February 2001 - Sinister

Sinister: Lawrence, give us another one of them block rockin' beats
by Lawrence Mikkelsen 21 Feb '01

21 Feb '01

hello list long time since I've posted. sorry. have been busy developing stuff for five year olds, to teach them maths. plus planning my wedding, listening to pop music etc. so consequently much of what I'm about to say is probably "old hat" or something. ***NEW B&S STUFF*** by gar I am excited. damn excited. I was interested to read the interview from teletext (that's David) ..... Stuart M has never really sounded all that happy with "fold ..." has he. (in the three or so interviews he's done .......) interesting that he admitted that Jeepster were annoyed with him. what the hell is going on with Jester? I know this a bit of a personal bug bear with me, but the site NEVER seems to get updated, and the one regular newsletters .... well, I don't think I've had one in about six months. They used to come thick and fast as I recall. The recent news of new singles/soundtrack album certainly warranted "official news" status (as opposed to through the ever unreliable NME.com) as did the signing of pop genius Ian Bunnymen. Come on Jeepster ..... buck up your ideas. I wrote an essay about what a great label you were in '99 .... don't make me a liar. ***COLDPLAY*** The band its fun to hate Because the had indie cred ... self released single, on-off on Fierce Panda etc., and now EVERYBODY LIKES THEM. Damn it. No really, I like Coldplay. A lot. Sure, they're not doing anything new, but they are a good pop band, who write great tunes, and even though they do kinda typify the slightly-dull-new-indie-thing, they are (IMHO) *fantastic* live (especially when Chris pulled off his jumper to reveal an "I Love New Zealand" t-shirt when they played here a month or so ago, and also when they did "You Only Live Twice" as an encore, and though the white-noise fade out at the end, Chris played "What The World Needs Now Is Love" on the keyboard. It turned me from a fan to a slightly rabid fan. But really, I don't give a toss whether you like them or not. It's just pop, right? ***NAPSTER*** (AKA "The Sinist*r can o' worms") I thought it was gonna be closed down last week. So I had a download frenzy. But it's still going Although I have a sneaking suspicion that the Mac version is really crap. ***BIRTHDAY*** It's mine on Friday. 26 years old. (sigh) And my three best friends, all in London, will be going to see Hefner that night. (Or maybe the 24th ... can't remember) The point is, THEY DON'T EVEN LIKE HEFNER! I told them to go, dammit. Someone better buy me a t-shirt. (sigh) ***LOVEJOY*** Can anyone tell me about this band? (Please mail me off list) Someone made me an unlabelled CD-R of what I assume is "Songs in the key of ...." Who are they? They remind me of The Field Mice and the female singer reminds me of Isobel. Any info appreciated. The CD is great, but now I want a "real" (ie. not burned) copy. If one can be had. ***LAWRENCE HATES....*** The WTO Free trade ("Free" if you're a big capitalist oppressor ... reminds me of the opium wars. trade "freely" with us or we'll destroy your economy. Sex crimes. Some poor 23 year old women went missing ten days ago, and they found her naked, decomposing body behind a factory a few minutes down the road from where my girlfriend lives. I feel scared just thinking about Vanessa leaving the house now ... and she lives in a reasonably middle class area in New Zealand, famous for being (allegedly) "A Great Place To Bring Up Kids" (even though we have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed, and {I think} the highest, or second highest teen suicide rate in the world) Sometimes life just makes me sick. Existential angst or something ..... It's late, and I have to proof-read half a thesis for a friend. Take care kids, and look after yourselves ..... Lawrence Mikkelsen (one half of the Sinist*r list, NZ chapter) (unless there are new, NZ listees ....?) (no, thought not ....) +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: I want to be your canary
by MIWinship＠aol.com 21 Feb '01

