April 2000 - Sinister - missprint.org

Sinister: More Marjory
by honey＠missprint.org 28 Apr '00

28 Apr '00

Mick's latest edition of the B&S diary is included below, also on the band's WWW site soon I'm told. I've only just noticed that Nick sent Stuart's previous entry from March, which featured the return of Stuart's silver pants. If you didn't read it, you should now; it's at: http://www.myspace.co.uk/belleandsebastian/bus.html Fabulous. This one's a great read too. Mick, you've been reading the list again haven't you :) As part of my own contribution to the latest "selling out" endeavours everyone's making around here, I'm doing a spot of my own selling out to The Legal Man: you'll notice a new clause in the Sinister FAQ which exempts me from any responsibility from anything any of you ever say, anywhere, ever. Some list owners recently got sued over "publishing" erroneous advice sent by a list member that hurt little puppies or something. So please note that you're responsible for what you say around here, not me, and it *is* a public forum and viewable by everyone on the WWW forever. Even your gran, so be nice to her ok? The clause is at: http://www.missprint.org/sinister/faq.html#D Anyone continuing to use the list is assumed to have agreed to this from now on. I tried to write it in Latin but I just couldn't, sorry. Naturally, the following article is reproduced by kind permission of the band's office. :) Thanks Katrina. ATP-footie-team-including-band-member picture from Mr Trousers to follow soon. Honey x --- Diary of a Band - Mick Cooke We shot our first big budget video on Tuesday, for the new single, 'Legal Man'. All our previous videos have been made on a shoe string, on Super-8, a friend holding the camera. This one had a proper crew, consisting of a director (Isobel), a producer, a director of film, a camera man, lighting and sound people, a grip (I think), make-up and costume people, and various runners. We also hired several actors, including the guy who played Blake in long-running cheesy '70's sci-fi series 'Blake's Seven'. His name is Gareth, and he was a consummate professional. Other extras included two belly dancers, a couple of transvestites, two 'dandies', and a girl with a python. It was all shot in Glasgow University's very own University Union, in the Reading Room, which had been successfully transformed into a Soho gentlemen's club circa 1967. A very good place to shoot a video too, with such fine catering and cheap drink so close to hand. Back to the budget, it became increasingly obvious as the day wore on that there are several pro's and con's associated with increasing the budget of a video, as compared with the el-cheapo method. On the plus side, you end up with something that definitely looks more 'professional', which won't look quite so out of place next to the 'professional' looking videos you tend to get on the telly. It gives a boost, no matter how small, to the local film industry (most of whom are now friends with Richard, whose girlfriend is a big player in film costume cirlces). And it also gives you more of a chance to get dressed up to the nines, and get fussed over by the girls in costume and make-up. On the down side, it certainly is more impersonal, you feel much more part of the machine, a cog in the engine, an entry on the schedule. It's more like work, less like fun with your mates. And it could be considered by some as 'selling out'. Whatever, it's done, the spools are off to be processed, Isobel is off to edit it, and I for one am looking forward to seeing the final product. As I write this in Glasgow, Scotland, Stevie is in Portland, Oregon, editing the (lower budget) video for his song on the new LP, 'The Wrong Girl', and Isobel is in London, England, about to edit the 'Legal Man' video. Stuart is also in London, cutting the vinyl of the LP, as is Chris, who is attending a gig there. The Wednesday this paper is printed, Belle and Sebastian are holding a press conference in a Soho club. Then it's off to Berlin for me, Milan for Richard, and Scandinavia for Stevie, all to do European interviews. All of which leads me to say that if this is selling out, then hell, it ain't so bad. Mick Cooke +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: my last fable
by julesmarkham 28 Apr '00

