstream "hit".

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    I checked out the wiki entry for Oranges and Lemons - facinating 'behind the idea' write-up on every song.

    Oh, and it seems that they had a few guests visit while recording ....

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange...Lemons_(album)
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    Member bill g's Avatar
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    Love XTC. Oranges & Lemons is such a great album, although there are songs I like a lot better than 'Mayor', but even then it is a great little tune.

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    Member bill g's Avatar
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    I've heard both 'Mayor of Simpleton' and 'King For A Day' in my bank on different occasions.

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    Member bill g's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by miamiscot View Post
    But according to Progarchives XTC is not Prog or even Prog-related.

    Ridiculous!!! What a great band. One of the best...
    Yeah some of my very favorite bands aren't considered even prog related. XTC, Swing Out Sister, Stereolab, Prefab Sprout... 4 of my favorites. Oh well, I guess great songwriting is great songwriting whatever they want to call it.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by bill g View Post
    Yeah some of my very favorite bands aren't considered even prog related. XTC, Swing Out Sister, Stereolab, Prefab Sprout... 4 of my favorites. Oh well, I guess great songwriting is great songwriting whatever they want to call it.
    Same here.

    Swing Out Sister had some really nice songs -- "Somewhere In The World" is one of my favorites. I never got into Stereolab or Prefab Sprout, but there's still time!

    XTC is one of my very favorite bands ever, and Oranges & Lemons is probably the one of theirs I love the most. But they had a string of really great albums in the 80s.

  21. #21
    Bill g: I love ALL those bands and they are all "unique" and mighty talented but Prog, well that's always a tough one to quantify. Some of Prefab Sprout's SWOON album is a wee bit proggy and some XTC here and there...and Stereolab plays in odd times often but it's always an uphill battle calling those sort of bands "prog".

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    Happy Birthday to Andy Partridge who is 66 today
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    Quote Originally Posted by aith01 View Post
    Same here.

    Swing Out Sister had some really nice songs -- "Somewhere In The World" is one of my favorites. I never got into Stereolab or Prefab Sprout, but there's still time!

    XTC is one of my very favorite bands ever, and Oranges & Lemons is probably the one of theirs I love the most. But they had a string of really great albums in the 80s.
    Swing Out Sister really got interesting on their 'Somewhere Deep In The Night' album, lots of instrumentals, some time signature variations, and great moody music. Some great instrumentals on 'Where Our Love Grows' too. Light years better than 'Breakout'. As to Stereolab, 'Cobra & Phases' I think is their proggiest. It's pretty awesome I think you'd like it!

    Quote Originally Posted by 3RDegree_Robert View Post
    Bill g: I love ALL those bands and they are all "unique" and mighty talented but Prog, well that's always a tough one to quantify. Some of Prefab Sprout's SWOON album is a wee bit proggy and some XTC here and there...and Stereolab plays in odd times often but it's always an uphill battle calling those sort of bands "prog".
    Yes, and same with another of my favorites, Signals (UK), who I guess are classified as 'Math Rock', but it sounds rather proggy to me, probably because of the time signature shifts and chords, though they don't have the instrumental passages or soloing one hears in traditional prog.

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