July 2000 - Sinister - missprint.org

Sinister: Thery're locking them up today. they're throwing away the key. I wonder who it'll be tomorrow--you or me?"
by Vicki Rider 22 Jul '00

22 Jul '00

Hi! After going through about 5 digests and over 20 posts on Christianity I'd like to pipe in on the subject myself if I may: It's something I've thought a great deal about this past year because I've met both fiercely religious and anti-religious people at my school. And, we just moved into a house at the end of a parking lot in between two churches (one's Catholic and one would be under the heading "Other". It's a nice place because we can blast loud music all week and no one can hear us; but on Sunday morning we have little kids running around our yard and car alarms going off. We play Black Sabbath on those mornings :-) I'm personally very non-religious (yes, as opposed to anti-religious), but I really dislike it when some Christians feel the need to make everyone around them embrace the same set of beliefs as themselves. An example: When I was in 7th grade I lived in Cottonwood, Arizona, a plethora of bible-thumping stereotypes (the town had no decent bookstores but about 3 Christian ones, and even though the town had a modest population it boasted over 10 churches). Halfway through the school year a new girl appeared in my friends & I's classes so we became friendly with her to make her feel at home. By about a week later she had asked each of us individually if we wanted to go to church with her sometime, each of us declined. When she asked me I gave her some excuse about how I was half-Jewish and I didn't know if my mom would be thrilled with the idea of me going to church (actually she wouldn't mind in the least, but I had to say something not to offend). Upon hearing I was half-Jewish the girl quickly disengaged in in conversation with me and never spoke to me again. Now is this anyway for a person to act? I wasn't terribly hurt that she didn't talk to me anymore because she was a bit of a bland person anyway, but geez. And then there was that story awhile back where this girl said a prayer over the PA system before a high school football game and couldn't see why this was frowned upon. Sure, if you want to pray with your friends or something beforehand knock yourself out, but over the fucking PA system?? It's called separation if church and state, and it's something I'm very grateful for. Another example: My Biology teacher skipped teaching Evolution last year. Just skipped it! Sure, she discussed it for about 5 minutes one day in passing, but we never were accountable for the information, never had a test on it. Ok, teacher, if this you don't agree with this particular subject that's fine, but to keep 150 kids ignorant of it entirely is unacceptable. Another question: Why is it that when someone refers to God in the pronoun form they always capitalize He? Is it me, or is this improper English? A good example is in, fittingly, A Catcher In The Rye, where, even though Holden says he's an atheist, he goes about capitalizing He. I understand if you're religious you'd want to capitalize your creator even in pronoun form but if you "don't believe", then why He? Wow! This is certainly the longest post I've written and I've even managed to stay on topic! I'll leave you with a joke: "What do you get when you cross an insomniac, a dyslexic, and an agnostic?" "A person sitting awake all night wondering if there is a Dog." Cheers and Happy Christmas in July for all you Dick Powell fans, Rachel W. :-) Belated B+S content: "It took God six days to make the world and Belle and Sebastian five to record Tigermilk. And yes, Tigermilk is better."-George Shiel +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: An interview with Stuart
by maria sierra 22 Jul '00