28 Apr '00

hey there, well, this is the last of my recent fables, so unless i think of some more pretty soon, this could well be it for a little while, sorry! One spring or other it rained so heavily that thjeriver burst its banks and flooded the town. Jubilee and the black fox, curious and bored, decided to visit the river. Jubilee was ina spirit ditch over something or other, and the black fox thought a walk would brighten her up. They wandered through busy streets and silent parks down to the bridge that crossed the swollen river. Halfway across they stopped to watch the water pass by. Jubilee picked up the fox and set her on one of the flat topped concrete pillars that spanned the bridge. The fox curled her tail around herself like a scarf ans looked at her friend. ~jubilee, what's the matter with you? Jubilee sighed and stared glumly into the water -I'm lonely, fox. She glanced up at the fox. -I know we spend a lot of time together, but I feel.. Isolated. It's not through lack of people, in fact if I wsa in a drowded room I'd still feel alone. The fox thought about what jubilee had just said, and looked down at the river, where the swans and ducks were struggling against the flood. ~Well, she said carefull, ~some of us are meant to be alone. Jubilee looked a little bothered by the idea, so the fox tried to illustrate her point. ~You see the seagulls up there? Jubilee looked up above them, there were several gulls gliding through the air above them, squealing loudly to each other and fighting over scraps of bread. She nodded silently. ~Do you see the swans? the fox continued. Jubilee looked down into the waters, where swans floated gracefully, their beauty marred when they occasionally hissed at passers by. Jubilee nodded silently. ~And the moorhens? The moorhens were creeping along the riverbank, heads bobbing nervously. ~and the ducks. The ducks were swimming in a close group, chattering like children on a day out. ~And those white geese on the grass. The geese were marching around like soldiers, snapping angrily at anything in their path. -Is this an object lesson, fox? The fox ignored the question. ~Do you see that brown goose down there? Jubilee looked down. There was a goose in the middle of the river. It wasn't struggling against the current like the ducks and swans, but was allowing itself to be carried along by the flow of the water, moving in lazy circles as it was caught up in the eddys. The goose floated underneath the bridge, looking remarkably placid considering it was going backwards. Jubilee smiled to herself. ~you see how it doesnt fight the current? the fox said softly, ~Wherever it's goiung, it'll get there eventually, so why struggle? -Like zen, jubilee said to herself. ~What's zen? ~A bhuddism thing, I think. The fox grimaced. ~Religion? No thank you! Jubilee smiled and picked up the fox. -Come on, I'm hungry. Let's get some lunch. What d'you want? The fox watched the river, and the zen goose. ~Noodles, she said finally +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Lets doooo it t'niiiiiiiiiiiiiite. Scraping the barrel for subject lines....
by JENOWL22＠aol.com 27 Apr '00

27 Apr '00

Hewwo, K, um, oh yeah, I went into Glasgow today. This is a big deal, because I went on my own without anyone, and that is always a big deal. On the train there, a moke-ish old woman kept kicking me, and I sort of looked at her, and she went mental, about young people today. So I said, "Excuse me, but people like you should be locked up", and she said "what?", and I said, "Yes, you are a disease to society, a moke, if you will", and got off the train. And her chin swelled up. Only she was right behind me getting off the train, so I couldn't have a wee giggle. Then I went all over the place and into all sorts of shops. Then I sat at George Square ( I wanted to go there so's I'd know where I was going for the picnic, because I get lost easily), and ate half a cookie, and fed the other half to the pigeons. There was this one pigeon who kept getting pushed around by all the other pigeons, because it was different, and I thought it reminded me of me, so I gave it lots of cookie, and smiled at it, so that the other pigeons would think it was really cool to be getting all that attention, but it never worked, because they ingored me and stole its cookie bits. Then I wandered up past the Buchanan Galleries and into Sauchihall Street somehow, and got a little bit lost. So I decided to go into a shop and ask for directions. So I went into a place called Ann Summers, which had underwear in the window, and I thought it looked nice because there was a big apple on the logo, and I got a bit of a fright(well, a big big big bit of a fright) when I wandered in, because it was a shop full of sex things, and big signs saying 'do not enter if you are under 18'. And then I spent about 5 minutes cowering in the doorway hoping people wouldn't see me coming out. But I found my way and got mistaken for an over 18 thrice (ooh I like that word) by survey people, one of whom told me I should go clubbing, because I'd get in. I also bought a big issue from a man who liked my trousers. I was rooting around in all the free stuff I'd got with my printer and never used, and I found sticker paper. So I made my own B&S, Hefner stickers, and put one on my guitar, but I haven't used the rest, because I'm saving, Gentle Waves, Smiths and Pokemon (team rocket waaaaaaaay) stickers them for a special sticker day. I think I will marry James from Team Rocket from Pokemon, because he has grate hair, and he wears dresses sometimes. I saw a boy with a B&S badge, but it wasn't upside down, so I didn't say hello, in case he thought I was a moke. I will cloggle (I made that word up but isn't it grate?) off now to sleep among my cuddly owls, and dollies, because it is midnight, and the witches might get me, Hugs, Jen +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: I know the answer miss!!!
by b Tilston 27 Apr '00

