August 2001 - Sinister - missprint.org

RE: Sinister: the story continues
by Clarke, Sarah J (EU) 23 Aug '01

23 Aug '01

sp. Ribena. I'm sorry, I didn't read the rest of the story. I'm sure it was good though. I can't believe you lot aren't absolutely SPAZZING outXor over the news that Jonathan Richman is *supporting* Belle & Sebastian in California. That's fantastic! J. Rich in California is the perfect location! What's the weather like in California? I would love to go. In San Fran I'd make a trip to We Be Sushi! And walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and pretend that I was in the Basic 8 and that my boyfriend was a BIG GAY. Actually, that doesn't sound so great but what the fcuk. I'll tell you who are another great band: THE GOSSIP. They've just been touring the UK as part of LADYFEST - even causing me to go to deepest darkest OxfoXor to go see them and get Really Rather Sweaty. Amazing onstage dynamics, enough passion and energy to keep our flat in electricity for the next seven years, fantastic blues howling from fat chiXoR riot grrl Beth and something which reminded me how GREAT live bands can be!! Perhaps I've just been seeing too many bands who Just Play and Just Sing - and I'm WRONG. More riot! There's a lot of shouting about the GURLS and the QUEERS and the REVOLUTION which is how it should BE at this point in time. Everything is right, down to the bare feet. I can't shut up about The Gossip. Although perhaps I should. They're on Kill Rock Stars rex. Love, S. x +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: the story continues
by the narrow wizard 23 Aug '01

23 Aug '01

this follows on from Idles (great) story so go back and read the first post if you haven't already I guess the dame's story got to me I mean even with those legs the ugly dame hadn't got to me, but the story had. I used to drink in Honey's bar a lot myself and I suppose that had something to do with it. It's not like I'm a sucker for a dame or anything. So I went down to Honey's, to tell you the truth i was running low on Ribenna in the office so I didn't mind going down to investigate so much as I might have. The owner wasn't there, away on holiday, I guess the fight wouldn't have been so bad and I wouldn't have had that dame round if Honey had been in town. Honey was like that, a good guy you could trust him, you couldn't get him with you in my line of work but you knew where you stood with him, a good guy. Anyway, I didn't recognise the barmaid, some dame by the name of Sadie, didn't seem to have too much personality but gave me a Ribenna and told me about Honey being away for a while. I was gonna ask about the fight but.. well to be honest this Sadie dame didn't have much personality so I figured I'd ask a few of the regulars I used to know when I was in here most days for my Ribenna fix. If you want to know the truth Sadie was giving me a right pain in the neck, it was like talking to my Aunt or something. So I asked round a little and some dame I'd not actually met before told me about the fight, dames are like that, buy them a Ribennea and look into their eyes in the right way and they'll give you what you want. I think this one was ready to give me more than I was looking for but you don't have time for that when you're on a case, still there's always time in between cases. Hey one of the reasons I used to frequent Honey's bar was 'cos the dames were always pretty classy in there, intelligent too, though those kinda dames can be just as much trouble as the others. Seems the story of the fight was that someone had been at the bar and was talking about those elitist 'indier than though kids' and well maybe it had put a few noses outta joint 'cos people weren't sure if he meant the folks in the bar or folks who didn't go there and anyway the regulars do have friends who don't come in so it got a bit heated. Well that's how it started and with just that dumb dame behind the bar instead of Honey well it got out of hand. I wasn't sure how I was gonna handle this situation, I had another Ribenna while I mulled it over... Okay so now it's somebody else's turn to take over the story have fun with it Owen with that the narrow wizard waggled his bushy eyebrows and disappeared in a flash of blue flame leaving behind only a faint smell of cinammon +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: The case of the Runaway Thread - Part 2
by vodkabird＠gurlmail.com 23 Aug '01