21 Feb '01

These things, you'll find, currently irritate my mind: FAVOURITE TV CHARACTERS I had a look at the nominations for yet another Channel 4 "100 best ever", cheap saturday night nostalgia programmes and whilst most of the selections were reasonable and/or predictable it got me thinking about the ones they could have had. eg. There was Mrs Peel but no Steed, Napoleon Solo but no Ilya Kuryakin, the Fonz but no Ralf Malf.... the list goes on. Most glaring omission: where was Agent Cooper? (Or Albert Rosenfield?) COMPUTER GAMES Final Fantasy 9 will be GRATE. Just like all the others. I've only experienced an hour or so, but new card games, moogles and chocobos will obsess me for the forseeable future. I know nothing of "Planescape: Torment or Loom", whatever that/they is/are. I do know that I would rather sit through a two minute summon spell animation than two seconds of Robot Wars, anyday. NEW ALBUMS Mr Malkmus makes me smile. The sample of Yul Brynner at the start of Jo Jo's Jacket made for ideal haircutting accompaniment, today. Not as short as the King of Siam's, but nearly. Tortoise. They're good. POETRY Can't say I've been paying much attention to all the recent discussions, but there's this one poem on the tube that I've seen a few times now and I can't decide if it's any good. Erm, I think the first line goes "Last night I saw creation". Can't remember who wrote it either, but other London Sinisterines can now have fun trying to find it and give their opinion. There was something about a ring, too. And planets. And light. BELLE and SEBASTIAN Likeliness of 2001 Troubled Teenagers coinciding with new releases? High. PAUL VERHOEVEN So, I thought I'd watch Showgirls and see what the fuss was about. It was nearly so-bad-it's-good, but was actually just bad. Kyle MacLachlan just isn't a good villain (unless he's posessed by Bob). Furthermore it meant I missed the start of Hard Eight on the other side, which was excellent. What I saw of Starship Troopers tonight was also pretty good. A return to form for Verhoeven. And Doogie Howser (MD) was in it. Elena was frequently disgusted by the bugs (Hello flatmate!) SHELVES Putting up shelves is an arduous task, but I think the end results are worth it, don't you? Anyway.... Mike. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: an innocuous post
by FearOfPop7＠aol.com 20 Feb '01

20 Feb '01

hello all....there is no real reason for this post. well, there is one purpose. that is to see if i can actually get through to the list, for when i really have something to post i cannot get it to the list because of some incompatiblity betweeen my server and the list. so i guess this is a test. well ive thought of one thing i can mention: the steve malkmus cd is quite excellent...it's almost like a new pavement album but just different enough to make mr. malkmus a musical force on his own right. oh yeah, and radiohead will be playing in the east after i come back from europe so yippie! for me. that's all. goodnight. -chris "the absurd is the essential concept and the first truth" albert camus +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: It was half-past February
by P F 20 Feb '01

20 Feb '01

Robert McTaggart wrote: >>> It's Friday morning, the sun is shining and I wonder how happy he was. I mean, he sounds happy. What I mean is, to hear someone back there in the pink mists sounding so happy - so open to a day's freshness - almost makes *me* happy. And think also of his youth. Robert and his youth. >>> and I'm preparing myself spiritually and mentally for a weekend of Scottish country dancing gosh. Maybe he wasn't happy after all. That was a misreading on my part. >>> (can anyone remember the steps to 'Bonnie Prince Charlie's Hornpipe'?) No. But I did hear someone talking about Scottish dancing only 2 hours ago. >>> I remember my English teacher coming into the room on the first day of term and saying "Spring is here - the time when Young McTaggart chases after young girls and sticks his claymore into them". He was a strange man, but a great influence. Between you and me, that sounds like a puff. I mean, I think he's giving himself a puff there, under the guise of self-deprecation. I must ask him how he does it. >>> So I'm listening to 'The Hit Power of the Exciters' Hang on, was this a PJ Miller post? No. >>> The cats are fighting like mad fools and the fur is a-flyin'. And I'm officially 'working from home'. Quelle belle vie! I was right first time. He was happy after all. >>> I must say how disappointed I was to miss Stuart 'Rupert' Murdoch on IRC yesterday. That Stu-d is slippery as an eel. Blige, that makes me think. >>> Rod Begbie wrote: There you go - I thought that Mark Casarotto had invented Rod Begbie. Like Bob Mould, he didn't. >>> Of course, over the atlantic, the merkins refer to a scone as a biscuit, a biscuit as a cookie, and a bar as a candy. I don't know that the Yanks call scones biscuits. No evidence I can recall. Cookie, candy, OK. >>> have Jesse Garon and the Desperados been mentioned yet? For about six months in the mid-eighties they were the loveliest thing on the planet. Actually, this is true. I checked. The months in question were October 1984 January 1985 mid-March-mid-April 1985 December 1985 March 1986 September 1986 'snowinsumr' is a Cure fan. How do I know? Cos 'Snow In Summer' was a Cure B-side in 1987, and cos she (she?) signs her(?)self ms elise. And yet she says: >>> i believe that the smith's "there is a light that never goes out" is the perfect song...everytime i hear it i can feel my body tense and the whole world melts into this amazing dream...usually this is intensified by massive tears and the shaken hands grasping for a steadier... I don't know what we can add to that. >>> i suppose a nice sensitive boy is what i want... Oh! There must be some kids out there on sinister now for you. >>> sensitive with at least a tenth of the sexual politics that jarvis cocker has... I'm not convinced. invisible boy wrote: >>> Believe it or not, it's taken the whole of IYFS and three cans of stella for me to write this. Cripes, and still loads of spelling mistakes. That's why, silly! Ally96Cook said: >>> __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Tom waits kazoo's
by Jules Markham 20 Feb '01

