September 1998 - Sinister

Sinister: re: trouble... (and observer review)
by andrew dean 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* and having just mentioned the new mojave 3 single (which got better later on) i open it up and inside it says: >mick cooke - trumpet >recorded at cava studios glasgow, by tony doogan spooky... another review: observer, 6th september, barbara ellen(?) unrepentant champions of jangling acoustic indiedom, the scottish band offers few innovations on their third album. a pity, since on the occasional track not subjected to boy-scout production standards, say 'sleep the clock around', their wispy rock threatens to come fully alive. otherwise their proudly humdrum songs - 'hello small town, hello big aeroplane' - lie limp as a Highland hotel salad. um, so they're an acoustic band. so all those eletric guitars and organs are figments of my deranged mind... i'm not entirely sure the Highland hotel will be too pleased either. also, on my last trip to america we had to board the plane on the runway using one of those stair things and it was the first time i'd seen a plane i was travelling on up that close and i was struck by how small it was... there's no little story on the sleeve of the new lp 8( i do like the grumpy sounding thanks to the writer of the original b&s stories though. more dinnertime andy == andrew dean (koogydelbbog(a)yahoo.com) _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: Some brief observations about Leeds
by Adam Robinson 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* 1. Meeting complete strangers seems to render me incapable of saying anything except "Cool". 2. The people from the list I met were cool. 3. My girlfriend thinks Keith Watson is "dreamy". 4. B&S were tremendous, even though they didn't play ANY of my real faves. 5 "The Boy With The Arab Strap" was the highlight 6. Except for the starry backdrop for "Spaceboy Dream" 7. I should write "Remember, you can't dance for toffee" on my hand before I start drinking. 8. Er, that's it. Cheers, Adam. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: trouble with new album?
by andrew dean 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* um, having worked for 7 hours yesterday (unpaid overtime, still, it gets me out of the house...) i decided to take an hour or so and pop into town this morning cos there was some record by some band or other new out. anyway, i picked it up (along with the new mojave 3 single (not as good as the last one, still rather pleasant though) and the new helen love single) and took it to the counter and she scanned it and it beeped, she scanned it again and it beeped again. tried putting the number in by hand and it beeped again. she looked it up in the other computer (they have 36 copies (35 now!) in hemel hempstead virgin meagrestore if that's of interest to anyone) and tried that number and it beeped again. she ended up writing it down on a scrap of paper. i'm just worried that this isn't a local thing and that there'll be hundreds of sales that go unrecorded the length and breadth of the country and the album doesn't do as well as it should and susannah's prophecies come true... so, i now have a real copy of the lp, nice cd booklet full of pictures and all. but i also have this superstition about not listening to a band's music the day before seeing them live (they're playing a gig in london tonight, is anyone going?) so i can't really listen to it until tomorrow... sigh. duke: [nottingham was full of wankers and they oughta play smaller places] >Does anyone understand what i'm saying? i guess it comes down >to: the really 'dedicated' fans would have got their shit together >and got tickets for a venue half the size and all the hangers on who >probably just went cos it was meant to be 'hip' or something (i >dunno, i'm making this up as i go) would have been left out in the >cold, and that's just fine. except, of course, that selling half as many tickets means half as much income (or the tickets have to be twice as expensive). but yes, intimate venues are better naturally. um, i've just realised that duke was complaining about a 500 seater venue being too large when tonight they play a 2000 seater venue... oh um, back to the grindstone... andy i've also noticed that going to town on the bus around 9 in the morning the bus is always full of old women. why do they always need to be in town as soon as everything opens? don't they realise they have All The Time In The World and oughta leave the early buses for people with more important things to do? pah! == andrew dean (koogydelbbog(a)yahoo.com) _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: One boys opinion of the gigs so far...