23 Aug '01

Idles sat down at her desk; rarely used - she was always out on a case. Last week she'd caught Trews McTrousers, the notorious cat burglar and had spent the evening at Honey's Bar drinking beer and whiskey chasers and lapping up the congratulatory chit-chat. Then there had been the mystery of the missing East Coast tourdates which had flummoxed the BSPD for months and had wound up in a handbag fight outside the US Embassy. If only she could break the IndieSchmindie case; it'd mean promotion, holiday homes in Hawaii with hula-boys and the run of the office crush-list. Man, that'd set me up for life, Idles thought to herself. She put her feet up on the desk and chewed a pencil, thoughtfully. 'I ain't gonna be able to look through four years of archives on my ownsome', she thought, fighting off a pang of panic. 'Get yourself together girl. What would Asm Spade have done in the Maltese Falcon?' Her hand lingered on the receiver of her phone once...she pulled away and bit a nail...then again.. 'Come on' Idles thought to herself 'You know this makes sense' Three times she almost put that phone down. Peeking through the dusty blinds in her office - in a building which had once been an Irn-Bru factory, the centre of the P!O!P universe, until the popularity of that goddamn Ribena had forced it to close - Idles ran a finger along a slat and gasped as a familiar voice echoed down the phone. 'V-Bird Indie-Investigative Service? You want 'em traced? I'm on the case. No band too obscure..Spiritualized's catered for' Idles hesitated 'Er...hullo' she started, before regaining her composure 'I need your help. There's been a....' Idles paused.. 'Situation' The receiver clicked down at the other end. What now? she thought. What was going on? Would the V-Bird refuse to help on such a dangerous mission? What about Miss Honey's bar? Would Dr Chu continue his quest for Sinister domination? How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood? 'Dammit' Idles exclaimed and slammed the receiver down hard. She leant over and flipped through a Rolodex, vainly hoping that she would find someone to help out 'There ain't nothing in here but a bunch of rock chicks and ravers' she thought Suddenly, there was a knock at the window followed by a series of smaller taps...it sounded like a rendition of 'Fox in the Snow' Idles briefly daydreamed of the time she'd busted Stuart Murdoch, after a tip off from a kid to who he'd tried to sell knocked-off copies of Mogwai singles. Snapping back to reality, Idles pulled aside the heavy net curtains and opened up window. A silhouetted figure stood on the fire escape beneath the window. It was the V-Bird, laden with an old Dansette, a selection of Heavenly and Sarah records and a double-necked Gibson. And a small hamster. 'He gets lonely on his own', the bird announced, almost as if she had read Idles' mind. 'Right, let's get to work' (to be continued.......................) Being a Rebel's Fine at: http://www.angelfire.com/ia/trustnoone ________________________________________________________________________ --> get your free, private gURLmail account at http://www.gURLmail.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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Re: mining tedium for transcendence
by u07lec＠abdn.ac.uk 23 Aug '01

23 Aug '01

morning people, Sorry, I know I have already posted this week, but I just felt compelled to write following Rinaldo's post. It said everything I had wanted to say on the subject, but a tad more eloquently...! The part of the post that I am particularly in agreement with is : "I once heard someone say that music is the agnostic's connection to the spiritual." I seem to remember this being mentioned on the list not that long ago, and I was saying exactly this to somebody the other day. I was recommending that someone listen to some of the B&S tracks on the freeserve site, and as you do, I felt like I had to justify why I liked their music, and that of other bands I had recommended, beforehand, in case they didn't like it, and at least then they could understand why I like it. Some people have a sort of connection or commitment to a god, and that makes them happy, they have a faith in something that enhances their life and helps them out in some way when they need it. I've never had that, and never thought myself a spiritual person, but the more you see, the more you realise the parallels between your own relationship with music, and a religious peron's relationship with their god. And when you explain this to people, they understand why you listen to what you do....they may not personally enjoy it, but they still have more of an acceptance of it. On a related note, yesterday we were discussing where god and spirituality fit into the scientific world. As I'm studying geology, and have studied a lot of physics and other physical sciences, I find it really difficult to take the bible with anything other than a huge pile of salt. (I know it's not all meant to be 'literal', but there are some glaring ommisions from the 'facts' it presents). I know quite a lot of people who are studying geology, who are creationists, and I honestly can't see how they can have their beliefs, and still learn this subject, without completely ignoring the conflict in ideas that it presents to them. And isn't ignoring this conflict going directly against what we consider as scientific thought? But someone also said that science, especially physics (that's where our conversation started, but I suppose it applies equally to things like genetics, microbiology, etc), is becoming increasingly more complex, and as we learn more, and theorise more, we are automatically forced to have more faith in science and scientists. It gets to the stage where you have to believe some things are correct in order to arrive at something new...this means putting your faith in somebody else, their work, their results, and if you don't , you have to start all over again and do it all yourself. Which is pretty much impossible. What does everyone think of that? It's quite a lot of thought for this time of morning, I hope it's all written as I wanted it to be. On another note, Rinaldo, where can I read more about the "multiple intelligences" you mentioned??? I've never heard anything about it, and it sounds interesting. email me off-list if you can provide any information. And it's nice to see people apologising to each other to keep the peace. You're all lovely! lyns --------------------------------------------- This message was sent using DISS Web Mail. http://www.abdn.ac.uk/local/mailman/ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: The Case of the Run Away Thread
by idleberry 23 Aug '01