20 Feb '01

Hi cardie-ac's, a lovely sinisterine called Kim surprised me today with a fistful of kazoo's in the post (thanks babe! I'll send you some goodies soon!) I've been trying to play the intro to 'me and the major' on one, but I tend to hyperventilate and risk blackouts before I'm anywhere near done! On the plus side, I can do a cracking rendition of 'november' by tom waits! I also got a darth maul head in the post. the top of his skull comes off (kind of like in 'hannibal') and it's hollow, so you can put stuff in it. I've no idea what though, maybe the kazoo's.... jules _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: I could be dreaming, but I'm working instead.
by Jason McKinnon 20 Feb '01

20 Feb '01

Belle And Sebastian : Murdoch And The Use Of Irony By Jason McKinnon Stuart Murdoch was a powerful contributor to the late 17th century literary tradition. Unfortunately, Belle And Sebastian is absolutely clearly brainless in terms of Murdoch's usual Minimalist politics. Below, I will show that most Modernist critics are wrong about Murdoch's use of coming of age. Support for this claim is present in the following: (a) Murdoch's brilliant role in the pre conservative school, (b) the conservative views of Belle And Sebastian's protagonist, David Maxwell, and (c) the author's use of the prison. First, Belle And Sebastian is definitely a monumental work. Belle And Sebastian is not so much roman a clef per se as it is Murdoch's most heart-felt exegesis of love. Clearly, Murdoch meant this as a critique of sexual identity; Nick Adams is a surprisingly drug-influenced character. Pathos is not Belle And Sebastian's only theme; there is also pure religion. It's quite obvious that Murdoch's will to live was tenuous at best by the time Belle And Sebastian was completed. Critics of Murdoch's work often overlook this aspect; Murdoch's point here is clear: immortality and love are one and the same. She looked to the bleak horizon. He was ready for any unforeseen event. There was hope in her eyes; in his, hope of a different kind. He drank the coffee. Down by the river, there was much mud and much water to drink. He was ready for any unforeseen event. (Murdoch 93) Murdoch's quest for immortality couldn't be more forceful; still, truer words have never been uttered, at least not by me. These themes are most evident in opening monologue of Belle And Sebastian, for that is when Murdoch's often pandering prose shines most brightly. Many concerned teens see the book's latter half as the most influential; I, however, do not. Developments in the opening monologue are often cited as evidence; nonetheless, we must be careful in making assumptions. Belle And Sebastian is, like all of Murdoch's great works, a triumph over the political commentary of the human condition. As you can imagine, feminists took to the streets after the book's first publication. This reasoning differs radically from traditional theories of the 16th century renaissance of American literature. First, the subversive undertones motif in Belle And Sebastian was not original with Murdoch. Consider this famous quote by Robert Frost: "Down by the river, there was much mud and much water to drink." Though these words have a Constructivist quality, they also reveal search for reason. Wars have been fought over less. Critics of Murdoch's work often overlook this aspect; as pure bildungsroman, Belle And Sebastian was assailed for such statements. This begs the question: why? Wilderness is not Belle And Sebastian's only theme; there is also pure salvation. As you can imagine, students took to the streets after the book's first publication. Parts of the book's final paragraph are often cited as evidence. It was a terrible week in France. His face was bright as he looked at her. The whiskey tasted good to the man. He sat in the chair. It was late at night when the old man died. Oh! How beautiful a sunrise can be!. (Murdoch 88) Yet again, Belle And Sebastian's discordant amalgam of dystopic future-vision and loss of innocence couldn't be more compelling; though these words have a Symbolist quality, they also reveal search for truth. Murdoch's under-class sympathies are evident in Belle And Sebastian. While this fact allays most of Murdoch's expatriot detractors, it has led a certain Christian critic-- the execrable T. S. Eliot --to proclaim " Belle And Sebastian's discordant amalgam of loss of innocence and