by Stephen Landamore 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* Greetings fellow pop!sters! Well I've come in to work, I've an absolutely massive backlog of email to read (mostly linux-kernel stuff :o) so I thought I'd procrastinate a little and take some time out to give my account of the two gigs so far (i.e. Leeds & Nottingham). Leeds ~~~~~~~ Set off straight from work and drove three hours solid, stopping only to grab a pie and an A-Z of leeds... ... my goodness! On olde-worlde variety hall! what a peculiar place to have a gig! This must be about the first time I've been to a sit-down gig (*), how odd! I think I arrived a few minutes into Elliott Smith's set... hmm, this guy's pretty good. So good in fact that I bought his album on Saturday, along with the new B&S album. For those not familiar, it was one man and his (acoustic) guitar. Pleasant. And the interlude! Well, *I've* never had ice cream in a gig before! I was so impressed (or is that: hot) that I bought two! (No, I didn't partake of the lollies at Manchester, I was too cold :-) And then Belle & Sebastian came on... straight in with 'Simple Things' - excellent stuff if a little quiet. Well, I have to say I didn't make a note of the set list but I'm sure someone else will fill me in. My memory isn't that good these days :-) Highlight for me was 'Is it wicked not to care?' Other highlights: the guys dancing at the front. Are you one of us? Don't be shy, own up. Most entertaining! Especially during 'Century of Fakers' Stuart M changed the lyrics, '... century of strippers ...' as the guy had just taken his jacket off, followed by ' ... there was a young boy who wanted to dance, but he ended up looking dumb ...' both to lots of laughs. Top P!O!P! entertainment fellows, keep it up! Quote: 'Stuart! Stuart! We want to dance!' One thing that stood out for me, was the silence. Let me explain. During most gigs there is a general background noise of people talking. When I saw Mogwai earlier this year it was ruined for me by people talking. Well I'm sure you all know and love Mogwai, their music goes from quiet to loud with no inbetween, during the quiet bits you could hardly hear anything due to the background noise. And the loud bits were few and far between. But I digress.. Well, this is the FIRST gig I've EVER been to where the audience were QUIET... maybe something to do with the fact B&S were playing quiet-ish, maybe ... I dunno. Top notch behaviour folks! Of course we went wild between songs :-) Finally, buy a mug and a poster then head off home. Top night out! Nottingham ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hmm, this was trickier to find, perhaps I should have bought an A-Z of nottingham as well! Well, I finally made it - AND I made it in time to see the ENTIRE Elliott Smith set!!! The venue: what can I say?! Three words: Furry Fresian Doors omigod! they killed good taste! Overall this was as good as the day before, except that the venue was BUSY BUSY BUSY. I HATE queueing at a bar :-( The people were too loud. I had to move away from a group of people talking, just so I could hear the band... Looks like several people in the audience had the same problem, there were numerous shouts of 'we can't hear' and 'turn up the volume' ... the band ought to have replied 'no, you be quiet' I would have like this, but I guess it would have been taken the wrong way... Highlights: 'The state I am in' and 'Photo Jenny' Bought a T-shirt (David, Katrina: Hi! Good to put a face to the names, keep up the good work! :-) Finally hang around for a while then bugger off home (ObSurprise: my girlfriend was awake and waiting for me when I got home. ObShame: I was way too tired) Hmm. Lots lots lots better than Manchester :-) Well, no doubt other people will comment on the gigs, fill me in on the setlists, whatever. I bet they probably already have done, I guess I'm going to check my mail now... Maybe see some of you in London tonight... then again, maybe not - I'm coming down with a stinking cold, and there some things I've got to do at home which absolutely cannot wait, unfortunately :-( Oh yes, the new album. I picked up a copy the other day, and very good it is too! My current (i.e. immediate) fave is 'simple things'. I'm listening to it now, as I write... nice work fellas! stephen +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: B&S Apparel in the US?/Paraphenalia in general
by Mick McMick 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* Hullo, Just inquiring as to whether or not we Americans are going to be privy to the same sort of wondrous items (i.e. shirts, posters, badges, B&S-brand arab straps) as the kind that are being sold at the UK gigs? I so want to parade around town with "Belle & Sebastian" emblazoned upon my chest. See Mr. Milkman? How about them apples, store clerk. You wish you had a shirt like this too, fellow student? Well, it's a shame you didn't see them... Well, that's *if* we can get them... I do wonder, though, what other B&S-related paraphenalia might we purchase? An alarm with a "Sleep Around the Clock" button? "Ease Your Feet into the Epsom Salt"? "Lazy Back Massager Jane"? "Photo Jenny"-brand cameras? "Le Pastie de la Bourgeosie"-creampuffs? A "Pocketbook Angel" notebook? Or Perhaps a notebook with "We Rule the School" emblazoned upon it. Hm, I'd best quit before I get *REALLY* bad... But until B&S write a song called "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter," we'll be stuck guessing at the potential commercial possibilities. /"\_/"\_/"\ Mick McMick - mick(a)indiepop.com - ICQ#5056758 \ / Sandcastle Records - sandcastlerecords(a)indiepop.com | | Sandcastle Homepage - http://indiepop.com/sandcastle/ | | | | "Everyone has their own cup of tea. | | Some just happen to like a lot of sugar in it!" | | - Me! +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: South Talbot Observer Review
by PJMiller 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* This was in Friday's South Talbot Observer review section: BELLE & SEBASTIAN - THE BOY WITH THE ARAB STRAP By Barry Yorath (awarded 4 stars - Barry's Star Buy!) Chirpy Scots threesome Belle and Sebastian's debut album is a delicate joy. The fey and winsome lyrics of New Labour troubador Stuart Murdoch captivate and delight the unsuspecting listener, gradually weaving a mystic web of verbal tomfoolery. The musical backing is pert and spunky, bringing to mind echos of "Our Favourite Shop" era Style Council crossed with the Pet Shop Boys on "Sleep the Clock Around"; Led Zeppelin's awesome "No Quarter" on the spoken word "A Space Boy Dream" before shifting up a gear into a splendid Isaac Hayes inspired funkathon. The title track is an ode to innocent pleasures in the borstal potting shed, whose musical break sounds like a medieval simpleton on acid. "Chickfactor" is a gentle Love-style lament to getting lost in New York, whose musical break sounds like an Elizabethan simpleton on acid. The three press-shy lads in Belle and Sebastian make music. Let their music make love to you. --------------------------------------------------------------- There, it's pretty much the same as all the other reviews really, but I thought it was worth adding to the ever-increasing pile. Peter +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: interruption
by brad 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* now that the album is out....i can break my silence. the songs are some of the best happiest most delightful pop tunes ever written by them. but i think everything would have worked better as 3 e.p.'s rather than 1 album. as far as a complete package goes, sinister was better. as far as songs go, more of the ones on the new one make me smile and wanna dance. and i hated chickfactor when i heard it. but if you stick on the album, listen to chickfactor, and then take it off, not listening to any other songs....it's a good song. but in the context of the album, it's a fart in the middle of a symphony. if stevie happens to read this....i'm sorry. it is a good song. just not where it happened to be placed on the album. but, i have to say, and duke, maybe you could agree here.....the new lambchop is better. not really a bad guy, brad +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: can anyone explain this?
