December 1998 - Sinister

Sinister: favourite rather than best
by keith m 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

> Do you want to know my favourite CD of the year ? Frankly, I > hope you don't, because I don't like this word "favourite", neither > the "year" concept. >Well done, I couldn't have put it better myself. Art's not a >competition. But the Pulp album wasn't bad. i don't think listing which records you enjoyed most this year is what i would call a competition? surely you discriminate for your own listening pleasure? or do you love every record released this year equally? now magazines with headlines like 'best 100 albums of the year' well they are silly because those are really just their favourites-a word i am friends with. keith mcl +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Last Night I Dreamt
by Julie_Smith＠iacnet.com 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

Well, hmm I had my first ever dream about Belle and Sebastian. First off, someone famous was quoted as saying that only truly boring people are silly enough to think that people are actually *interested* in their dreams, but too bad, you get the rundown anyway. (By the way, does anyone know who that famous person was?) And don't worry, it's short. My good friend Nick and I wandered into a place that looked a lot like my high-school gym. And there, sitting on top of folding tables, were Belle and Sebastian. Now since I don't *really* know what the band looks like (besides Stuart and Isobel of course), all of the members were made up by my imagination, the weirdest point being that there were about 25 people in my "version" of the band. So Nick and I went to the middle of the gym and pulled up a folding table to listen to them. The problem was they couldn't remember how to sing any of the songs. Stuart would sing something like, "Stars of track, um what was that again?" And then Nick and I would sing it for them in hopes of jogging their memories but they just looked confused--friendly, but confused. Stuart gave up after a while but promised to make it up to us by telling us the story of "the second girl he'd ever kissed." But I woke up and didn't get to hear it. Sigh. On the children's books topic: Madeline L'Engle was one of my favorites as a kid and I've read her Time Trilogy many many times. In fact when I worked in a bookstore during high school I used to tell little kids they should read her rather than The Babysitters Club and other fluffy stuff. But the reason I brought her up again is that she has a similarity with C.S. Lewis cuz she also uses religious themes and has written religious books for adults on the side. I'd never thought about that before everyone started writing about these folks. I'm really excited about seeing St Etienne especially now that I found out I can still go despite the fact that I lost my driver's license this morning. Hooray for all ages shows! Julie +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Fwd: Belle and Sebastian in your living room
by K Fraser 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

A friend just sent this to me . . . I thought some of you might find this interesting. Please don't yell at me! K > For those wondering what B&S sound like, and how you can re-create the magic in your own living room. * * * How To Sound Like Belle & Sebastian in 5 Easy Steps! * * * ------------------------------------------------------- 1. Find an acoustic guitar. Learn major chords only. Sidestep rubbish things like minor chords, 7ths, etc. Those will be of no use where you're going... 2. Write 'wry' and 'witty' lyrics about obtuse things like track and field, Elvis, and your local minister. Try to include the names of fictional female characters as much as you can. The more common sounding name, the better (it makes your songs seem more romantic). Mary, Jane, Judy, Jenny - these are all perfect candidates when writing a B&S song. If you are feeling particularly adventurous, use an oblique French phrase in your lyrics. This will give your recording that same certain "je ne sais quoi" that all B&S tracks possess. In addition, refer to yourself as MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Do this in 3rd person. Therefore, if your name is Edward Goldstein, write a song that begins "I saw Edward Goldstein running with the minister". This will help establish you as a witty and clever artist. This also works for band names. Advanced users may include OTHER band names in a similar manner. So, say you want to wryly and cleverly pay tribute to a band called Radiohead, write a song called "The Girl With The Radio Head". People will love this. One key note: Make sure that your lyrics don'tmake any sense, but try not to confuse them too much. Your goal is to write a lyric that seems so clever and so in-the-know that nobody in their right mind would up and admit that deep down they really have no idea WHAT the hell you're on about. This is a difficult art to perfect. 3. When writing the music, keep in mind that you have only two speeds. Speed #1 is a slow, foppish, folky sort of strum that oozes hazy nostalgia. Speed #2 is Speed #1 except it's a little bit faster. Both involve acoustic guitars. Remember, major chords only. 4. Before attempting to sing your song for the first time, put a load of marbles in your mouth. Enunciation is the arch enemy of 'cleverness'. 5. Stage presence (or lack thereof) is also very important. When performing your song, make sure and never look up. Doing this will deflate the notion that you are both nostalgic and clever. Indeed, always look down. Screw up a few chords here and there. Don't smile. Whisper your lyrics. Do your best to be fey, waifish, and distant. It takes a bit of practice, but if you follow each step closely, you'll soon be imitating B&S with the best of them! And God knows, that's exactly what this world needs. Yours, cleverly and wryly, Mark Pytlik She looked like someone whose job, once you're dead, is to introduce you to God. Kathryn Chetkovich _________________________________________________________ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Introducing Piers Dinkle & Lars Melons
by PJMiller 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

