July 2004 - Sinister - missprint.org

Sinister: It's only time
by Amy Baggott 31 Jan '05

31 Jan '05

Hello Sinister, So, Ive been lurking around these parts a while. Ive not been away, I just havent had much to say. And thats not to say I do have something exciting to share with you now, in case anyone was getting their hopes up unduly there. Sorry. I just saw this little quote in the Times the other day and thought of you. My worst festival experience was travelling on an overnight rockers bus from Scotland to see Deep Purple at Knebworth in 1984. I was 15. The only seat was at the back with the stinking denim-and-leather brigade. I got to sleep, bolt upright, between two heavies. I woke up with one of their tongues in my ear Stuart Murdoch, of Belle & Sebastian. Eh? Anyway, Im not going to whinge about the fact that the free gig in Glasgow is two days before the scariest exams of my life so far and that I wont be able to go. Because if all goes to plan, I should be seeing them at Glastonbury instead. But still. A free gig! In Glasgow! With Camera Obscura too! How cruelly fate times these things sometimes. Ah well, at least the new single looks promising. Maybe Ill see some of you in Glastonbury Bye for now, Amy x P.S. The subject line is a truly lovely song off the new Magnetic Fields LP. Listen to it. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: with your newfound love of neu and pad thai
by rrrrobyn 22 Nov '04

22 Nov '04

periodically, elements: since last we spoke, sinister, i have not managed to unlearn how to read. in fact, i have learned whole bunches of new words, some of which may or may not be made up. of letters or non-letters. i also found a pink raincoat, 60s style. that totally goes with my pink mini-skirt suit, 60s style. totally. goes. reporting back (now with informative sub-headings): between 'responsibilities', 'unresponsibilities', and growing my hair, i've been to see shows, entertainments, flashing lights and on-stage sweating. - the dirtbombs: wow! whoa! yes! two drumkits (and two drummers)! spasmodical robotic dancing girl guitarist! mick collins! leg kicking to punctuate guitar riffing! it hurt me, how real and good it was. - julie doiron/damien jurado/rosie thomas: this was lovely. i love julie. she makes you love things. everything seems warmer when she sings. the world is a nicer place. i'm cheesy, but it fits. and it was a cold night. everyone seemed to be wearing nice scarves. - le tigre/lesbians on ectasy/les georges leningrad: let me begin with this: check out my awesome green les georges leningrad t-shirt! it fits like a glove, is soft like fake-fur kittens, and on it is a white drawing of a bat carrying a severed head! *and* it's a non-musical material representation of one of the most bizarre and entertaining (in a watching-your-8th-grade-math-teacher-get-attacked-by-bees kind of way) bands around. so, y'know, t-shirt! lesbians on ectasy is a montreal band as well, with a definite e-energy vibe goin' awn - dance-y, electro-y, fun-y. and le tigre, well, i mean, LE TIGRE. matching outfits, motown style (y'know, same fabric, but kathleen's got a strapless minidress, johanna's got a dress with sleeves and an a-line, and jd's got a button-up shirt and pants. rad.) old songs, a few new songs (which were goood), synchronized dance moves, and a fancy way of following a set list (computers! graphic interfaces! etc.) i was happy. (for 5 minutes early on i was unhappy b/c a crew of goonish indie men began to 'mosh' near the front, causing some annoyance. especially when some pulled out, i kid you not, digicams. i'm just, like, er, do you not listen to lyrics? please put away your collector/capturer personas for an hour and be decent. i'm an asshole. no. i'm decidely not. i just hold le tigre near and dear.) so: always good to see le tigre, feel like you can do anything you set your mind to (it's true-oooo!), and dance like a maniac to 'deceptacon'. when buses strike back: holy crap, there's a bus/metro strike on in montreal. how am i supposed to achieve a nice, protective layer of fat for the winter months when i have to do all this walking and cycling everywhere? criminal. i guess i need to drink more beer. while walking and cycling. just all the time really. oh, and eat chocolate. see, i know my fat-making abilities and those two things will do it for sure. remember back when thespark.com had a 'gain x number of pounds in x number of days' contest? i would have kicked ass in that by eating beer and candy alone. and not walking or cycling anywhere. when i see hot pink graffiti, i say that's the graffiti for me: before the bus strike, i saw some pink graffiti in a metro stn on a billboard. it was in that graffiti language i'm not cool enough to understand, but i think it was along the lines of 'rraaarr, we write graffiti! now go and write an essay about it somewhere you silly little academic wad!' haha, aw, pink graffiti. visit montreal, i will try not to be too weird: helen of australia rocks right back. i saw her in the summertime and we walked around montreal and looked at things and i babbled about stuff and i'm sure was awkwardly quiet at times too, yet she still thinks i'm O.K. And she's a world traveller and therefore *knows*. one day i will go to australia and be a world traveller too. but mostly i will go to the beach and drink beer and eat candy. you were always on my mind, you were always on my mind: i bought a new walkman for $15.97 plus gst and pst b/c my old walkman broke a while ago and i am too cheap (ppoorr) to go for a discman and too damn *smart* to go for an mp3 player just quite yet. ipod ipod ipod. want. not going to get. unless it's $15.97. which, nope, it isn't. anyway, so i'm back listening to my tapes again, enjoying mixes made pre-2000, featuring the pet shop boys, the pixies, b&s, mag fields, you know the drill... the only downside to the walkman is that it's ultra sensitive (read 'cheap', not 'lubricated thin latex') to radio waves and things, so that every time i walk by a big construction site or a taxi it buzzes and sometimes even clicks. it's like the city is remixing my tunes yo. and damaging my cochlea. ow, my cochlea! hahahaha. love and bits, robyn p.s. despite having a pink raincoat, 60s style, i still want loralai's pink coat, the one she was wearing last gilmore girls episode with the awesome black and pink dress which i also want. p.p.s. thinking about tv has just reminded me that rupert got kicked off survivor last night. it was sad. both b/c it was a sad event and b/c i yelled at the tv and then at the heavens and then at myself. but really: why? rupert was the best thing to happen to reality tv since do-it-yourself liposuction on the home and garden network. yeah, so that never happened except on the TV Screen in My Head (8 p.m. Wednesdays, CTV), but man, Rupert gone? i'm writing him a letter. (yes, just like the windchill factor, reality is but a feeling too. a FEELING.) ===== I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything. ~Steven Wright ~~~ Robyn Fadden rfadden(a)yahoo.com Montreal, QC __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: please speak into the microphone
by laurel lemming 12 Aug '04

