September 1999 - Sinister

Sinister: Neutral Milk Hotel
by === 20 Sep '99

20 Sep '99

>> I was wondering if anyone on the list could share with me their = >> knowledge of Neutral Milk Hotel, like are they touring anytime soon, = >> where'd the name come from? I think I recall now seeing them mentioned = >> once or twice on the list but I can't seem to find anything. And if you = >> haven't heard NMH, I sincerely recommend that you go check them out and = >> experience their music. >> >> Todd > Ah! Here we go. Neutral Milk Hotel are among the last truly wonderful bands floating around unrecognized these days. I'm going to gush about them for a while but should preface this all with the disclaimer that Jeff Mangum and Julian Koster are my housemates in Athens, so none of this is exactly objective. Jeff grew up in Ruston, Louisiana and went to school with Will Hart, Bill Doss, and Rob Schneider. In high school they made home recordings for each other under the names Neutral Milk Hotel, Clay Bears, etc for a free-floating label they called Elephant 6. Jeff, Will, and Bill ended up in Athens forming a band called Synthetic Flying Machine around 1993. When that disolved Will and Bill continued as Olivia Tremor Control and Jeff left Athens for brief stays in Texas, Denver, Seattle, New York and Olympia living in closets and recording more Neutral Milk Hotel material. After finishing 1996's On Avery Island he assembled the line up of Julian Koster (singing saw, accordian, keyboard, banjo, bass) Scott Spillane (Trumpet, french horn, etc) and Jeremy Barnes (drums) to tour with, and this core group ended up relocating to Athens in 96 after the tour was done. That line up made 1998's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea," an even more striking album than Avery Island. It came out on Merge records here in the States, and was pressed by Blue Rose immediately before that label went bankrupt in the UK. They toured extensively, then went into a sort of reclusion that fall. Julian concentrated on his band The Music Tapes, Scott had the Gerbils, Jeremy had Bablicon, and Jeff wrote and spent time with friends. Jeff played a solo acoustic show last December 5th for a birthday party at the old school gynasium I was living in at the time, then did three Neutral Milk Hotel songs on New Years Eve at the 40 Watt, and that was it. He turned down every potential NMH show in 1999, including slots opening for R.E.M., playing Yo Yo A Go Go, Terrastock, and so on. He has joined Elfpower, Olivia Tremor Control, the Gerbils, Dixie Blood Moustache and other Elephant 6 performers but hasn't played a Neutral Milk Hotel show all year. For a while he was recording sound concrete tape experiments with Will Hart. More recently he has begun to actually work on new NMH songs, which sounded amazing. There is a chance he may perform in Athens at a benefit for the Broad River but nothing is confirmed yet. I recommend both "On Avery Island" and "On the Aeroplane Over the Sea" to any Belle & Sebastian fans who haven't discvered them yet. For actual band history/interview, there was an excellent cover story in Puncture last year that may be available online. B&S content? That's Jeff in the sheet as a ghost in the video for "Dirty Dream #2" with the dog jumping around. Julian and Robbie are laying on the roof with all of their tape machines, and Scott has the flowers bursting out of his sleeves. They are all Belle & Sebastian fans and joined the list members who came to Athens to be in the video... Take care, Lance Bangs ---------- >From: "Todd Herrmann" <tmh(a)wam.umd.edu> >To: <sinister(a)Majordomo.net> >Subject: Sinister: This feeling I get is a good feeling >Date: Sun, Sep 19, 1999, 2:46 PM > >You know that feeling you get when you're approaching something new that = >> you're not sure of (no not the feeling when you've just spotted the = >> cutest guy or girl in the room and you really want to go talk to them = >> but those damn butterflys in your stomach weigh so much that you can't = >> even lift you're feet to take steps--but that's another story for = >> another time). Anyway I'm talking about the nervous anticipation you = >> get when you've just bought an album by someone you haven't heard that = >> much about but you decided to pick it up because you just have this = >> feeling that you might really like it. I was on Amazon.com the other = >> day and reading through some of the online reviews of B & S and I = >> decided to click on those "people who bought this CD also bought these = >> CD's because I was just curious about some of the bands listed there = >> that I'd never heard. So I click on this one called Neutral Milk Hotel, = >> at the time I'm just like "hmm sounds like unique name, I wonder what = >> they sound like." So I listened to some of those little 30 second clips = >> and I was pretty impressed but its really hard to tell anything by those = >> little clips so tonight I picked up On Avery Island, I believe its their = >> first album, I could be wrong though. So it was with nervous = >> anticipation and a little shaking of the hands that I ripped off the = >> plastic and put the CD in the player. Well I'm listening to the album = >> for the third time in a row while I'm writing this and I'm more than = >> impressed. The vocal tracks are so expertly arranged with Jeff Mangum's = >> voices and the intruments creating a beautiful melody together...I = >> almost wept listening to "Three Peaches" And the solely intrumental = >> songs remind me of Mogwai, albeit the little Mogwai that I have heard. >> >> I was wondering if anyone on the list could share with me their = >> knowledge of Neutral Milk Hotel, like are they touring anytime soon, = >> where'd the name come from? I think I recall now seeing them mentioned = >> once or twice on the list but I can't seem to find anything. And if you = >> haven't heard NMH, I sincerely recommend that you go check them out and = >> experience their music. >> >> Todd > > >+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ > +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ > To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe > send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to > "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister > +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ > +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ > +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ >+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: a blah blah
by E. A. Hostetter 20 Sep '99