by Jackson,John 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* somewhere in sleepy Chorltonville... 3 men in a room, shouting... 3 men in a room, drinking beer.... 3 men in a room, listening and singing along to "I Was A Male Stripper In A Go Go Bar" by Man 2 Man meets Man Parrish.... 3 men in a room, looking up Phil Fearon & Galaxy and Limahl on the internet... answers please.... JJJ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: Aural Doilies and Seymour Stein
by SpaceboyUK＠aol.com 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* << > ne'er-do-well, matched to a woozy moog hook. The band's lyrical barbs can get > obnoxious, as in "Seymour Stein," which condemns the music industry impresario > named in its title for daring to try to make the musicians rich and famous. > Such dismissiveness blunts the album's impact. As much joy as its jingle- > jangle music holds,the band won't come to full power until it finds equal > breadth and gernerosity in its words." I'm just so sick of seeing this mentioned in the reviews. >> I agree!! just because the review critique people are too much into EVE 6 na dHOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH and other monotonous bands like the such, they mustn't criticize what they know nothing of. -a.james +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: Aural Doily? There will be a Quiz
by MWaggner＠aol.com 07 Sep '98

07 Sep '98

*---* HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINISTER BABIES *---* Has anyone posted the review from the NY Daily News? Probably not, as no one will admit to reading that paper. Except the person who sent this to me. I'll type it out here, and await the reaction (come on, it promises to be a long weekend and Farber deserves all he gets) but please, don't shoot the messenger, ok? __________________________________________________________________ JINGLE BELLE & SEBASTIAN by Jim Farber, NY Daily News, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998 Scot band's mean but twinkling LP is one among some interesting new releases "You can't always believe your ears when you listen to Scotland's Belle & Sebastian. Its highly mannered folk rock sounds prim and polite, like an aural doily. But its lyrics bristle with sarcasm, irony, even cruelty. Such a pitched combination made the group's 1997 debut, "If You're Feeling Sinister," one of the more subtle (and more playable) albums of the year, not to mention one of the more critically adored. The new album continues in the same vein. Its twinkling melodies, fey vocals and dancing arrangements suggest a magical intersection of three mid-'60s styles, which all cross the last days of lounge music with the emerging folk rock of the day. You'll hear the summery West Coast sounds of The Mamas & Pappas or the early Byrds, mixed with the chaste English balladry of Mary Hopkin or Marianne Faithfull, plus the muted peppy horns of Burt Bacharach. "It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career" might have been performed by Simon and Garfunkel in '66. Which only mkes its mean lyrics that much more jarring. Here, the narrator nearly chuckles over a painter who suffered a stroke at 24 because the band considers his work "a sham that's going for a grand." The equally withering "Sleep the Clock Around" offers an ode to a depressed ne'er-do-well, matched to a woozy moog hook. The band's lyrical barbs can get obnoxious, as in "Seymour Stein," which condemns the music industry impresario named in its title for daring to try to make the musicians rich and famous. Such dismissiveness blunts the album's impact. As much joy as its jingle- jangle music holds,the band won't come to full power until it finds equal breadth and gernerosity in its words." ___________________ Points for discussion include: Maryanne Faithful: Chaste? Lounge Music + Folk Rock (emergent) = X Compare and Contrast Mick Cooke and Burt Bacharach. (Extra credit for comparison/contrast of Muted and Peppy) What is the possibilty that Mr. Farber actually listened to the cd? +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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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