nature couldn't be more forceful." This all but proves my thesis, especially when Murdoch's portrayal of pathos in the book is taken into account. The lingering line of Belle And Sebastian is, "He drank the coffee." (Murdoch 89) To conclude from this that my argument is true is... trivial. Of course, like all great works, Belle And Sebastian has its flaws! Probably, Murdoch meant this as a critique of sexual identity. Consider that Belle And Sebastian was not so much written by Murdoch as belched forth in a fit of sublime inspiration. In the twelfth chapter the reader is presented with a paradox: though the characters seem unable to escape human nature, they are simultaneously drug-influenced and powerful. Parts of the book's twelfth chapter are often cited as evidence. Murdoch's will to live is truly evident in Belle And Sebastian. As such, the words of the character Nick Sawyer ring true: "Autumn is the finest, and third, season." As pure autobiography, Belle And Sebastian was assailed for such statements; that's the expatriot assumption, at least. There was hope in her eyes; in his, hope of a different kind. The game was up. Surely, fate was with them. His sadness was deep, as if it wouldn't end. The man doffed his nice hat. Life offered nothing but fear itself. (Murdoch 88) In just a few words, the Christian movement was left in shambles; still, in some circles, this caused revolution; in others, revulsion. Lines like "He was ready for any unforeseen event," have made Belle And Sebastian required reading for the Christian student. Belle And Sebastian's portrayal of farce is in keeping with its Dadaist point-of-view. Some of Murdoch's best-loved writing is in Belle And Sebastian. Realize that Murdoch had lost his motivation just before completing Belle And Sebastian. While most other British authors conceived of their characters as pre Colonialist symbols, Murdoch's lusted for real truth! It is no great feat to realize Murdoch has written himself into a corner here! Critics are dead wrong when they cite Belle And Sebastian as an example of Murdoch's dwindling ability. Murdoch's quest for salvation in his later books supports this conclusion. Some of Murdoch's best writing is in Belle And Sebastian. Consider this passage: "Her eyes were blue like sapphires." (Murdoch 89) The contemplation of this passage is beyond me. To indicate that King Lewis is the work's villain, the author makes his dialogue half-baked. This becomes obvious only when one considers the book's famous line, "Her eyes were blue like sapphires." (Murdoch 118) I couldn't believe it. It was late at night when the old man died. Unheard, I cried. Tuesday was a the bleakest day for the Parkers. My ideology is quite obvious. He sat in the chair. (Murdoch 84) One can see that pathos is right around the corner; still, truer words have never been uttered, at least not by me. The protagonist's life is dominated by hope, and the character of Tom Caulfield is ponderous as a smybol of bathos. It should be obvious that Murdoch was never driven purely by the reality paradigm. Ishmael Caulfield is a ponderous character for this very reason; Benvolio Daniel is a far from marginal character; in fact, it is through him that many of Murdoch's 18th century influences show through. Finally, the dystopic future-vision motif in Belle And Sebastian was not original with Murdoch. Consider this famous quote by Shakespeare: "Autumn is the finest, and third, season." Tragedy and political commentary come to bear here like never before. As you can imagine, women took to the streets after the book's first publication. This reasoning differs radically from traditional theories of the conservative school of American literature. Belle And Sebastian should be required reading for all expatriots. While other works influenced by the pre conservative school are frequently forgotten, Belle And Sebastian remains brilliant. Though famous for portrayals of wilderness in other works, Murdoch will always be loved for his powerful exploration of revolution in this book. Join me in appreciating it. The End This ridiculously silly paper was generated by this online thingy-ma-bob that creates a paper from a few items of fact. http://toy.thespark.com/paper_writer/paper.cgi I thought it was funny when I entered Stuart and B&S. PP _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Lychees feel similar to leeches
by Dairy Fairy 20 Feb '01