23 Aug '01

From: "Gardiner, Stuart" <Stuart.Gardiner(a)ntu.ac.uk> "I think it's about this point where Honey would normally start warning people (not anyone in particular, naturally) to make sure their posts don't start turning into flames. I'm not quite sure what provoked all these anti-indie-snob diatribes, since I don't recall any such attitudes recently; but remember, those attitudes must exist with some people on a list this size, so let's not slag anyone off, OK? And anyway, we've discussed this many times before, as you could see in the archives if they existed at the moment ;-)" **************************************************** So there I was, sittin' in my office, readin' the newspaper, about how the evil Dr Chu had once again been caught doing sick experiments on young Sinisterians. The press called him the Virgin Surgeon, cos he'd take them fresh out of the Nursery and perform cruel experiements making them into his own little army of Chuians. I spy the silloette of a figure behind the frosted pane of glass on my door. This dame walks in. Ugly lookin' dame, but great legs. She came in, looking a little bit irritated. I can tell when a dame looks irritated. She sat down in the chair in front of my desk, with her handbag on her lap. "Please help me" she said. I looked over my desk at her. Her eyes were pleading with me. Beggin' me to help her. "My name, is Miss Gardiner" she said. "Nobody knows I'm here, but I had to do something." I go to the filing cabinet and take out a glass bottle and a glass. "Ribena?" I offer. She declines. Aparently too early in the day. I slouch back into my chair and flick my hat off my forehead. "So whats the story?" I ask. "Someone started a fight, in Honey's Bar" she says. "Hey listen doll, bar fights aren't my scene. I'm a Private invesitgator. You have things that need investigatin in private, I sneak around and do the work." I explain. "No, its not that. Its... its..." and she bursts into tears. I hate it when a dame bursts into tears. Makes her make up run, and look uglier. "I don't know how it began, but its getting out of hand." She explains. I offer her my sleeve to wipe her nose on. She looks at me, disgusted. Hey, works for me. "Someone, started going on about indie music. I don't know who, or why or what.. but now.. everyone is getting over excited about it. And you know what Honey's Bar is like... its usually so placid and peaceful." "..except when ya mention George Dubya Bush. Then the Americans get their knickers in a twist" I mumble, looking between the blinds of the window, rubbing my gunshot scar from the last time I had too many ribenas and started mouthing off. All I know was it had been a long day. "I just want it to stop. Its a stupid argument over nothing" says the dame. "Someone started saying how they dislike indie strawberry, and pretentiousness and stuff. And everyone else seemed to agree, but they agreed in argumentative tone, as if thats all they could agree on, but it wasn't in agreement with anyone". I look at the dame. I look her between the eyes. I can't help but wonder if she's been on the ribena already today. "Doesn't sound like much of an argument to me" I reply. "I just wish I knew how it started." She said, looking at my desk. It was covered in copies of newspaper clippings, and a signed photo of Stuart Murdoch, that said "Here's lookin' at you kid." "Please, Idle Berry, will you help us?" "I'll see what I can do." I said. I knew this meant only one thing. Looking through inboxes and archives.... ************************************ Now I invite someone from Sinister to take this story and carry it on. You can change the Private investigator to be yourself, change the time, or whatever. Go on. Would be a giggle. ta. Idles. ===== http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/corduroysmoke and the world did get covered in a thick haze of corduroy smoke. And it felt good. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Stand up and testify
by jarkko frantila 23 Aug '01

