Course A002: XTC - The band and the music
XTC - Introduction
|
Swindon – railways, industrial grime-old town cum
silicon valley-new town. Roundabouts. Lots of roundabouts. So what’s Swindon
ever done for me, you may ask? If someone were to venture it would be the home
of one of the best and most prolific British pop acts of all time, you may well
scoff. Well, scoff away if you must – meanwhile, please be upstanding for XTC.
“XTC? Those punk guys – I thought they’d split years ago?”
It’s a continual source of surprise to many outside
the music “biz” (and a fair few within it as well) to know that XTC have been
making top drawer, melodic, beautiful and often inspirational pop music for
almost 30 years.While everyone else in 1977 was content to rely on
two and a half chords and a few shouted slogans, XTC were busy cultivating
their status as the "clever" fish in the punk pond. This was a pretty
dreadful way to be described, but given the stark differences between the band
and their often less imaginative contemporaries, such a reputation was fairly
understandable. |
|
XTC were never a punk band, in the usual sense of the
word, and had little to do with the Sex Pistols' theatrical arrogance or The
Clash's attention-seeking political gimmicks. Their overtly poppy leanings, and
the often quirky nature of their arrangements meant that, from the outset, XTC
were outsiders, and as we can now testify, they have never been fully accepted
by either mainstream or underground audiences.
Which is a shame, really. No other band that I can
think of has so consistently produced songs of such a high calibre, and albums
of such breathtaking coherence and beauty without reaping grotesque financial
rewards as a result. The phrase "criminally overlooked" was invented
for XTC, and it continues to ring true today.
Fortunately we fans know that the new stuff will be
fantastic, we know that the new songs will become our trusted companions for
many years, and we know that we are in on a secret which has mysteriously
eluded apparently sensible record buyers for years – and we love it, as it
allows us to get evangelical like this! Anyone who loves pop music should adore
XTC. But in case you're one of the sad, guilty people who have neglected the
opportunity to bask in their greatness, here is a run down of their career. Buy
their albums – all of them – and make yourself very, very happy. No, seriously.
Listen
to XTC once and you may think “what’s so specal”. Listen twice and you’ll
probably think “I can see why people like these guys”. Listen three times and
you’ll never want to stop – that’s a guarantee, or you’re a Martian. Or maybe I
am.
Dave
(Smudgeboy) Smith, Croydon, February 2006
Part 2