20 Feb '01

heidi hi, Today is the second day of my half term. and this time last week i was all full of ideas of things to do during my week off. now, i cannot think of much to do. that mostly worries me because isn't there a phrase like ' if you're bored, you're boring'. I think i must just be recovering from the stress that a/s levels are throwing at me. Honestly, i am not designed to do 4 subjects. Bloody government. Actually I'm not that bored. It's just that i don't have much money, so all my activities have to be the free ones, and they are so much easier to do when it is sunny. I made a tray of ginger biscuits this morning. There is something very lovely about ginger biscuits. Particularly when eaten with chopped up bananas. Try it. You might just enjoy yourself. Ooh i hope that the mutterings about b+s doing something are true. It's not that i think that they've been sitting around doing nothing. They clearly haven't, because every time I go into my local record store i see c.ds with 'featuring members of belle and sebastian' stickers on them. It's just that they sound their most loveliest when they're all together. I am going to see arab strap this friday. Which should be very good. Although not necessarily a gig to cheer myself up with. Aidan Moffat never seems very happy, despite the fact that the content of his songs would suggest he's having an awful lot of sex. which is always nice. ooh, all smutty, but there's not really any other way to be when you're going to see arab strap. hmm. anyway, that's quite enough of that, dairy fairy And she spent the rest of the day separating the bits from the marmalade, or, if you prefer, the marmalade from the bits. Who needs Cupid? Matchmaker.com is the place to meet somebody. FREE Two-week Trial Membership at http://www.matchmaker.com/home?rs=200015 +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be all of S Club 7.
by The Boy G 20 Feb '01