12 Aug '04

dear Sinister, all of you are always talking about lots of other bands that people who listen to B+S also listen to. the only band I listen to in that sort of 'category' is Belle and Sebastian. oh, I listen to lots of other stuff, mostly in completely different genres; a lot of bluegrass, a lot of emo-ish rock, some 80s pop, and stuff my parents like to listen to. and someone once gave me a mix CD of stuff that was supposed to be "B&S-like," by which I guess they meant t*ee-pop, not that B+S are, but whatever. *stumbles away hoping not to provoke another discussion of "t*ee."* and nothing there really struck my fancy. so I guess my question is, are camera obscura and the hidden cameras the same band? I mean...I don't know. I'm so confused. and is it wicked not to care about all these other bands? not cool enough for you, lem __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Stuart on Radio 2
by David Moore 02 Aug '04

02 Aug '04

Hi Sinisters, This just appeared on the B&S News page: "Stuart Murdoch will be selecting the "Tracks of My Years" on BBC Radio 2 every morning for the week Aug 2nd - 6th. The feature is part of the Ken Bruce show, although as Ken is on holiday, the show is being presented by Stuart Maconie. Guests on "Tracks of My Years" select two songs a day, songs which were either inspirational or which symbolise a special period in their life, then they have a wee chat explaining why they chose them. The Ken Bruce is on between 9.30am and twelve noon. The "Tracks of My Years" feature is "usually" on at around 10.30am I believe." Tailormade for The Pinefox, especially following the revelation that our Struan is also a big Lloyd Cole fan. What's the betting on Felt, Chicago & Andrew Gold making an appearance amongst the artists chosen? Sadly I shall be on my annual hols next week, so would anyone like to record these spots for me, please? Thanks, Love David +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: as above, so below
by Dirty Vicar 31 Jul '04