Can I have Keith and Tag's crush votes please, seeing as the miserable sods don't want them? What's all this about Pete Wylie? All things being equal, Rastas say "I and I", not "I am I". Something to do with their oneness with God, or somesuch voodoo jiggery pokery. All grammar questions (except that one) are covered by grammar or style books, such as The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words by Bill Bryson, which has the advantage of being quite funny at times. It clears up Amelia Gosh's problem before you can say "he's my beatnik boy, he makes me jump for joy". Rasta talk usually occupies a quick glossary type thing at the back of any reggae book, including smutty stuff, known as "slackness". Bill Bryson, isn't that the bloke who goes for walks and writes books about them? Unless great misfortune befalls me before then, I shall be introduced to the delicate magic of Hefner in concert this evening. This is how they are discribed in the advertising thingy: Aurten "Breaking God's Heart" lanarekin estrainatu den hirukotea, pop, folk, country eta soul musikak nahasten dituzten albuna hain zuzen. Beste talde batzuen eragina ere izan dute Beach Boys, Pavement eta Violent Femmes taldeena adibidez. Hefner-en kantari bizikidetza sexuala du Stuart Murdoch-ekin, Belle eta Sebastian-en kantari eta kantagile gay-a. So that should be good. They look like a bunch of grinning ninnies in the photo, and one of them's trying to get his willy out. There's an internet address if anyone's interested: http://www.gipuzkoa.net/gaztemaniak Has anyone answered the listees with children question yet? Off the top of my head, David Moore of Cheltenham UK not only has children, he even allows his daughter to have a boyfriend. dangerously liberal, I feel. Someone, I think it was David/Ruth, was talking about taking a newborn sprog to the London concert. Many moons ago someone's mum was on the list, if you remember they had to accompany their offspring to the NYC Sessions at West 54th or whatever. And who could forget the comforting presence of Big Arthur Bergman? I sent an anecdote to Neil, but it appears to have been rejected. Piers Dinkle and Lars Melons are a Scandinavian detective duo, like Starsky and Hutch, only gay. It needs a bit of work, but I think this idea could be my ticket to the big time. Gary, could you call your next message "99% of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd" please? Sister Disco PS: Charlotte, I've done your tape. I just need to road test it now. Also I was going to insinuate that you were up the duff (at the end of that bit about list children), but decided against it in case you got even more angry with me than you probably are already. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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RE: Sinister: kids toda
by Chris Butler 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

Don't bands like "Shipping News" qualify as math rock? I'm not super savvy to that genre, but I've heard many people to refer to it... Shipping News' CD is probably the only one I own. I'll cc my brother. He seems to know all the genre names and definitions much better than I do... pants. At 10:12 AM 12/7/98 -0600, Heather Marie Propes wrote: > >"math rock?!!!!" tell me more, Chris, I must know about this! > >Heatherita +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Air Quantas
by Adrian Evans 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