20 Feb '01

Hey all. You're not armadillos and you never will be. Clean your teeth. Keep your hands to yourself. Careful with that axe, Eugene. Anyways, enough about you, lets talk about me. Greg. Greg Pallis, the boy G, whatever. Bubba, if it makes you happy. I dyed my hair yesterday, and it's now a lovely comic-book-good-guy sorta golden colour. And you know what? Final Fantasy Nine is going to be shit, just like every other one of the Final Fantasy games, which, lets face it, have the depth and complexity of the average Papa Roach song. I mean, yes, pretty graphics and all, but can anyone really be bothered with unskippable 2 minute plus cutscenes just to cast a bloody spell? I think not. Go on then, send me an e-mail telling me how you cried when Aerith died, and I'll laugh in your face and tell to play Planescape: Torment or Loom and /then/ talk about poignant pixelage. Also, Playstation Two is a far worse system than the Sega Dreamcast. Fact. Actually Sini isn't that geeky really, so most people will probably not be offended by that at all. So I'll inform you that I truly, honestly, genuinely believe that the three best singles of the noughties so far were, in ascending order, Supreme by Robbie Williams, Every Time You Need Me by Fragma and Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. 'Cos I'm that pop. Hum, this has gone a bit queeny here, hasn't it? Lets say some nice things: 1) Stevey Kado, many many thanks for the No Logo e-mail, and sorry for not replying. Agree with most of what you said, and also gave printout thereof to teacher as part of "what do contempories think of Naomi Klein" homework. Again, thanks. 2) Stuart Gardinier said: "IMHO, Coldplay is NOT as good as having your teeth removed, one by one, by a blind traffic warden, using a pneumatic drill.". And I laughed, and laughed. Thing is, I'm sure I felt only mild ambivalence towards Coldplay back when they were indie squibs the NME liked. Funny thing, this music lark. 3) B&S release things and tour soon. I approve heartily. 4) Erica said "Download Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg by TLC". I did. It is fantastic. 5) Baxendale are nice people too. You can now get some obscure Baxmp3s from "Baxster" at musicforgirls.co.uk, a good thing, obviously. You can also get a free e-mail address at baxendale.co.uk, which is very neat. 6) I want a rodent, so I can call it "Grozny Papa". No reason. 7) List people, I give good, impartial advice. Go to a Library a get Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It will not cost you money to do this, and you will get an unbelievably fab book as a result of this transaction. Seriously. Do this. Really. Yes. Today. Please. Did you know, if it's Monday, and you're in London, instead of going to Trash like a good citizen, you can go to a place called "Bubblicious" at the Camden Underworld? You have to queue for 75 minutes or so, and it's full of sixteen-year-old public school rudeboys (So that'll have been me eight months ago, then) with Fake NUS card IDs, and the sort of fifteen-year-old girls who wear Playboy T-Shirts. If you're Greg and don't have any ID, you can get in by using flirty body language on the doormen. If you are my friend Nat (and thus wearing a cardigan, as in, an actual cardigan), you'll get bounced out even though you've actually brought ID, which is quite funny. Once inside, they will play eighties shit "to be ironic". Ben Sherman shirts and boob tubes. Adidas Tracksuits. Then they played "Not that innocent" and I leapt onto the dancefloor and lost it completely, doing the whole Britney video dance thing, and making up the about 90% that I couldn't remember. About three quarters of the way through I noticed there was this big circle, like literarily twenty foot diameter, around me of people looking and clapping and cheering me on, and I became very afraid and ran off. It was quite good, actually. They played 'Pop ya Collar' by Usher, too. Assuming I wouldn't be caught, I'd much rather shoot someone than pull the wings off a fly. Apparently, this is unusual. I don't really know why that should be so, but then it might be to do with the fact that I'm staggeringly self-centred, and most people aren't. And vain. And shallow. I was trying to explain the work experience counsellor the other day that all I cared about was that my future job be considered "cool", and I wasn't at all interested in money /or/ job satisfaction, and I think I confused her snotty dichotamy system, 'cos she stormed off in a huff. Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby. Say what you like, though, seventeen is a great age for silly little narcisstic boys. There was I, in this shitty little Camden venue, chatting away with Alice Cave, she of the B. D. B. W. A. H. K. B. H. T. L. G. M. A. S. D. P. R (Badly Dressed Boys Who Aren't Hard Kids Because, Hey, They Like Guitar Music And Smoke Draw! Punk Rock!) clique, an ex-goth and still a blur of make-up but actually the most fancied girl in the year, for the first time (her BDBWA...etc boyfriend being away, or dumped, whatever), and she gets all flirty and asks me to massage her back. And I'm like, okay, and so I do for about ten minutes, which is frankly dull, and she keeps saying how well I'm doing it and everything, but the thing is, we both know it means nothing. And I know she'll go to all her friends afterwards, and say how she's so good at flirting, and can get some random guy to give her a proper massage just like that, and by the way, Greg's shit at massaging. And she knows I'll go to my friends afterwards, and say hey, I just spent ages groping Alice Cave's upper back. And everybody's happy. Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby, like you. Yes, you. There's a forthcoming U.S. high-school movie version of Othello called "O." coming out soon, and I suddenly thought that it would be far, far more realistic if instead of making "O." and (I presume) "D." different races, they just put them in different cliques. Cheerleader and nerd, perhaps, with her jock friends unable to accept she'd chosen some C++ programmer instead of "R.", the perhaps slightly uncool but still far more acceptable punter for the "Enfield Academy Halations", the school football team. That's not an Orin reference, by the way. Hum, that could actually work. Wow, how long is this post? Am I your list crush yet? Go on... People have been mentioning Sylvia Plath. Fair enough. I've never read any Sylvia Plath at all, except one poem called which was called something like "Box" and had bees in it. It was quite good. I don't rate poetry at all though, I'm one of those horrendously boring people who simply can't see the point in deliberately limiting your own writing. Oh, I recognize there's such a thing as very good poetry, but it's like, imagine this crazy Japanese guy who devotes his whole life to writing one perfect haiku, and he does. Now that's gonna be one top clusterfucking haiku, let me tell you. But will it be as good as Infinite Jest, say? No, because I'm not interested in extent of mastery of a form, I'm interested in the effect it has on me. But, you know, whatever. I'm getting a digital camera next week, so I say to you all "Torso! Feet! Irish things!". You know you're hip when you refer to a post that predates you subbing to sinister. And now... Friday night TV! It's top! Fucking TOP! Spaced at 11.20 (new series soon, at last), then Buffy right after that finishes, and then Robot Wars, which is the official best program in TV history, especially when Hypnodisk is on, making the other 'bots spew mechanical guts. Oh, you wouldn't understand. You're just a bunch of gurls. I ain't 2 proud 2 beg... Greg. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: A bad day, smoking too many cigarettes and ...
by Koen De Crock 20 Feb '01