27 Apr '00

Me, me, me I know the answer Miss McArthur One day in a fit of flighty abandon, Isadora Duncan (contemporary dance-meisteress) wore a HUMONGOUSLY long scarf on one of her seaside driving jaunts. Unfortunately, one end of the aforementioned article of clothing (which we shall imagine had a pretty flower design on it) got caught in the back wheel of her car. Asphyxiation ensued... Do I get a prize now? Is it made of chocolate? Love Beth xxxxx P.S. - I'm new, so you all have to be nice to me... P.P.S. - "What are we going to do this evening, Brain?" "We are going to do what we do every evening Pinky...plan to take over thE WORLD!!!" ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: so that's it?
by kerry 27 Apr '00

27 Apr '00

hello sinister massive i think the pickle i threw in my trash is starting to stink up my room. eeeeeeeew. but aside from that, hello! it's been a while, indeed. i've handed in my dissertation, it's done, overwith. except that my defense is next week. i talked to a girl who's already done hers, so i know what kind of questions they're going to ask, so i should really be studying now. you'll have to forgive me, as i'm a bit tipsy. had some sherry with two of my professors this afternoon, and i haven't eaten yet. aside from the few strawberries i nibbled earlier. b&s go P!O!P!? i thought it'd already happened. oh well. i mean, wasn't winning a brit award sort of a hint? don't think it'll get much bigger, though. somebody posted a theory that there's something about belle and sebastian that makes people froth at the mout with contempt. this prompted me to write. you see, last night i was a bit tipsy (seems to be the theme of this final year of college) and was talking to a boy i live with. anyway, we were talking about email lists. you see, he knows the bulk of the people he's on lists with personally, while i'm the opposite. i mentioned sinister, and how big it is, and he looked at me a little sideways, not knowing what i meant by sinister. i told him it's the b&s list, and that confused him even further. he couldn't associate the word sinister with belle and sebastian. he said he was basing his opinion entirely on album covers, particularly tigermilk (which i find personally a little sinister, myself). i explained that sinister comes from an album/song title . . . but, the point is, he would have said belle and sebbie are too twee to have a list named sinister if he'd known the word twee existed. mind you, he listens to a lot of AC/DC. of course, that hasn't stopped him from borrowing all my pulp records. and, while i'm posting, i may as well ask againg: who gave me a list crush vote? somebody did roughly a month ago, then i posted asking, and instead of getting a response, i got another crush vote. one of the two votes mysteriously disappeared (don't worry, i'm not sad about it), but i'd still like to know who the remaining vote is from. unless, of course, it's gone. i haven't checked in a couple days. i've been meaning to ask about this for some time, but could never find a good enough reason to post besides asking about list crushes, and i think just posting about the list crush is a little tacky, don't you? well, popkids, i think i'm going to sober up and go rent some movies. have a good night! -kerry "`Cos in my sleep I still clench my teeth I'm at my strongest only when I'm weak" -tindersticks, "piano song." +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: if only b&s were canadian
by the angel blackwell 27 Apr '00

27 Apr '00

i think i may have insulted a huge great amount of you with that subject line but there is a point. because most music that comes outta this country is shite, but there is still some worthwhile talent, there's a law in kanata that forces broadcasters to play 30% canadian content...unfortunately this still doesn't help get godspeed played, except for at 3am...which is loverly. but, little b&s would get played every time there was a single released...i mean this is also the reason that tragically hip and barenaked ladies were played...k, not such a brilliant idea...do make say think have a new album out as well...they's on the same label as godspeed but based in toronto...they're just amazing...less orchestral, more guitar based than godspeed, all instrumental. my little bus t shirt came yesterday...a ray of sunshine in my neighbourhood that is nicknamed crack alley...and enough buttons to last me at least, well, uh, a while... there is also another reason that my mailman shall bring me to orgasm and that is because a certain listee has offered to burn some nick drake cd's for me... au revoir... le petit ange ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Record company man, I won't be coming to dinner
by Scott Plagenhoef 27 Apr '00