31 Jul '04

If you take a map of London, and draw a line from the church of St. Lucie's in Old Street to that of St. Anne in Limehouse, you will notice that the line's mid-point falls somewhere on the Bethnal Green road. I was astonished to discover last saturday that the exact location of this midpoint is in a public house called The Pleasure Unit. I was there last Saturday, attending an event billing itself as The First Bowlie All-Dayer. It went on all day, or at least from shortly after 3.00pm to around 2.00am, and a number of bands played (as did a number of DJs). Visual artists also had their work projected onto a wall for our additional entertainment. There have been some posts on the subject already, I notice, and a frank exchange of views between Mr Hester and the singer in one of the day's bands. Tribute acts are funny old things, and they will always have an inescapable lack of coolness. However, I find even half-decent examples of the genre entertaining, and the Brunettie band were considerably better than that. They provided me with much entertainment. It's an odd experience seeing a band fronted by someone you know from the internet who are actually good and stuff. Blimey. I didn't like all the other acts, but I was very taken with this rockist outfit called Echobeat. They rocked. I like things that rock. I also liked Language of Flowers, but I maybe did not pay them enough attention as I was DJing afterwards, and having to play amazingly good tunes in only 15 minutes was a bit of a trial. I did my best. After that popular band Wintergreen were on. Are they actually popular? Perhaps they are if MarkH came all the way to see them. I liked them, anyway. I also liked Mad Mr Chris Gimour, a Glasgow scenester some of you might know, who sang songs referencing the KLF with lyrics about how bad he is. then there was the Pinefox, who said: > I am awaiting a post from The Vicar, which will > redress the balance, about the DJs, the Brunetties, et > al - we like the Kontroversy - and also tell about the > medieval walls and things that we explored, recently. I like controversy too, but only when it involves other people. The other DJs were great. I particularly liked the chap who played 'Live Is Life', and the version by Opus, not Laibach. What a funny fellow. And as for mediaeval walls, what the Pinefox is talking about is the trip Rener, the Fox, and I all made to Canterbury last week. They have mediaeval walls there. And a cathedral. Whenever the Pinefox saw the cathedral he made an aaa-aaa-aaaaaah noise, like the music in some film about Canterbury he saw recently. The day before we went to The Globe in London, where these women were appearing in a Shakespeare play. One of them was Josie Lawrence, which was nice. The play was Much Ado About Nothing, and it was the usual Shakespeare stuff about misunderstandings and stuff. > That was exciting. The Vicar also has something to say > about Rats. Yes, I am reading a book about rats. They carry disease and spoil your food, but they are also cute little fellows who make great pets. Now I am back home in Dublin, where I am likely to remain for some time. Oh well. bless you all, DV +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Drink Canada Dry
by Stefano Santabarbara 30 Jul '04