23 Aug '01

I've always thought that the most important listrule is that you should think before you send anything to the list. Not just think if anyone is interested, but THINK what you say. Being a man (quite short, but still a man), I must confess that my "indiefucks are shite"- post was a product of anguish, tiredness and general depression, a product of hopelessness towards some things gone badly wrong. Kind of a "I think I've been fucked up my arse when actually things just go that way sometimes but when it happens to you don't realize it"- trail of thought. Our beloved listmummy Honey has always said that this list shouldn't be a place for people to bitch about their problems. And Mummy knows best. So what I'm trying to say here is this: Sorry. I didn't think before I sent my rant. Now, let's not make this place a hellhole when Mummy is away, ok? Good. If I may, I'd like to comment on something Ken Chu said: >I always thought the whole point of the "indie-do" thing was to pull. Kenny man, you're right. And for some, it works. And on something Peter Carter said: >In answer to Miss JF's comments... Peter, if we should ever meet, don't try to get in bed with me. You might find my penis a bit of a turn off...=) I'd like to end my post with a story I wrote yesterday. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I called up too many people that night, although there was only two. I once I was one of those people who were hopeful. And I still am, but now I just understand more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ooh, minimalistic expression. Once again, my apologies to everyone. Now I'm going to get some more coffee. -JF _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Mining tedium for transcendence
by Rinaldo Thatchez 23 Aug '01