22 Jul '00

Hello lovely sinistereens! this is my first post so I'm a bit scared. I have been subscribed to the list for more than two years but I haven't written because I have never felt really confident to write something interesting for all you and also because my English is so bad that I didn't want to post something that nobody could understand as it would be full of mistakes. Anyway, I have found something on the internet about our dear Belle & Sebastian and I thought you'll like to have a look at it so that's my excuse for this first post. It's an interview of a Spanish magazine called "linacero" with Stuart. I'm afraid it's in Spanish... If anybody who can't understand Spanish would like to have it in English, just e-mail me and I'll do the translation for you. It will take me some hours, but I'll do it with pleasure! This is the address of the web site: www.linacero.com/actualidad/belle.html ======================================================================== ENTREVISTA CON BELLE & SEBASTIAN Aunque su primer disco 'Tigermilk' data de 1996 es ahora con 'Fold your hands, child, you walk like a peasant' (Frotate las manos, chaval, que caminas como un paleto), su cuarto álbum , cuando han conocido la popularidad (dentro de su discutible círculo elitista). Formados en Glasgow, en 1955, han defendido su privacidad tanto como su condición provinciana; eso no ha impedido que sus canciones y su visión 'naif' del pop , unido a la poca afición que tienen a la prensa y a los grandes montajes, les haga acreedores de un aura de 'exclusividad', incluso de snobismo. Esta máscara queda difuminada con nuestra experiencia, pues Stuart Murdoch (cantante y lider de B&S) contestó por e-mail todas las preguntas de nuestro brillante redactor Sergio Vinadé, y aunque un poco cascarrabias sabe sazonar su cultivada arrogancia británica con abundante humor. Su nuevo trabajo es sin duda una obra maestra del pop, y en él se respira el mundo, alejado del stress y de aparatosas ambiciones, que Belle & Sebastian reivindican. Con ustedes el mejor grupo de pop del nuevo milenio... ¿Cuales son vuestras pretensiones con el lanzamiento de vuestro nuevo álbum, considerando el elevado nivel ya alcanzado en vuestros trabajos previos? No tenemos pretensiones, solo esperanzas. Cuando estamos en el estudio exigimos mucho de nosotros mismos, pero en el momento que el disco esta grabado, el asunto queda fuera de nuestras manos. Evidentemente, espero que venda millones, pero eso depende del público. Fácilmente pienso que es nuestro mejor álbum. Posiblemente es la primera vez desde 'Tigermilk' que sentimos que hemos hecho todo cuanto planeábamos. ¿Sois un grupo de amigos que hacéis lo que más os gusta o estáis llevando vuestra carrera de una manera más profesional? Vuestros discos aún suenan 'amateur' y profesional al mismo tiempo. Creo que estamos en un territorio medio. Somos amigos, pero la mayoría ya lo éramos antes de unirnos a la banda. Obviamente somos de alguna manera un grupo con dedicación exclusiva, pero no siempre. Posiblemente grabamos el álbum de una forma más profesional, pero no fue el caso decidir que fuera así. Hemos tendido a trabajar de esta manera siempre. Me resulta ofensivo que la gente diga que el disco suena 'casero'. No nos pasamos 18 meses en el estudio para hace un disco 'casero'. Líricamente el disco puede tener contenidos 'naif', pero no soporto que nadie proclame que musicalmente sonamos como aficionados. ¿Qué bandas fueron vuestros predecesores en la manera que vosotros entendéis el pop? ¿Con qué artistas estáis más identificados ahora? The Beatles y The Beach Boys son los precursores de todos en el mundo del pop. Ellos son los originales. Escribieron las reglas y las rompieron todas. Realmente no sé si nos sentimos particularmente cerca de alguien. Hay gente cuya música nos gusta. En ocasiones creo que nos parecemos a The Beta Band, porque ambos parece que jodemos a la gente por hacer lo que nos divierte. No acabo de entender que la gente le dé vueltas a la cabeza sobre este asunto. Simplemente vivimos nuestra vida y no molestamos a nadie salvo que así lo quieran. ¿Cómo organizáis el orden de las canciones en vuestros discos?; ¿Por qué dejáis una joya como 'There's too much love' al final del álbum? Es una pregunta estúpida. ¿Se supone que debemos escribir una mierda de canción para no acabar el álbum con una buena?. En lo que me concierne, para mí cualquier canción en el álbum es una joya, así que no seria fácil evitar que la ultima canción del disco también lo fuera. Alguien te dirá que es importante que un disco termine bien. Organizamos las canciones escuchando todos los temas en diferentes ordenes hasta que encontramos la mejor manera. Evidentemente las opiniones difieren, pero si alguien muestra un sentimiento fuerte determinado hacia una de las combinaciones, tendemos admitirlo y hacerlo de esa manera. ¿Que sabéis sobre España, conocéis algo de la música y la cultura española? He estado en España un par de veces, y he disfrutado mucho. No sé nada sobre la música española, pero me gusta el fútbol español. Salvo que ayer fuisteis una mierda contra Noruega, ¿quizás debería cambiar mi opinión al respecto de vuestro fútbol? (Belle & Sebastian contestaron a Linaceroexpress un día después del "glorioso" debut de la Selección Española en la pasada Eurocopa). ¿Vais a tocar en España pronto? Creo que será hacia final de año, cuando estemos listos, pero sé que deberíamos visitar España pronto, porque hace mucho que no hemos actuado allí. ¿Cómo os gustaría ser recordados? ¿Que imagen os gustaría dar a la gente que compra vuestros discos? Tan simple como que somos una banda que hace espléndidos discos. Suena aburrido, pero es de lo que se trata cuando estas en un grupo. Dinos algo sobre vuestro sello discográfico 'Jeepster', cual es su filosofía y proyectos venideros... Si hay una filosofía en Jeepster es sencillamente fichar bandas y sacar discos en los que tenemos completa fe. Esa es la razón por la que tenemos relativamente pocos grupos en el sello y no tendemos a guerrear con otras compañías. Tenemos un par de posibles fichajes a punto en este momento pero no vamos a mover nada hasta que tengamos la confianza de podemos hacerles funcionar. A la par de estos proyectos lanzaremos nuevo material de Snow Patrol, The Gentle Waves y Salako en Otoño y posiblemente otro E.P de Belle & Sebastian. DISCOGRAFIA : CDŽS 1996 Tigermilk 1996 If You're Feeling Sinister 1998 The Boy with the Arab Strap 2000 Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a peasant SINGLES y EP'S 1997 Dog on Wheels [EP] 1997 Lazy Line Painter Jane [EP] 1997 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light [EP] 1998 This Is Just a Modern Rock Song 2000 Lazy Line Painter Jane [EP Box Set] 2000 Legal Man LINKS DE INTERES http://www.belleandsebastian.co.uk/home/ http://www.jeepster.co.uk/ http://www.boo2.co.uk/belle/ http://members.es.tripod.de/kiuk/ Sergio Vinadé y Jose Luis Calvo ======================================================================== Hope you like it. Stuart was a bit teasy that day! Love you all, maria ________________________________________________________________________ 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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: united state of elastica
by Toby Chan 22 Jul '00