20 Sep '99

Hi all...I survived three days in Montreal without you... JOB INTERVIEW Don't think I'll get le job cuz well, the dork interviewer asked me "Where do you see yourself relationship-wise in 5 years?" Um, illegal question?! Whatever. Either he was interested or he wanted to know if I'd show up pregnant next week. Conclusion? Wouldn't want to work for him anyway. NIGHTS OUT/B&S Went to trendy little Laika on Friday...snappy 50s chic, loud DJing, stunningly gorgeous clientele "help me!" I mentioned B&S to my friend V, who of course knew who they were...though he prefers to listen to John Cage. He was very removed about it and said, in French, 'Oh, when I heard the name of the band I thought 'how ingenious, like the cartoon'" haha, cuz we all got to watch the cartoon version as children on French TV. Sat night, unfortunately hit 'Le Drugstore' after a wonderful meal of beef curry and 'super nouilles dorées' This bar is the queer equivalent of Planet Hollywood... *cringes almost screams* :-@ Yeah, chocolate bars and porn mags and cigarettes...all at your fingertips, not to mention huge ugly neon lights and a Pat Benatar soundtrack...faaawwwk! SAT. Spent all day Saturday at a symposium on how to resolve the question of art photography vs. documentary photography. Fascinating for the most part (had no choice...it was 5 hours long!) Two stuffy French intellectuals ruined it with their silly bafflegab about 'a call to arms' and just being plain snotty. TRAIN There was a 12 month old little girl on the train who entertained us all for most of the trip, smiling, laughing, being annoying...sent my maternal urges skyrocketing....*squirm* TAPE Joss sent me a mix tape of Scott Walker and Caetano Veloso...thanks! Though I shall thank you personally. Now we can all hum the hommage to the lovely Genevieve (G: I'll be there for Thanksgiving, I promise!) Later luvs ea +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: "now they'll see what i mean to the boys exactly"
by marie elia 20 Sep '99

20 Sep '99

right right. hello you all. can i just say that big freaking huge props go out to double-triple-fucking-tigerxdare-ya-Lauren for uttering the name of Reggie and the Full Effect on this list. reggie, et al, are what happen when whiny emo kids and hardcore kids can no longer hide their penchant for pop, so they collaborate and make some of the funniest and wonderful sounds ever. check check check it out, y'all. that troublesome rainermaria lot, too. good stuff. on a sadder note, i hear ya, girl. poo on da boyz. i have lately posed the question of "why do boys Act like That" lately to a few boys... they can't explain it. maybe b/c they deny any emotion. maybe b/c they don't have it. maybe they have it to the point of becoming a socially-inept quivering mass disguised as a cool, calm, unfeeling Winky (good word, lj). ummm... okay, enough of that. anyway, if you're going to boy sets fire shows, clearly you are tough enough to kick their whiny arses... unfortunately, we'd rather have them just be Nice to us, eh? tough is lonely. what is with me tonight? anyway. i just spent the past four days in a whirlwind of musica... nyc for cmj... got to see the getupkids (although we missed reggie -- poo!), a wonderful wonderful band called nymb, the kindercore showcase (dressy bessy and kitty craft are the new crack. for real.), and the jadetree showcase -- mmm... joan of arc, promise ring, jets to brazil... except during the kid dynamite set, all the pansy kids in cardies and glasses turned into tattooed, pierced hardcore kids and i ended up in the midst of a bunch of stage-diving, crowd-surfing, testosterone-fueled monsters. underneath them, in fact. which would have been okay had i been a bit prepared. as it were i was emotionally scarred... who knew that such a band could follow joan of arc??? i am a wuss. sheesh. you know what? i bet 3/4 of the people on this list don't give one whit about the above paragraph whatsoever. sorry. :( hey, speaking of listees ... mick mcmick -- were you in town for cmj?? b/c i swear i saw you wednesday walking around the west side... theatre district area... or maybe i just totally made that up. hmmph. do you all realize that i have exactly 2 hours to do all the homework i missed while at cmj, b/c i have to go serve coffee to college students at 10??? i've been wading through the NINETY sinister messages all afternoon.... sheesh, kids. okay, before i delve into translating greek ("homer educates the men. the men go to the marketplace..."), one comment on the. indie/emo/what-have-you scene, and the clothes that go along with it.... while at cmj, i really became aware of how everyone looked exactly alike. and then i realized why we do it -- the nookie! clearly! what better way to get "play" than by wearing ratty corduroys, salvation army cardies, and dorky glasses???? that's it!!! haha! i do it all for the nookie. okay, if my message tonight has taught you anything, it's to lay off the crack, kids. for reals. xoxo, marie === ************************************************************** "I was a proper snob in college, as only a future lifetime English major can be" - buddy glass "to me she was just marie." -mersault ************************************************************** __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: urgh, lesbians!
by Marcus Omond 19 Sep '99