27 Apr '00

hi people: Bear with me if you choose, don't blame ya if you don't: As far as B&S, E6 or any other rather lovely form of music becoming popular, it won't happen and that is more down to the way the music industry is structured than whether these bands can cross demographics and be purchased by the public en masse. The music industry has, of course, changed greatly even since the Big Grunge Breakthrough. There are only 4 major record companies in the world and they each only devote their signifcant marketing attention and dollars to a small handful of acts. Plus, the use of Soundscan has made the raw numbers of record sales and the charts a spectator sport, the same way box-office watching has become. So, artists aren't cultivated -- the record companies can't be bothered. Artists are practically judged each financial quarter on the basis of profitability rather than artistry -- and there are so few outlets for mainstream music (radio is incredibly narrow in the US and UK -- travel the US and you will find that each market has practically the exact same radio stations, a top 40, a Q- or X-labelled "alternative," an adult alternative that crosses over and plays (oooh) Matchbox twenty alongside Mariah Carey; MTV is, of course, even narrower) In the UK, it seems easier to make a chart breakthrough, with the comparitive homogeny of the country, its smaller size, the self-appointed cultural elite based mainly in one city, the greater significance of the singles chart, and national radio. With the need for the record companies to get immediate gratification to bother backing an artist in the US, it's no shock that the only new "artists" that breaktrhough to the charts are the ones either manufactured by the record companies and pushed onto the public through well-placed talk-show gigs, spots on MTV's TRL, phony teen chat rooms, being placed on soundtracks (usually to movies released by the same parent company as the record label, natch) or shopping malls appearances. Hip-hop new artists can be pushed onto the public through incestual collaborations with established artists (think Snoop Doggy Dogg or Kelis or Mya or Ma$e or Eminem). The only other things that make immediate impact are base dredge like "thong song" or "mambo #5." These are records that are aimed to get you to buy them NOW but not for you to listen to in a year so your CD carraige is empty as you now turn your nose up to your discared copy of "macarena" or "achy breaky heart" you can buy whatever is the new piece of crap they are foisting on you instead. Watch the next time someone with NO presence in the US is hyped as a "next big thing" (such as the attempts to push Robbie Williams here) and trace where they are being plugged and why. Not because a large group of the populace decides that they like said artists' music, but because the record company decides a large group of the population might, so they are shoved down our throats. If it takes immediately, great. If not, move on. With so few outlets to publicize an artist, There is little justification for the majors to bother with anyone who might not be platinum or multi-platinum. In the end, N Sync didn't sell 2.1 million records in one week because they really are *that* much more popular than Mariah Carey or Backstreet Boys or New Kids on the Block, but because the industry itself is tightening its control on the marketplace and doing a better job of eliminating kids' choices and outlets to discover new, thoughtful music for themselves. It's N Sync or Kid Rock, junior, take your pick. The worst part is that the kids don't realize that they are being sold out. They look at Limp Bizkit or Spin or alternative radio and think they are making leftfield choices rather than just buying into one version on the mainstream. When I was growing up, the record companies hadn't figured out that they could package and sell rebellion in an even slightly believable way, it was Winger or Wilson Phillips and it was obvious both were a joke, so we went out and discovered the Pixies and Public Enemy. Kids don't do that now. Well, sorry this is long-winded and more than a bit pompous and quite cynical, but, well, sorry. These aren't absolute truths, but does seem to be an unfortunate reality. Unfortunately, if large multi-nationals begin to snap up search engine sites and squeeze off internet access to the indie pop world, it could get even worse. ************************************************************** The antithesis of all of this was the beauty of last night's Looper / Flaming Lips show, which is really special (and, proving the rest of my prattle wrong, the Lips *are* major-label artists.) Wayne Coyne manages the near-impossible: The show and "Soft Bulletin" are an un-ironic, non-melodramatic and non-schmaltzy celebration of love, beauty, and basic humanity. For some reason things that would seem corny in some contexts work here because he *makes* them work with his sincerity [confetti; balloons; *so* many lyrical references to the idea of love, video of a young, innocent boy as a superman figure lifting the hardened spirits of adults; the Wizard of Oz and basic human longing (over the rainbow); videos of basic life functions such as sperm, a human heart, the inside of a womb; video of the sequence in "2001" where 'man' expereinces a trip through the infinite (and eventually emerges on the 'other side' to discover a higher power and a greater understanding of one's self -- although that part isn't in the show); and, er, people in bunny suits] Looper I had seen at the start and the end of this tour and they greatly improved over the course of those two months. I also conducted an interview with Stuart David last night, which I will shamelessly make you aware of when it is published, and I am happy to report that he couldn't have been nicer. He was very open about Belle and Sebastian as well and had quite a few interesting things to say regarding his relationship with the band and the perception of his participation with them. bye! scott. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: The subject of this post is world domination
by Mr Smiley 27 Apr '00