22 Jul '00

Girls!!! Boys!!! < S O R R Y > Oh god. I ve sent SE7EN mails to you girls and boys. I am doped maybe. Oh Sorry, any listee can get a can of Taiwan Beer if they are in HongKong < T E E > how twee is now. I still ven't got my second order.... I ve ordered it at weeks b4. < N W O N W O N W> Mates, it is f*cking out of fashion maybe. BUT, I re-discover it. me in the year zero..... shamefully, i fall in love with Belle and Sebastian at 98 but I knew them at 96 or earlier.... Elastica is the same case. I love the Elastica, but now I can't see the "Elastica in 95". Justine is not the same Justine. Donna is gone. now i watch the video file to see the trace of Donna. < R O L L Y O U R O W N F A G S > My biggest discover of 99 is "wearing a boxer is great" My biggest discover of 00 is "roll a fag and smoke" I roll my own Samson Milde with my rizla paper. it is funny but in Hong Kong not many people do so. sometimes they mistoke that i am smoking a joint. +I will smoke silk Cut again... Toby C Island East, Hong Kong +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: critics whistle in the blue sky
by William Harris 22 Jul '00

22 Jul '00

Comrades. Since I've been on this list (admittedly a very short period of time) I've been pleased to see all the links to Belle and Sebastian related articles and criticism (thanks to all who take the time to find and then post them--lord knows I'm too lazy...). The link that was posted the other day by (oops...can't remember who...sorry) seemed to ruffle some feathers. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the link (I'm not so computer savvy so I didn't know any "tricks" to getting there after my initial attempt was refused). Anyway, I ran across this quote while reading the other day that might just hearten those who find the band (or themselves) criticized for any artistic endevour... "Note just what it is about your work that critics don't like--then cultivate it. That's the part of your work that's individual and worth keeping."--Jean Cocteau. Admittedly, Cocteau wasn't talking specifically about music, but anyway... Religion: It doesn't seem anyone has really found an answer to this question for thousands of years. This doesn't mean, of course, that one should not try. I'm reminded of a story about a Buddist monk who was teaching/training his "disciples" (for lack of a better word) and who was attempting to get his students to throw away *all* previous belief systems. One young student finally got fed up with all this and went to the teacher/monk and told him, "Listen, I just can't do this. I'm only human and I need something to believe in. I need some firm ground to stand on." (Obviously, I'm paraphrasing here). The monk/teacher asked his student in return, "Precisely. But *who* are you?" (BTW--the monk was not just trying to indoctrinate the students with Buddist dogma, but rather trying to help them grasp a firmer understanding of themselves--which, I guess, is Buddist dogma--ahhhhh!) I guess what I get from this little anecdote is that religion/belief should be found through intense examination of the self and what seems right for you. If one finds out who one is, then one finds out what one believes. This is simplistic, I know, but really seems to be the only way to achieve any kind of spiritual/religious belief. Ideally, all paths lead to the same place and different people find different ways to get there. The problems arise when one person or group of people feel that their way is the *only* way and therefore must convert others to that belief system (esp. by intimidating people literally and with threats of "burning in hell"). Perhaps I've over stayed my welcome on this thread... Enjoy the weekend and hugs all around, Bill Always remember: "It's a short walk from the hallelujah to the hoot."--Nabokov ________________________________________________________________________ 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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: 2001: A Space Roddyssey
by Peter Miller 21 Jul '00

21 Jul '00

Yeah, House of Love were shit. I saw them when they had a German bird in the group. I use the word "German" so as not to offend with the word "Kraut", but that's not really necessary, is it? "Destroy the Heart" was prime high octane Krautrock. Isn't Big Stu daft? Stranded in the Amazon without food or water? Pah! Why didn't he just shin up a tree and pick a coconut? Duets, duets, duets. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Alton and Hortense Ellis, Trinity and Dillinger, Motorhead and Girlschool, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, Arthur Mullard and Hilda Baker... the list is endless. There has to be some kind of interaction though, it's no good just two people singing. On the news last night there was something about some kind of ray that travels so fast it arrives at its destination before it even starts out. Which means those B&S concerts might be sooner than we think. I think Stuart M is building a special concert boat, with gangplanks and everything. It'll be like an oil tanker only with beer instead of oil and a Black Crowe's nest with Jimmy Page in it. etc. Feel free to write in and say what features you'd like the concert boat to have, once you've thought of some duets. I'm beginning to annoy myself, so I'll be off. I think there's some 70s WHO shit kicking off over at Papercuts Central. Why don't The Corrs call their album "Everybody Wants To Shag The Corrs"? Peter +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: spiral notebook
by jkrze＠webtv.net 21 Jul '00

21 Jul '00

....Remember that children's game "Don't Break the Ice" where you were given those tiny red hammers and had to tap out a block of plastic ice without collapsing the whole surface, well she kinda felt like that. Like she had taken her own tiny hammer and tapped out a chunk in the box that was squeezing down upon her heart, relieving some of the pressure. Like the way her teeth relaxed when she removed her retainer in the morning. Spreading... expanding...slightly glorious. The heat in her cheeks began to lessen. She felt the corners of her mouth slide upward as she tore the letter into tiny ink-stained squares and stuffed them into an empty tissue box she had temporarily been using as a waste basket.... +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: "We'll be right back after the commercials."
by Alexander Bartilson 21 Jul '00