19 Sep '99

my, my, my... you know, chaps and chappettes, you're really a wonderful lot. the picnic et al this weekend were rather fine, especially in terms of company. the more and more sinister people i meet and talk to and get to know a bit, the more i get convinced that there is really something rather special here. but enough of that sentimental slush... more weird goings on in marcusland... okay, several people have expressed doubts as to the veracity of all my (seemingly) paranoid rants. now that natasha's been staying with me a few days and has come around on the tube and has been riding city buses with me, she can confirm that i just attract the weirdest people around. how about the chap on green park tube platform? at ten past midnight: 'come out you fucking pricks. you fucking chiefs, where the fuck are you?' in a fortissimo... or how about the guy on baker street platform watching calmly as the last tube rolled out of the station, continuing to sing and play his air guitar? or how about the two golden youths on the bus earlier today discussing the ins and outs of last night's fight? believe me (and natasha), everything gets a LOT weirder when marcus turns up... ...but the funniest incident happened earlier today. perhaps understandably, i've been queerbashed an awful lot in the past, but never in such an inventive way... ...we were sitting at the bus stop after a cheesy meal (in more ways than one) and were *shock horror* kissing. and then a group of townie kids, resplendant in their kappa and adidas tracksuit bottoms ran out in front of us. the gang leader turned towards us, gave us a cursory look up and down before shouting 'URGH! LESBIANS!' and running off basking in the glory of his peers' giggles. natasha and i found this rather amusing... anyway, that's about all that's been happening down at omond acres. there's a competition that nike are running to find the park footballers of the year, and it happens to have internet voting... so i thought that sinister should maybe help out... a sinister get together to pick up all the awards at london nike town would be rather amusing, i feel. i'll post more about this tomorrow... right, i'm off to bed :) love Marcus XXX +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: This feeling I get is a good feeling
by Todd Herrmann 19 Sep '99

19 Sep '99

You know that feeling you get when you're approaching something new that = > you're not sure of (no not the feeling when you've just spotted the = > cutest guy or girl in the room and you really want to go talk to them = > but those damn butterflys in your stomach weigh so much that you can't = > even lift you're feet to take steps--but that's another story for = > another time). Anyway I'm talking about the nervous anticipation you = > get when you've just bought an album by someone you haven't heard that = > much about but you decided to pick it up because you just have this = > feeling that you might really like it. I was on Amazon.com the other = > day and reading through some of the online reviews of B & S and I = > decided to click on those "people who bought this CD also bought these = > CD's because I was just curious about some of the bands listed there = > that I'd never heard. So I click on this one called Neutral Milk Hotel, = > at the time I'm just like "hmm sounds like unique name, I wonder what = > they sound like." So I listened to some of those little 30 second clips = > and I was pretty impressed but its really hard to tell anything by those = > little clips so tonight I picked up On Avery Island, I believe its their = > first album, I could be wrong though. So it was with nervous = > anticipation and a little shaking of the hands that I ripped off the = > plastic and put the CD in the player. Well I'm listening to the album = > for the third time in a row while I'm writing this and I'm more than = > impressed. The vocal tracks are so expertly arranged with Jeff Mangum's = > voices and the intruments creating a beautiful melody together...I = > almost wept listening to "Three Peaches" And the solely intrumental = > songs remind me of Mogwai, albeit the little Mogwai that I have heard. > > I was wondering if anyone on the list could share with me their = > knowledge of Neutral Milk Hotel, like are they touring anytime soon, = > where'd the name come from? I think I recall now seeing them mentioned = > once or twice on the list but I can't seem to find anything. And if you = > haven't heard NMH, I sincerely recommend that you go check them out and = > experience their music. > > Todd +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: study at stow tshirt
by kerry 19 Sep '99