Firstly, the thread about childrens books. You are obviously all "puffs" who went to proper schools. When I studied English at High School I was encouraged to read books about gangs and fighting and stuff. And why has noone mentioned the Mr Men....yer miserable bastards :) Pedro Wrote : ~~ If I ever have children I shall think of them as slave labour, thrash them accordingly, and feed them to the local chimney sweeps. ~~ Peter, you fail to remember that in England we don't have to do this. We just place our children in the care of Social Services and they sort it all out for us. And apparently Susannah wrote : ~~ Did you know that channel 4 are to screen a documentary on bestiality? Set your videos. ~~ This is terrible and I think I will write a letter of complaint.......The reception on channel 4 on my telly is bollocks. And Finally..... Can I appear to be an arse-licking sort with no respect to what goes on this list and wish David and Katrina a Happy Xmas and a wonderful break in Dingo. Judging by the amount of exclamation marks in his last post the poor boy needs a break. I must complain however that David got the first cheap acronym in for TIGHTJUMPERS. Inside information clearly gives him far longer to think of these things than your average listee. Enough of this Pommie twaddle. Adrian.x.x.x +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: What is Twee? What is TEE?(JAMMERS)
by Mick McMick 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

Hullo, Firstly I must say that I almost posted last night about all this philosophical counterculture stuff, but I counted to 4 or 5 as I was about to begin writing and I decided "Nah...." Having said that, to the fellow who suggested we be nice to one another in an attempt to be the opposite of punk, I must point out that quite a lot of good things came out of punk. Someone already mentioned DIY, without which I would wonder if labels like Jeepster would even exist. Plus there's loads of great music, not to mention loads I don't care for.... but I digress. The Boy Done Wrong Again from Indiana U. (I wonder if you know my friend Danny, he used to be the md for a radio station there...) asked us all what does "twee" mean. I don't think anyone answered him, but I didn't read each message word for word, letter for letter. Twee was a word used by the British music press initially to describe Talulah Gosh. It was (and is) a bastardization of the word sweet (imagine sweet said by a 3-year-old) and was used to describe Talulah Gosh's overly cute and yes, overly precious sentiments, oft-recalling childhood. The term seems to have then been used to describe a lot of bands similar to T. Gosh, if not just in spirit. Now it seems to pretty much describe either a) music that is (too) cute, or b) a lot of music that was made in the 80's. Anyway, all that historical stuff was not first-hand, so I'm more than likely wrong on a couple points. *Awaits corrections with a cringe* Okay, and this business with TIJAMRS...that's very very silly. I don't know why people make up lengthy acronyms for such things that take 5 minutes to work out until you realize what they finally are referring to. People have been calling it the Modern Rock Song EP for quite a long time, and I don't think there is anything too lengthy about this. It gives me less of a headache, anyway. It's not as if there were multiple B&S EPs with "Modern Rock Song" in the title, like "That Over There Is a Modern Rock Song," "Watch out for the Modern Rock Song," "Modern Rock Song Gonna Getcha," and "Cold As Ice." Or, you could follow Mister Kitchen's creative example and go with TEEJAMMERS (a la TWATTYBUS). If you're going to use some weird-ass acronym, at least be creative and nonsensical! =P Strangely enough, I think David read my mind, except he got the 2nd E in place where I had an A. In my Sha-La-La inbox: A thread on the TVPs /"\_/"\_/"\ Mick McMick - bp224995(a)ohiou.edu - ICQ#5056758 \ / Sandcastle Records - (same e-mail for now) | | Sandcastle Homepage - | | http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/4972/ | | "I am always wishing to make people | | in the world happy with my smiles." | | - Mr. Friendly +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Strange days...
by Steven Jay Goldman 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

Hi all... First off, a tip of the hat to Chris Butler for his nom de plume...I've been watching a bit of Twin Peaks lately, and I laughed my ass off the first time I heard Albert's famous line about the old waiter... I finally got off my ass and dug my teeth into Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting"...(yes, I realize it's a little late, but better late than never, no?) I've never read about a more intensely interesting and simultaneously horrible group of people in my life. Not horrible because of the drugs, but just because of personalities. Hell, I'd like to know them just so that I could understand them... This just goes to show what a lot of time on one's hands can lead one to...Twin Peaks and Mark Renton...whoof! What a freaky combination! Oh, also thanks to David K. for the quick posting of the new EP...can't wait to have it in my hands! ...lurking in the background with a fey smile... --Steven ______________________________________________________ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: other mathish bands.
by sam jacob 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