21 Jul '00

Hi, I am now back from my trip to San Francisco (not that I think anyone of you noticed that I was gone :-) ) Thanks to everyone who mailed me concerning things to do in S.F. and sorry for not replying to everyone. Anyway, went to a record store called Amoeba and it was absolutely fantastic. Someone mailed me and said that I had to go there cause it was the best record store in the world. I totally agree. It's the best record store I've ever been to anyway. I bought Saint Etienne, Heavenly and Marine Research CDs. Hadn't heard very much of Heavenly and Marine Research before but they are great. Went to the usual S.F. touristplaces like the Golden Gate brigde, Alcatraz and things like that. Tried the cable cars. that was fun. Also I saw a baseball game, that was fun too, but the game was to long in my opinion. On the whole I had a fantastic time. anyway, it's sad that there will be no B & S concerts this year. guess that would put enoumous pressure on them when they finally decide to tour. Hope I will see them at least once in my life. as I said I'm back in Sweden now. will take a year not studying before I start University so I'm currently just doing nothing and looking for job. (so mathematically I can't be doing nothing, cause I'm doing something...but you get the picture) Hope you're all enjoying your holidays and the summer. ///Alexander PS. It seems that it takes more time to come up with a subjectline than it takes writing the actual message DS. PS2. How can you americans stand all the commercials on the TV? DS. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Fields In Space
by P F 21 Jul '00