23 Aug '01

You know, I would never presume myself to be a sini-celebrity. To become one of those I think you have to post at least once a week, should be perhaps a bit wittier and certainly sillier than I generally am and I think it helps to have met at least a few sinisterinos in person. Failed on all counts. Nevertheless, I've been around for a little while and posted enough that those of you who are keeping close score at home probably recognized my name in your inbox. By now you're probably learning what to expect from me too, i.e.,I never post unless there is a discussion going on already. Today I am posting, which means (reactive poster that I am) I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ON THE SUBJECT OF INDIE KIDS. <pauses for trumpets to fade and to briefly bask in audience's anticipation> By now the conversation has reached the depths of tiresomeness and someone has already written the moratorium plea (hey! that's my job!) but dammit!, I just don't get the chance to write as soon as I get the notion, having computer access only at work. So please bear with me. Of course you don't have to; you can snuff out my little message's life right now if you choose, but do you really want that on your conscience? Besides, this topic might just get interesting again. So, JF wrote: Look into the mirror andsay: "I do not sneer at people who dress like everyone else does." Were you able to do that? Were you honest? Could you ever go out with someone who doesn't have the right hairdo, the right clothes, the right albums in his/her cd- collection? Well, the first part I don't have any problem with. Living as a cool spy in the square world for so long, I've had the opportunity to get to know a lot of them and even gain some affection for some of the poor buggers. Family and workmates come immediately to mind. But the answer to the other part, frankly, is a pretty emphatic no. As Nick Hornby and later John Cusack said, "It's not what you are like, but what you like." Another pop culture reference for this is Bridget Fonda in Singles when asked what she was looking for in a man said, "You know, someone with a good sense of humor, someone who likes the same things as me but not exactly. . ." It's important to share interests with your boo, and let's face it, a lot of us don't have many other interests. If I can get personal here for a moment I would say that that has to do with my general state of chicklessness. A (girl) friend of mine asked me recently, "You're a good looking guy; how come you never have a girlfriend." And I told her it's because hip chicks, which there are much fewer of, generally think I'm square and square chicks I don't dig. But I'm getting off point now. JF also wrote: Most indiehipsters (well, maybe I could say "us", but more about that later) aren't actually bad people in such, just... closeminded. There's some hipsters who are truly evil in their heart (hello), but there's rotten and deceptive people everywhere in the world. But not being able to understand that there can be people who don't really give a rat's ass about 7- inch singles, that's just... Example: If I should say here that i really don't care much about gay people, what would your reaction be? Anger? Think about it: That's what the worst indiehipsters do. They don't care much about those people who are into that "crappy, mainstream music", do they? If I can play devil's advocate here for a moment, I would say that that attitude is really okay. Not against gays. I mean against "those people" that we feel so distinguished from. It's a matter of power. The difficult truth is that they own the world, they make the rules, and sometimes they have oppressed those of us who don't fit in or care to play by their rules. Just ask those two guys who shot up Columbine High School. It's because of this power structure that we can ridicule and discriminate against them with relative impunity (but we can't shoot them, don't misunderstand me here). It's like black comedians saying whatever the hell they want about white people. It's a grasp for power and self-esteem and a healthy venting of frustrations in a society that persistently ignores or lowers them. I would argue that it's a similar thing that goes on amongst indies, who constitute a legitimate cultural minority, albeit a generally socioeconomically priveliged (sic, never could spell that word) one. Not to compare our struggle with serious human and civil rights issues but I think you get my point. Side note related to our own particular obsession: this defensive attitude is pretty justified because B&S are one of the most mockable bands around. The Moz once sang, "It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate/ It takes strength to be gentle and kind." It's pretty easy to snicker at that line and at B&S because they have that strength that the ultimate fey pop star sang about. The very reasons we love them make them an easy target. B&S are wimps and wimps are easier to laugh at than identify with.They have the courage to be delicate and free of artifice and sing to the gentlest part of us. That's why Matt H. has so much trouble maintaining his hetero image as an uncloseted B&S fan. Real men are supposed to front. This is also why Jenowl has so much trouble with the hard kids. JF (nothing personal) continued to write and said: As I write this, wearing faded, darkblue jeans, old Converse sneakers and a B&S- t-shirt, I know I look like an indiekid (sic). But I don't think my clothes or my cd-collection makes me somehow better than other people. Some people seem to think that wearing cardigans straight from the 70's is like a secret handshake between indiers (nice word!). No, that's just the image of yourself you give out to people. In my case, I just like the way they look on me. If someone feels like s/he knows me just because I wear the same clothes s/he does, two words for them: piss off. The point was already made by someone that this is bullshit and *everyone* dresses to make themselves identifiable and (as, I believe, Chu said) hopefully attractive to like-minded folk. But on the issue of fashion I'd like to agree with some of those that have claimed that indies are among the most pretentious people around and here's why: our typical image tries desperately to say "I don't care about my appearance and I still look cooler than you." It's this claim to anti-fashion while still following trends and obeying the rules of our subculture that makes indie people so pretentious. . We all know how much effort goes into finding those vintage items or finding suitable outfits for work that don't compromise our coolness but we don't admit it, not to each other. If anyone asks, the official story is that you got that T.Rex tee from the concert in 1974 or your wool straight pocket slacks were a hand me down from your Grandpa. That sounds harsh but it's kinda true. Not that we actually lie but we are loathe to admit that we too participate in the very mainstream practice of image-enhancing consumption. If you really want to be anti-fashion then pull an Einstein and get a closetful of white button-down shirts and brown slacks with a couple of jackets and rotate. Pass? Yeah, I don't have those kind of balls either. Finally, JF offered some meditations: I am not a better person because I listen to music that doesn't sell well. Are you familiar with the recently en vogue theory of multiple intelligences? If I remember correctly there were six: verbal, quantitative, kinisthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. We might not be better people overall but we're probably a little stronger in certain areas than others. I once heard someone say that music is the agnostic's connection to the spiritual. This rang true to me, a guy who plays guitar badly because he opted to never take lessons or learn even the most basic stuff about music theory so as not to have the mystery removed from it. For evidence of music's spiritual qualities you can just look at the language that surrounds it, e.g., you "have a song in your heart," good singers are "soulful," a particular piece might be described in terms like "moving", "transcendent", "uplifting". Rock stars are "gods." Musically talented people have been "blessed" with a gift, though some are reputed to have "sold their souls" to get it. History is littered with musical visionaries driven mad by the power for which they had become the conduit into our world. If this is true, that we experience our higher selves or a higher power through the music we choose to listen to, then what does that say about the spiritual state of the millions who listen to the stuff we find so empty? Do they really find something there that we don't, or is it that they are dead inside? Or have they found their gods in something else or dispensed with the need for them altogether? Someone recently told me that the word idiot comes from the Latin (or maybe Greek, I get confused) word for "self-deification". We may not be better than them, but then again we might, because they may be idiots. Whew! Was that me really throwing the pretentious word around earlier? Sorry, it's late now and I can get pretty full of shit when I'm tired. - rinaldo _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: People who call themselves indie are shite
by jarkko frantila 23 Aug '01