other music sometimes classified as Mathrock Unwound's album with Train in the title (i can't remember it, but the song Kantina on it is mathrocky and also brilliant) Rodan's /Rusty/ which has two really good songs on it. any album by U.S Maple and Early June of 44 stuff... (try the album with "mooch" on it, again i can't remember the title...) viva la math rock... +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Re: Sinister: youth movements and stuff
by skg21＠hermes.cam.ac.uk 07 Dec '98

07 Dec '98

Genevieve wrote: > well,honestly..i don't think there is a big big movement with belle and > sebastian type youth...well,maybe there is in little unknown ways... I actually think there is a movement going on, which we are part of. It's not about trying to change the world by smashing the system or anything, it's about tolerance and generally being nice to people. In a way it's the antithesis of the punk movement. Sure, the world isn't the best place on earth, but by friendliness, humility and consideration we can make it better. And the great thing about it is that you can see results immediately - just by being kind to someone you can make them happier. It is very different from previous 'youth' movements in that it is locally, rather than globally, minded which is why it doesn't get as much attention, but it's still going on. We are all part of it - 800 people and noone is abusive on the list ever, which is quite impressive. > heather: >>This is what I consider to be so interesting about this movement, it's >>niceness. Please, someone, explain this to me. Are the hugs, fuzzy >>sweaters, comeraderie with one's parents all a symbol of a greater >>cultural fear of the millenial unknown, or is this for real? I love the >>music, but I'd like to solve the mystery of the seemingly docile youth > who >>follow it. > > i don't think they are really docile..i mean would not exactly call my > relationship with my parents very comeraderie,my halo isn't exactly > gleaming..i mean sure we share little stories on here,but there's a lot > of darkness that people just aren't going to see...but again,maybe > elsewhere these fuzzy sweater people are like that,i can only speak from > what i do and see. Well personally my family's going through a bad patch at the moment, which is why I'm dreading spending most of the next 4 weeks with my parents. The difference is that (like just about everyone in this hypothesised movement I guess) I will still do so, and try my best to keep everyone getting on with each other. Everyone gets annoyed at some things and some people - what matters is what you do about it. I would never describe myself as a hippy (although free love would go down well at times ;-) ), but I respect what they tried to achieve far more than the punks. I'm far too cynical to believe that we can all love everyone - there will always be people you don't get on with - but you have to be able to live with those people. Apologies if I'm sounding like a moral preacher, that's not what I intend at all; I'm just describing how I think most of us, and an increasing number of people in general, live our lives. And I happen to think that it's a good thing. As for a musical movement, that's a different kettle of fish. The trend over the last 5 years seems to have been a history of pop music. It started with Britpop - basically a 60s revival - and has so far been through prog, glam, 80s dance music, the current 80s crap pop revival (Stock Aitken and Waterman all over again) amongst other things, in proportion with their importance and durability at the time. Maybe B&S will slot into an acoustic revival next year, who knows. There hasn't been a genuinely new sound to any popular music since grunge (which wasn't far away from punk anyway). Have people run out of ideas? Is pop music's 50-year reign as leisure pursuit of choice for the young finally coming to an end? Reading through the above, it all seems very mellow and reflective - just the mood I'm in today I guess (partly because it's the end of term and I've been saying goodbye to loads of people, including some old friends who've been here this weekend that I haven't seen for ages and won't again for ages; and partly because I'm a bit hungover). And you've probably all given up and gone home by this point. I just wanted to set out my point of view, in case anyone agrees or indeed cares. Oh, and while I'm here, the list crush site. I've had a few emails regarding its merits of otherwise, which will all be taken into consideration. For now it's staying there, but I should warn you all that since neither David nor I will be around over the next few weeks it won't be maintained particularly; so if there's any names you want putting on the list (or taking off it) do something about it now... Big Stu In my liver: far too much beer and wine +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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