21 Jul '00

Reams of time and ranks of words separate me from my last mail to this list, if there ever was one. I could have invented it, while asleep in the back seat of a car on that southern-fried road trip that Wawa Woo was going about. Water has flowed pink and black under bridges, borne under punches. That 'freaky' bloke has changed his mind once or twice. Captain Marvel has had his hair cut a couple of times. Still: I was heading through some fields of space yesterday, somewhere south of the Cutty Sark, when I tripped over a CD. It was blue and had a white pussycat on the front. Yes, it was Whirlpool, the first Chapterhouse album, from 1991. (1990? Anyone want to correct me on this? It says inside 'recorded throughout 1990', so I think the release date must be 1991, especially if 'throughout' includes New Year's Eve 1990. Can anyone remember what they were doing on NYE 1990? Funnily enough, I think I can. I was reading The Road To Wigan Pier in a bar a few miles from Newcastle) 1991, the year in whose October Chapterhouse declared in the NME, 'Obviously we're socialists, but we're not f****** stupid enough to think that Kinnock's going to make a difference when he gets in', or something. I disliked this at the time, not for its overt political content but for the air of complacency ('Obviously'? Was it that easy to 'be a socialist' in the 1990s?) and woozy stupidity that somehow 'surrounded' it. That put me off the band, anyway - it was the week that they released an ep which I have half a mind was actually called 'Etheriel'. No, no, that can't be right (it was the Primitives who released the 'Etheriel', in Spring 1992, wasn't it, on the 'Spells ep'? I don't suppose anyone wants to buy a signed copy of that?); I'll do what Nicky the boy D would do and check it out on the 'www' soon enough. A poor start, then, for me and Chapterhouse. But when I got hold of Whirlpool I had to admit to myself that this was a weirdly substantial piece of work. The - here we go - the A-D-Bm-etc rush of 'Breather', all echoes of vocals tumbling after one another. The undoubtedly excessively 'baggy' rhythm of 'Pearl' - but the way it stops and starts in the intro is inventive. The - do you want to hear more? No, I know; but get it out and listen to it again, and you'll find that this band weren't just the fall-guys they've come to seem. Even the Trouser Press Guide To Rock, featuring Ira Robbins Famous Rock Critic, rates them, says it's 'a better breed of shoegazing' and they 'earn bonus points for timekeeping', ie. not going on and on. Then there's the fact that the two songwriters' names add up to 'Sherriff Patman', which is almost a topical reference in itself. Anyway, I had that record for a little while, till desperate people stole it from me - hey, have you ever had a Chapterhouse record stolen? This could be unique, you know - and it wasn't till yesterday that I acquired it again. £3 seemed a bit much, I was thinking, so the geezer knocked it down to £2. You know, it could always be my old copy of Whirlpool we're talking about here; that can't entirely be ruled out. The scene of the purchase was only about 3 miles from the scene of the crime. But I think I'm wrong, I take it back, for it almost definitely isn't the same old copy: this one has - get a load of this - bits of blu-tack stuck on each inner corner of the sleeve. In other words, the previous owner had the little sleeve of the first Chapterhouse CD on his/her *wall*. Even I never stooped so high as that. The end of the story is that the thing plays great, sounds louder than my old copy, and still sounds exciting, fresh, driven, or even, as the Stud Brothers said of the Jesus and Mary Chain's 'Automatic' LP in September 1989 - 'Fired'. What was I doing walking around with cash on me anyway? I'd had it pressed upon me the night before, by a roguishly good-looking fanzine editor on a tube train. Go out and buy yourself something nice, he said. (Did he? No, he didn't really). Chapterhouse only took a fifth of the sum. On what should the rest go? I went looking for a cut-price 'Souvlaki' / 'Going Blank Again', etc, without success, then thought of the House of Love. The butterfly album, yes, that'd be pretty cool to own. I nearly bought it too, then remembered my editor's puritanical reluctance to rebuy anything he already had on tape - or, as he would have it, 'the poor old tape'. So there was just one £7 option left: 'The House of Love', No, no, not the butterfly album, not Babe Rainbow, not An Audience With The Mind of Dave Allen, featuring studio guests from EastEnders (your host: Jamie Theakston). No, the one that people still call 'The House of Love', or at least the one that Melody Maker's guide to the 80s, year by year, in March 1989 (each snippet was whittled from the paper's reviews - or was it? re. 