23 Aug '01

There, I've said it. There's been some talk about indie do's and dont's, and I thought I'd contribute something to the list. All genres of music have their very own cliques. They think they are better than other people. But lately I've started to think that indie hipsters are maybe the worst of them all. Hand on your heart; Look into the mirror and say: "I do not sneer at people who dress like everyone else does." Were you able to do that? Were you honest? Could you ever go out with someone who doesn't have the right hairdo, the right clothes, the right albums in his/her cd- collection? Most indiehipsters (well, maybe I could say "us", but more about that later) aren't actually bad people in such, just... closeminded. There's some hipsters who are truly evil in their heart (hello), but there's rotten and deceptive people everywhere in the world. But not being able to understand that there can be people who don't really give a rat's ass about 7- inch singles, that's just... Example: If I should say here that i really don't care much about gay people, what would your reaction be? Anger? Think about it: That's what the worst indiehipsters do. They don't care much about those people who are into that "crappy, mainstream music", do they? As I write this, wearing faded, darkblue jeans, old Converse sneakers and a B&S- t-shirt, I know I look like an indiekid (sic). But I don't think my clothes or my cd-collection makes me somehow better than other people. Some people seem to think that wearing cardigans straight from the 70's is like a secret handshake between indiers (nice word!). No, that's just the image of yourself you give out to people. In my case, I just like the way they look on me. If someone feels like s/he knows me just because I wear the same clothes s/he does, two words for them: piss off. I am not a better person because I listen to music that doesn't sell well. I am not a better person because I wear these clothes. I am not better because I have this hair. I am not a better person than people who aren't a part of this list. -JF _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Life in a Southern Town
by Matthew Henderson 22 Aug '01

22 Aug '01

Howdy all. It's so hot here. School started Monday, so it stopped raining. It's too humid. I was discussing with a friend today about how the city is divided mostly into anti-intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals. Indie rock doesn't fit anywhere in there. The only teenage sub-culture we've got are some goths and a mess of punks. Some even Christian. There's not much worse than a punk band screaming generic "anti-establishment" messages, but a punk band screaming generic "anti-establishment" messages with a "Trust in Christ" thrown in every now and again. No offense intended to Christians on this, it's just annoying. The Great Indie Debate of August 2001: I have no comments on this. I listen to mostly big label stuff anyway, and am not very indie. I'm listening to the Psychadelic Furs right now, so what does that make me? So this weekend I will find myself in Athens (that's Georgia, not Greece). I'll be at the 40 watt saturday night most likely, listening to some as-of-yet unknown bands and/or dancing to a DJ. What are the chances that one of you 1455 sinisters is going to be there that night? What are the chances that any of you go to U of G, or even live in Athens? Slim to none. I would say none, but if you're there, maybe you should say hi. I'll have a red shirt on. A sinister teaching little kids? The thought almost scares me. Then thinking about it again, it would be nice to brainwash a bunch of little kids into becoming b+s fans. They'd probably like it. My officemate told me that belle and sebastian (winter wooskie, to be precise) sounded like something from Sesame Street, so you never know... The person who voiced Garfield and Peter on the REAL Ghostbusters died a few weeks ago. Very sad. I was talking to someone via the internet last night, because i'm a lonely shut-in, and she said she was "absolutely shocked I am not a flaming homosexual." Apparently it's very difficult to find straight B+S fans. Obviously she's never heard of the (in)famous Ken Chu. Well, I mentioned B+S and Ken Chu. My work here is done. <speeds off into the distance in Ford Escort, leaving only a cloud of dust> -Matt _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: ooh sorry, i pressed enter by mistake!
by Astrid Wiezell 22 Aug '01

22 Aug '01

Sorry all of you, that wasn´t supposed to go out just yet. I was just about to say bye anyway, but I thought it would be weird if it just ended there, without saying farewell to my fellow sinisteree´s. And I admit of missing Corduroy Boy Tom really much! Well, I know I´ll get the postcard soon, he wrote that I will definitly get it soon.. Til then, luv, Astrid xxx ---------- a site made by a belle and sebastian fan, for belle and sebastian fans. http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/darling ---------- _________________________________________s_p_r_a_y_ Här börjar Internet! Skaffa gratis e-mail och gratis Internet på http://www.spray.se Ring upp till 70% billigare med Spray Smart http://www.spray.se/smart/allman +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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