from the AP

For my fellow SFTD-ers this holiday, I made them each a CD. The same CD. It's a 24-song compilation of, in my opinion, the best of Andy Partridge's Fuzzy Warbles series.

The XTC guy has been releasing 3 volumes a year for the past two years of 20 years worth of home demos, outtakes etc.
The problem is, unless you're more of a fanatic than I, what you're getting for $20+ is like 5 cool songs, 15 "interesting" song sketches, stupid jokey songs that seemed funny at the time, etc etc.

So, when I was home sick and had a ton of time I listened to all of them on Rhapsody (just went up there recently) and compiled (legally) 80 minutes worth of all quality stuff.

These "home demos", mind you, are often perfectly recorded, fully fleshed-out, fully instrumentated and, the only thing that makes them not XTC is the drums are programmed and Andy plays and sings all the parts. His demos are 10x more polished than your average Pavement official release. Not always a good thing, but just an observation. But that's what having all the time in the world because you don't tour and you don't have a record deal will do (XTC had no record deal from 1993-98).
If at all interested, I can email you the songs I chose.

No, I will post them here. Fine, Henning. Fiinning.

Ocean's Daughter - instrumental from 80's indie film
End of the Pier - could be on any XTC album since Mummer
I Can't Tell What Truth is Anymore - my marriage sucks
Young Cleopatra - yikes, I'm checking out a 14 year old
Lightheaded - apparently made for some Microsoft movie or something
Bumpercars - why was this left off the last XTC album?
MOGO - experimental prog ambient instrumental
Wonder Annual - about his girlfriend and that's all I'll say on this space.
The Art Song - Kinks like cheerer-upper for artists.
Motorcycle Landscape - noisey coolness from early 80's.
When We Get to England - Billy Bragg-ish
Autumn Comes Around - unfinished but promising
Where is Your Heart - my marriage is suspect
All I Dream of Is a Friend - would have been on James and Giant Peach soundtrack
Everything - my marriage is bad.
OMGO - see MOGO
Prince of Orange - one of the coolest songs he's written in the last 15 years.
Young Marrieds - marriage isn't al it's cracked up to be
Blue Beret - fans of the 1989 acoustic radio tour will be psyched
Space Wray - another cool instrumental.
Rocket - words by poet Ernest Noyes Brookings
The Tiny Circus of Life - the music business sucks
Ship Trapped in the Ice - and the music business sucks
My Land is Burning - pretty tune, left off Apple Venus, has a 2 minute Hendrix-esque guitar freakout at end.

ommitted because I'm stupid: Dame Fortune ( from 1999, but has a 1982 skiffle/ska bounce)