'Isn't Anything', yes; but 'Duck Rock'? Hmm), called 'The House of Love'. The first LP, that's what I mean. I borrowed it from a girl in Geography once, and haven't seen my copy for years. Had time given it a rosy aura? Had memories that were sketchy as soon as they were drawn smudged into charcoal prettiness? I'm afraid so. The first House of Love album, I feel bound to tell you - and now I know how David Stubbs felt - is a disappointment. Stubbsy, no doubt, didn't deliver such a verdict: the kids wanted to hear that it was good, and he gave 'em what they wanted. But this LP didn't, in truth - I'm really pushing the envelope here, as Michael Bracewell would say, adding that the term arose from US jet pilots in WWII - sound great in 1990, probably didn't sound that peachy in 1988, and sounds rather flat now, a sonic pancake in need of a second-hand flipper. Specifics. 'Christine' still has some majesty, it's fine by me. 'Salomé' - does their version have an accent? - is OK, I always rated it, but actually sounds like a bit like an average rock D-G-C (whatever) bouncealong now. 'Fisherman's Tale' is a godawful title, Mike Scott + Phil Collins stuff (but why do we pin such things on such people, when it's actually people like the HoL who perpetrate them?), and if I'm not mistaken has the line 'I believe in Jesus' in it. Yes, to repeat, it has the line 'I believe in Jesus' in it. That's just not good enough, even B&S wouldn't go so far. 'Man To Child' - I don't know - has a lyric which suddenly gets all Robert-Lindsay suburban, really out of keeping with the rest. But the real problems, perhaps, are: a) a flatness to the sound. I thought the HoL were meant to be sonic architects, Chorus-drenched precursors, cascading moonscapes of sticky stalactite snowball cherrycake acoustix. But here I hear bass and drums ambling along an unchallenging terrain, Bickers picking out hoary rock riffs like 'I'm Waiting For The Man' has made them OK to play, and - oh, here comes the letter b) Chadwick's vocals. I can think of some really good Chadwick vocals. Everything on the Best of the HoL, in fact - think of 'DKWI Love You', 'Girl With The Loneliest Eyes' (oooohhh! Pick that one out!), even, strangely, 'Destroy The Heart' (which remains sublime, pure essence of the best of its time, or something - which makes this thing all the stranger). But on the LP he declaims, he shouts, he 'moans' 'wryly' (but not Vini) - heck, I have a mind to say he's been taking the wrong kind of lessons from the Go-Betweens, but that forest fire is set to blaze on, let's not stoke it. It sounds - oh no, here come the Go-Betweens again - it sounds like student-band stuff, like My First Rock Group, with a dash of Cambridge Footlights about it. (Many of us have to be forgiven for godawful performances on a regular basis, I know, I know. But this isn't you and me in a back garden, this is Guy Chadwick, for heaven's sake, in studio 5 for take 74, with as much reverb as he likes, as much time to tweak and add as needed - and years of good vocals ahead of him, and even, how can it be?, behind him - and he sounds like he's fronting a band destined for arrogant oblivion, rather than the heights they did reach, before - humble oblivion.) The songs don't seem good enough; the arrangements don't seem lush enough; the vocals don't seem right. Am I wrong? I hope Steady Mike comes out of the metalwork and puts me straight on this - but believe it or not, he doesn't even own the album. Maybe he has it on tape, OK - or maybe his definition of 'not owning' includes that cavern of 2,700 slabs of vinyl stored somewhere in a sealed compartment at the bottom of the Mersey, to be opened two days after the next championship victory - but I'm not expecting to be put right on this by him any time soon. I'd expect, rather, to see a) Ally 1996, agreeing that the LP is a disappointment, and exhorting me to go for the only healthy option that makes sense, that of the Go-Betweens; b) Tim Popkins, breaking a silence in which he's drawn the longest breath of his life thus far, violently, virulently, verily agreeing with me, and thus wondering why I bought the CD in the first place - which would be disturbing, cos I'd have to agree with him. Blimey! c) David Moore UK, speeding down the highway like Lloyd Cole in 1984, driving on nine and cruising all night, listening to the rushing wings of birds of prey circling round his onrushing T-shirt, for it has a cow on it; all the while dismissing the late-80s blind alley, and backing the Eagles / ESB option. You know the other thing about this HoL album? The sleeve is a single sheet with the same goldarned photo on either side (!!!); and the inner sleeve at the back is warped. The more I think about it, the more I think it should really have cost £5.99, not £6.99. What did you kids pay for it in 1988? I'd like to know, one of these years. ________________________________________________________________________ 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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: simple things
by jonnyfive 21 Jul '00