19 Sep '99

well, it finally happened. someone commented on my study at stow shirt. today i was at the grocery store (the star market in cambridge mass near central square, for all you boston kids) and this man came up to me and said his daughter had this shirt and she loved wearing it and that they are going to glasgow this summer and she wants to get a picture of herself standing in front of stow college wearing the shirt. i thought that was cute, and demand that if it was any of you to come forward. oh, and some other guy said that he liked my shirt, with his eyes kinda bouncing back and forth between my shirt ad my face, but i think it may have just been that he liked my titties. (ahhh, smut). back to lurking, -kerry http://hamp.hampshire.edu/~kwl96 "i'd be riding horses if they'd let me." -- palace, "horses" +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

2 1

Sinister: Sorry my friends!
by Chris Jones 19 Sep '99

19 Sep '99

I must apologise to everyone, but especially Honey. It would appear that by living in 1996 I have single handedly brought the archives to a halt. Well, as soon as I heard this I had to jump into my time machine to 1999, and here I am. It smells a bit different, and Oasis are now crap, but apart from that it's great! Chris Jones. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: i can sit in circles, and cry in ovals...
by Blake E. Hamilton 19 Sep '99

19 Sep '99

hi bon bons, i've determined that i'm a very sad person. not in a terribly gloomy way. there are several different kinds of sad. there's the 'ohhhhhhhh i hate everything, i am a lemon!' and there's me, someone with a bit of quiet regret for a lot of things. a lot of things could be very different, but they're not, or maybe they are, i'm not sure. ping pong, there goes the girl. riff raff here comes the smile... i apologize for writing two nights in a row. it really isn't me. i like quiet, and not exposure to mass amounts of people who constantly wonder 'what makes him tick?' when they get one of my mails in their box. whether it's excitement, or reluctance, i'll never know. someone let me know either way. :) boooohooooo i found out today that a pretty girl has a boyfriend. it was heartbraking. but it was silly too. one of those 'of course, i'm an idiot, what was i thinking? she's way toooooo good for me. bollocks'. well pish, i say, it stil hurts..... i wrote a review of Tigermilk today for the campus newspaper. i think it's very rotten. it's hard to sum up the record in 600 words or less. and it's really really hard to avoid sounding like you work for Jeepster or something too. to say i'm biased in the review is like saying the North Carolina coast got a little rain this week. blessed teri from Toronto. the sweetest sweetheart of them all. she digs the magnetic fields, what is more tantalizing? nothing, yea that's right. exotic she is, exquisite in her stylish black glasses and smile like absolute zero, a shard of beautiful violence... sorry, a poetic moment. i think i could have been one of those poets in the medieval village whom everyone went to hear love sonnets gush repeatedly from the chap who really knew nothing about love. or maybe i know so much that it's impossible for me to love, period. one of those 'so wrapped up within one's theories that they never come to pass.' we'll see. how utterly depressing. me and my psychedelic mail, one of these days i'm going to lick a letter and like it... love blake xx the nerdy shy eyed pacifist ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ "I am not Jesus, though I have the same initials." - Jarvis Cocker +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: AND FINALLY...
by Chris_t_opher 19 Sep '99

19 Sep '99

These messages are gonna be one after another, arent they? ITS NOT MY FAULT, IM BEING COST EFFECTIVE! These are some very good links ive found. Suggest you have a look at ALL of them!: www.pressanykey.com/densa/densa1.html A Quck quiz - see who can get the highest score on the list! www.jeffbuckley.com You can probably guess at this one! www.newgrounds.com/pico/pico.html Perfect for bored people with 10 minutes to spare. www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/3072/camera2.html This one is pretty clever - new technology development, i believe! Annnnnnnd Yes, thats your lot! Chris_t_opher - again! The East River Pipe Community - Http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/EastRiverPipe You've got to go - its only natural. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0

Sinister: Lucky ol. me.
by Chris_t_opher 18 Sep '99

18 Sep '99

Hey all my munchkins. My muther's just told me that this here computer is to be removed tomorrow. Which is nice, isnt it? So, at the tender age of 17, i may be retiring from the Sinister scene. Not if ive got anything to do with it though. I WILL survive. Thats it. Oh, the point of this mail was to tell Leaky that he HAS to reply to that talk21.com address and not any other i may have inadvertently sent. The Right Honourable Chris_t_opher. The East River Pipe Community - Http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/EastRiverPipe You've got to go - its only natural. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister(a)majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo(a)majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1 0