27 Apr '00

Hello, Here is this months nugget of wisdom: I have every confidence that B&S will not reach world domination levels. Everyone who I have played B&S to (which is about three people but I don't have many friends so leave me alone) has absolutely hated them. I think there's just something about them that causes people to start frothing at the mouth with contempt. God knows what, subliminal messages perhaps? Even if Legal Man is no. 1, it doesn't mean anything. Hell, Rialto had a top 20 hit, and look what happened to them. Presumably all these people who want to keep details of the new album a surprise are running into WH Smiths, ripping page 4 out of all the Melody Makers and burning them. Personally, I think a few nuggets of info probably enhances the anticipation factor. Well, that's my tuppence worth. Cheery bye, Mr Smiley (aka Mike, but not the other Mike. Obviously) Email - smiley(a)rebelmonkey.freeserve.co.uk The Black Den - http://www.rebelmonkey.freeserve.co.uk Post Script: Yes, I would like to apologise again for the amount of content in this post. I mean B&S content, rather than just content generally, because it's actually fairly short. Maybe I'll alternate on a sort of content, no content basis, because personally speaking I quite enjoy reading posts with no relevance to the world at all. Beats revising. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Référence: Sinister: i don't think so....
by molly dahl 27 Apr '00

27 Apr '00

Hello Folks, I just wanted to comment on what Mr. Glen the Non-Dick Slap had said: The simple fact of the matter of B&S becoming popular is this: It's not going to happen. Can you really imagine 8 year old school girls whose record collection includes such lumanaries as Five and the evil Steps begging their mummies to buy them the new Belle and Sebastian record? I am in total agreeance. I was just recently discussing a similar situation with my friend who tried to convince me that Elephant6 is going to be the next grunge phase. I don't think that B&S as well as all things E6 are capable of being accepted into the mainstream of music which is out there for today (and I do believe this is quite a good thing). Basically, I've realized, amongst other things, that both B&S and E6 lack the blatant aggression of such artists in the mainstream (in E6's case, 'grunge'). Just me thoughts. Speaking of E6, I am going to see the Apples in Stereo as well as Essex Green next thursday! Yeehaw. enjoy, molly +--------------------------------------------------------------------- -+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +--------------------------------------------------------------------- -+ ---- Fin du message or Francemail Votre email gratuit. http://www.francemail.com +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Well, *deep breath*, just out of the nursery...
by Alan Burns 27 Apr '00