21 Jul '00

dear all sorry, i am now one of the simple things. as if my post wasn't crap enough the first time. was toby chan's 7 posts a record? sorry toby and sorry everyone. love j. _____________________________________________ Free email with personality! Over 200 domains! http://www.MyOwnEmail.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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: all my friends are on their holidays
by jonnyfive 21 Jul '00

21 Jul '00

dear sini, back from holidays and i'm trying to read all the digests whilst simultaneously looking like i'm doing some work. all my friends have gone on holiday (i know some people with drugs, but then i don't need any) and i'm alone. i didn't leave my house (at all) for two whole days, but it doesn't matter. does it? when i was walking down the street on my lunch break last sat. i was singing photo jenny in my head, and i got to the "how will i get her? i don't know" bit, and just did the 'how will i get her?' part when the bloke walking past me sang 'i don't know'. far too strange, i had to have some bacon crisps and a lie down. electronic rennaissance: leave it alone! why has no-one attacked you're just a baby? it stinks like baby trumps, and ER is ace. lyrics: ER witty and cute, Baby: repetitive, meaningless. music: ER: twiddly (nerrrrrr-nerrr-nee-weeerr as the solo goes. you can sing it on a bus, any bus), space-age retro, Baby: boring indie-pap, which makes B&S sound like menswear. in short, L&G of the jury> ER: knowing nod towards experimental musos, Baby: filler. mon case est dormir. a while ago much criticism was sent flying to libraries. i work in a library and it is lovely. i am very helpful (even if i do say so myself) and the index is easy if you spend every day in there for months. oh, who am i kidding? the place is full of loons. except the staff who are lovely. if only the 'customers' were locked out all day... finally, can anyone tell me what will mellor's first single was called? he used to be jambo in hollyoaks, and my friend who has deserted me for spain has bet me i can't find out. if anyone knows, please mail me, and we can talk about soap stars failed careers into the wee hours. lots and lots of love, you wonderful people. j.xxx _____________________________________________ Free email with personality! Over 200 domains! http://www.MyOwnEmail.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 +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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