20 Feb '01

It's been a bad day for me. Got up at around six thirty (aaaaaaaaargh) because some construction workers at the other side of the street started making a hell of a lot of noise and I could not sleep anymore and I had to go to work anyway. Almost stumbled down the stairs with my sleepy bedhead. Spilled some hot coffee on my new shirt, which actually is not a cool shirt at all because my employer won't allow me to wear cool shirts, only the kind of shirts that people who work in a bank will wear, and.... I work in a bank. Got caught taking the metro without having bought a ticket, which will cost me around 50 $, which I won't pay because actually i didn't have enough change to buy a ticket from the machine and the machine wouldn't accept any bills, so I was not able to buy a ticket. Arrived at my job only to realise that I had twenty things to do before ten o clock and since it was already nine o clock I would never make it and I got nervous and consequently made some mistakes so the clients are mad at me because... well... because of what?? Tonight I'm gonna read some more of Franz Kafka's "Das Prozess", one fine book if you ask me. Unlike anything ever written. If someone wants to discuss it with me, go ahead... don't be afraid. Anyway, I'm still stuck at around page fourteen because I drink too much at night at the bar I go to two or three times a week and if I'm not there I will watch a movie or visit some friends and have a discussion till four in the morning drinking a bottle of wine, cheap wine mostly, so the next day I have a headache and stupid things will happen to me again. So, you see, I'm not an expert either. Listened to Godspeed You Black Emperor's "#F#Ainfinity" again last night only to realise that it's an absolute classic, a masterpiece beyond compare. Strings, guitars, Dialogues, Samples, pounding drums, trains rolling by, mourning voices, bagpipes, trumpet, sadness, happiness, Ennio Morricone, Sonic Youth, whatever.... everyone should own this.... go out and buy the damn thing. And... while you're at it, buying CD's, I mean, buy Tarentel's debut EP or their "From Bone to Satellite" album - grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat sounscapes filled with ambient noises, soothing guitar lines and beautiful drumming. Also, go out and buy Low's "Tnings we lost in the fire", the most beautiful pop album of the year, or the decade, or the century, or the millenium, or anything you want... It's all the same. And... don't start laughing, because it is.... 2001 is the start of a new decade, century, millenium... Anyway, enough of that... if you have some money left, which I don't, buy the new Japancakes and the new Tortoise album and the latest Sigur Ros album and Radioheads album and anything by Nick Drake.... If you don't have any money left, buy them with your credit card or your sisters credit card, or even better.... steal them. Oh, and please can the people from Virginia USA ... or anybody.... tell me where I can find any albums by Felt. It seems like all their albums have disappeared from the earth like all my former girlfriends did.... Contact me... I tried three different internet shops but they all said the same, "we're sorry that we included this record in our catalogue. It's out of print" If you can and you want to... send me a tape. I'll reward you with some pretty nice mixtapes I make myself. Have to go now, because work is piling up again on my desk. Cold chocolate is also very yummy K-man the third from the third planet from the sun in a little country called Belgium where it always rains and the sun never shines except today and the weather is cold which actually freaks me out because I like warm weather and etc etc.... but I like it here because the girls are beautiful, the beer is strong, you can find your b&s albums quite easily and pubs are open till six in the morning Post U soon, too much love will kill you, too much hate will do the same, too many cigarettes too, but they taste oh so good.... _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: What is Hibernaculum anyway?
by Jon Botterman 20 Feb '01

20 Feb '01

Hello gentle reader Just wading through the stack of sinister e-mails and I notice a whole discussion a rhumblin' on about Sylvia Plath and I thought I'd stick my oar in. I had a brief encounter with her poetry a few years ago. Recommended to me by a friend I read a selection of her poetry, but before long I realised it was one of those things that you're supposed to read and think about. Analyse it maybe and then finally "get" it. I couldn't be bothered so I decided to read them as if she was just a kind old lady who kept bees and had a big dog. Looked at in this way, her poems are delightfully whimsical and perhaps suggest she was a fan of early British wrestling. She went to the hospital for a hip replacement but she didn't like the atmosphere there. Everyone so miserable and the cold draughts weren't fixed when she told the nurses. I saw my friend a few weeks later but he told me that I just didn't get her work. "Ah", I said, "maybe it is you who doesn't understand, do you see, do you, do you, do you, do you? Ah!". He never recommended any more poetry to me. Personally I like John Hegley. He makes me laugh on the bus. I told myself that I'd have some B+S content for this e-mail so I'll just mention them hear at the end. Have you heard them? they're really quite good you know. Got a good beat. Thanks for your time and think of me always, Jon. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the 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 +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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