Where you tell us what XTC/related music you've listened to today.....

And to kick off, I've had a fantastic long weekend of XTC. It's the Queen's Birthday holiday here in Awestralia, which of itself is a bit of a laugh as Britain doesn't take a day off for the Queen's Birthday.
So: yesterday it was Skylarking.
Today has been FW Day. We went out last night for a meal with friends, and Peter quipped a line at the end of a convoluted conversation: ' Well, I'm not really a gynaecologist, but I'll have a look at it for you.' This prompted a 'Laugh Track' episode where we were both utterly helpless with giggles while our spouses smiled patiently for the other diners.
So today, 'The Laugh Track' was first up, then FW's 1 & 2.
Jesus, Andy Partridge is a bloody genius.

Found my old (and I mean 20+ yr old) cassette of Skylarking and I have been listening to and singing along with that today.

I kept humming Playground all day at work today, so I had to play it on the drive home.

(I'm the) Man Who Murdered Love....
is this a better song than Playground? It's one of those questions I think I can answer...til I listen to them. Sheer magic.

I'm not sure, Spiders....'I'm the Man...' has a cute concept and lyric , a tremendous rhythm guitar and an astoundingly simple, yet effective structure....but 'Playground' has a lyric that expresses the tension encountered in your childhood school experience and the difficulties of adult life, all laid out over a strident chord-structure and melodic thread that almost leaves you speechless. It's a damn tough call. I'd go for 'Playground' at a pinch, cos you know he means it....'The Man Who Murdered Love' is almost a piece of whimsy by comparison... but structured so brilliantly, you could be forgiven for thinking you'd just been vouchsafed the Meaning of Life.....aw shit, I still can't choose. I'll take 'em both.

I know exactly what you mean.

Playground has the line "marked by the masters", and there are so many ways to interpret what that means. Relate it to "careful-what-you-say-ground", and there is a vast wealth of meaning and poignancy. And that's to take just two of the lines.

Murdered is a less profound piece, obviously. I like it, however, for the same reason that I like, say The Disappointed or Great Fire: it is a fantastic pop song.

(Edited for poor punctuation.)

No danger, Donovan - 'Playground' is a corker, and way better than MWML, which is still a great choon!

The Wheel and the Maypole is still my fave - although I still adore all of the rest of Wasp Star.

Tonight :The Dukes of Stratosphear: Chips From the Chocolate Fireball.
Has anything like this been done by any other band with the same convincing brilliance? I doubt it.

Having a 'Fossil Fuel' burnout at the mo. If I won the Lottery I'd give Andy half.

And now we have Wasp Star.
The Pot Won't Hold Our Love: indeed, I can't find enough room in my heart for this brilliant album. I'll have to make space....