Yeah, what he said.

[J. Peter Alfke <alfke@csvax.caltech.edu>]

Ack phht, I'm sick as a dog during finals week, can't do my work, and must
sit around vegetating and reading mail.  Here are my replies to the latest
week or so of love-hounds:

*  Agree with whazzisname (sorry, my brain is gone) that "Skylarking" is
   good stuff.  On first listening, I was disappointed, thinking it sounded
   too much like the frankly-mostly-lame "Mummer" and "Big Express", but
   it really is quite damn good.  The band may not have gotten along with
   Todd, but he really did a superb production job on the sucka.  Now, if
   XTC and Virgin have *any* brains, they will release "Earn Enough For Us"
   as the next single.  Why is it that the WRONG songs always get released
   as singles?  "Grass"???  "All You Pretty Girls"???  "Wonderland"???????

*  Beastie Boys!  Second that recommendation.  They're obnoxious.  They're
   from New York and rap about getting thrown out of White Castle.  They
   blatantly steal from everyone from the Clash to Creedence to even holy
   of holies Zeppelin.  ("She's Crafty" infuriatingly uses HALF OF the riff
   to "Ocean", giving me a definite waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop
   feeling.  Should piss off my 70's-timewarp-housemates almost as much as
   the Pop-O-Pies did four years ago.

*  Bought the Housemartins album, on promise by Moby Disc that if I don't
   love it I get to return it for a full refund.  May take them up on it.
   Admittedly, I have only given it half a listen, but it sounds like
   overly-wimped-out Smiths to me.  If I want to hear a wimpier version
   of the Smiths (whom I even still like) I'll just wait for the Smith's
   next release.  But I forgive Sue; she did after all induce me to check
   out the Woodentops.

*  Hula have some new album, soundtrack to an environmental artsy thang they
   did at a gallery in Sheffield.  Woulda bought it but @*%$ Moby Disc
   charges outrageous prices for anything imported ($11 albums, $20 CDs).

*  Anyone heard the new Killing Joke?  I've liked all their albums that
   I've heard (first one and last two) so might I actually like "Brighter
   Than A Thousand Suns"?

*  And someone MUST by now have bought the Throbbing Gristle CD1.  What the
   hell is on it?  I'm not too sure that the awesome sonic qualities of the
   Compact Digital Disc will enhance my industrial pleasure at listening
   to just ANY T.G., so I won't satisfy my curiosity by shelling out the
   bucks.  I'll leave it to someone else to do that.

Oh well.  I'm off to blow my nose some more.

						--Peter Alfke
						  alfke@csvax.caltech.edu
"My momma said, turn down that noise
 I said, mom you're just jealous --
 it's the Beastie Boys!"