27 Apr '00

...when I signed on to Sinister, I was initially scornful of the strict rules, I have to shamefully admit. you mean I've got to wait a month to post a message?? mmmmph. but now it's all clear...the time spent reading all your messages was just right to get to know what goes on, so I don't dive straight in and look like an arse. so thanks honey! :) this looks like a really nice mail list already, with lots of nice people (and two very nice people, but I didn't join just to stalk them...honest! ;) looks nicer than the other mailing list I've been on too; that particular one's completely unregulated too, so it daily consists of several middle-aged Vietnam veterans reminiscing about how everything used to sound better on 8-track cartridge, and the only person near my own age is a rather excitable Belgian lad. they're all lovely people though, and share a common worship of my favourite artist of all time (who's just released a lovely new album), so they're like family. why then join Sinister? well, as everyone knows, the word sinister is derived from the latin "sinistra", which means "left handed". like me. okay, now for the not-made-up reason. like any normal human being, I like discovering people like me, and chatting to them. for someone like me, and I'm sure everyone else here, that's quite hard to do, which is where the wonders of technology come in. if you're enough of a chancer to be able to blag your way into higher education ("it's full time in McDonalds when I graduate....full time in McDonalds when I graduate...."), you quickly discover that one of the greatest benefits is free internet access, to get straight to the places where like-minded souls will hide away. I'd currently describe myself as a "Belle & Sebastian prodigal son". as a 17-year old insomniac, there once was a night when I chanced upon a song on Radio 1 which made me jump up and proclaim "Phil Spector's gone back into production!" I genuinely believed this until, a month later, it was finally released and I found out the song had been recorded by some bloke called Tony Doogan. in the song's lyrics, especially the mystical incantation of having a boy/girl tonight on the last bus out of town, I immediately felt a lot less lonely than I had for a long time. which was the effect every other B&S release had on me after that. Stuart's, and then eventually Isobel's/Stuart's lyrics reflected the state my life was in so closely I could swear I saw them taking notes over my shoulder when I passed a mirror. there's a gear-change in your lifestyle when you finally leave home which is so profound you'll never quite feel anything as earth-shaking again. for me, living in Liverpool for a year and then in Edinburgh for the past year (anyone applying to Liverpool University might want to go over their course-structures with a microscope and a fine toothcomb, but enough axe-wielding bitterness) I suddenly had something called a "social life", which I'd never had before (and discovered it costs you your dignity, virginity, and around £30 a night in a student union), and another novelty called "a decent circle of friends". in this new life, I was suddenly left with 3 albums, 4 e.p.s and a naughty wee tape called "Wee Graeme the B&S Trainspotter's Compilation of The Black Sessions & some BBC Stuff" which I couldn't relate to at all. in fact, listening to them at all just reminded me over and over of the hell I'd emerged from back home, as all the songs were totally engrained into me as relating to these times. and so one of the most beautiful, small-and-perfectly-formed catalogues in popular music gathered dust (and lots of it) at the back of my cupboard for about a year or so, until two lovely (if slightly sinister) people brought the music of Belle & Sebastian back to my attention. I tried to rediscover it all, which was a long and arduous journey to complete erase all past memories of what the songs used to mean to me. thankfully, it's starting to work. and I'd be missing out on a lot of fine music if I were to neglect them anymore. so that's my "Belle & Sebastian prodigal son" story. what next? erm, I'm a "student" of Communication & Media at Napier University, in Edinburgh, which is crap, and I work in a supermarket called Somerfield on Dalry Road, Dalry, which isn't crap because I'd much rather have a job anyway than a degree. and if I stay here instead of working back home I can have a mighty fine life in general. except that Edinburgh's been pretty much underwater for the last three weeks, and I've had a cold every day. I used to be in a band, or rather an acousticky duo, which has just split up due to the pressures of work my partner in crime is currently experiencing, and differing opinions of the longview of what we wanted to do have pretty much split us up anyway. my colleague claimed that he'd only sign to a record label who gave him complete creative freedom, and where he didn't have to have his picture in the album sleeve anywhere, and he claimed that such a label didn't exist, despite my best efforts at Jeepster-conversion. I even raised the point that I still don't really know what Stuart Murdoch looks like, although I do know what Isobel looks like *sigh...* having seen The Gentle Waves in Glasgow a year ago. I'm told that Stuart was playing as part of the band that night, but I didn't know at the time, though. and I promised myself that I wouldn't mention a single other band name in my first post, as I gather one of the (I suppose pretty sensible) rules of the list is not to give huge big lists of every band you like. suffice to say, I have the kind of CD collection that looks like it was compiled by about seven or eight different people, all of whom would completely hate each other if they all met for a day. but that sort of nicely reflects the kind of person I am anyway. there isn't really much I don't like musically, I suppose. feel I have to mention one of my favourite bands, though, who I've gathered from messages I read just after joining that they didn't go down to well at All Tomorrow's Parties: the wonder that is Sonic Youth. it's such a shame they obviously had a bad night there, and I hope it doesn't colour too many people's opinions of them permanantly. from all the live bootlegs I've heard, I'll admit Sonic Youth are no stranger to a duff gig, especially in festivals of any sort for some reason: maybe they're insecure about not just playing for fans: but on nights when they're really focused, there's nothing on earth like them. Glasgow Barrowlands, February 1996 was the greatest gig of my life for that very reason. sorry, just felt they needed some justification!! really have to go now, which I'll admit is due to wanting to run home like an absolute sad gimp to get in in time for Neighbours, but there it is. been nice to meet you all, oh, and I have exactly five and a quarter days left now of being a teenager. anyone suggest how I could use them to the full?? bye, Alan. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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