30 Jul '04

Dear Sinisters and Sinistrines [(Back to) Experimental Jet-set] I don't know how much experimental, as long as the time I am actually spending in the laboratory grinding spinaches in dense and sticky sugar blobs is getting shorter and shorter, but definitely back to jet-set. After a spent spinning around essentially any single country in Europe, essentially to justify the fact I have been ripping of money (my not well deserved at all payroll) our of (swindled) EU taxpayer, and rather stationary year in Lundun town, in which I've swindled the UK taxpayer instead, they have decided to board me on plane for another commonwealth partner: Canada! Actually just to take stress the fact that I can't speak a single word of French apart from Rene Arnoux, Alan Prost and La Pastie de la Burguisie (although all of them pronounced with a quite tick Italian accent) I've been shipped, I guess is the right term considering the budget problem of the college I'm allegedly working for, to Montreal, Quebec, on the last week of August. That makes the case for a couple of extra week to be spent there, before being shipped back as a damaged good. I think one of reason I keep on doing the work I do, don't ask exactly what it is because especially at present have exactly no clue, is that the people **in the field** get together in some lovely location. Few years ago, the university I used to work for gave me the chance to spend some times in Australia, and that was kind of a dream of youth coming trough. Most of people I talk to after that was quite disappointed by the fact I have spent more time looking at penguins rather then kangaroos and koalas, but they should have expected from me to do something bizarre al least. Talking about childhood dream, I think Canada as always been the other place I wanted to visit, must be because of all of the Jack London's books I've read as toddler, and now I feel quite excited at the idea I am going to be there in just a few weeks. Although is not going to be winter and I won't be travelling on the infinite snow and ice landscape riding a sledge. I am clearly attracted by open spaces. That is probably why I wanted to be a sailor. Or an astronaut. I guess everybody in the late seventies wanted to be an astronaut wearing a silver suit and riding a space rocket. I don't know how I got think I would have enjoyed playing the game of being a **scientist**, is it true I am?not quite sure Anyway I think a shiny silver suit would look much better then a lab coat, even if some people can wear them with a certain class, I might admit, I am not one of them. [The case of murder classic] You go to conferences and sent abstract of what you have done in the years (what I have I done?). Some people get selected to talk. THEY get selected to give a talk, some other get selected to provide entertainment, some for both. Well, entertainment generally is not meant to be provided by conference attendees, but it seems to be the case this year One of the guy I briefly work with, in France, without managing to learn the language.. oh yes, I can say Renault and Citroen too has been asked to play with his blues band (?!?) after the lectures probably the only thing he remembered about myself were some odd stomp-boxes I use to built in the cellar. Apart from a rather odd look, quite scientific I'd say, more then everything else I have done in so-called-academia for several years now. To cut a long story short I received this unexpected email asking if I wanted to play some tunes as well. That would make me an active part of the conference for once, at least till a gave up the bad habit of shouting at speakersoooppsss. I am not sure if that I REALLY going to happen, but if so, my plan is to play, well essentially destroy, a few B&S "classic"well thought that some people from the Montreal sister posse might have liked to have a good laugh at me getting essentially completely shit-faced in front of the rest of the **scientific community** and if you'll only sing alone I will be happy then. Although I fear my Ph.D supervisor would deny he has ever known me, despite having the name on the same papers. " he should be an homonymous" He'll said. I'll deny I know him either. [Somerset House] I went to the fist gig at the Somerset house, a couple of weeks ago. As soon as THE band stated to play the fist couple of songs from Tigermilking I thought I was going to faint if they were going to do it all, especially Electronic Renaissance, which would be fantastic to hear on stage for once [I never had the chance to attend to any of the so-called "golden age" performance]. Despite a tiny bit of disappointment for a few seconds I really had a great time dancing around in choreographic style and waving multicoloured fluorescent sticks for most of the gig. I think that the 2-pint glasses they were serving at the bar were geniuses as well. We've lost Mr. Chu at a certain point, I hope he didn't drown in one of them as he allegedly has a few. Well, actually what's the point of queuing at the bar two times when you can have two pints in a go? Well, 4 or 6 depending on the degree of juggling, acrobatic handling etc etc [My Recent Record Addictions] I don't know if you're really interested in that, but though it might be nice scare some of recent, and less recent really, passion for a few bands. Some of them have really rocked a couple of months of mine at least. So here they are: I had the new Bonnie Prince Billie (singing Greatest Palace Music) for a while but haven't listen to it properly for a long while. I suddenly discovered how much I really love the records just a couple of weeks ago. Having literally fell in love with the first couple of Palace records, especially the fist one (Palace brothers), I found it nice but a bit strange to hear the same songs in the a more complete and flavoured rich arrangement, almost in a sort of traditional Nashville-style country, but as I stated to enjoy that, it became addictive without many doubts, I think, Will You Miss Me When I Burn, is one of the best song of the last 20 years.. will almost sound good if I do play that in the morning and with a bad hangover, If I could ever manage that. System Officer. This is a quite obscure record. I can't remember having seen it around much, or ever reviewed. Was stupidly attracted by the cover at a Pinback gig and decided I might have like itwell I DO! So it wasn't silly at all. It is 3 Mile Pilot back in action. It is only an EP, but the song called system officer (just for a change) is sort of stuck to my Cd player and can't really dare to take it off makes me dance especially when tooth-brushing in the morning. The Dudley Corporation supported Pinback and they were absolutely grand. They rocked nearly more then usual, they have got class! Mclusky. The difference between me and you is that I'm not on fire. I was a bit suspicious when the new Mclucky record came out Do Dallas was a masterpiece, hardly difficult to be repeated. In fact the new record despite the usually sharp and clever Steve Albini I don't think is quite as good as the one before. Although it is anyway superb. The opening song 'without MSG I am nothing' is a bliss of genius. Geoff Farina. The Usonian Dream Sequence. This is a rather old record, is about 3-5 years old, or something like that. Remember of that because of a song called 'not about a birthday' in the middle of our special night if you'll leave it will be alright, I'm never really satisfied, a slow kiss and a bottle of wine, doesn't make everything Ok, so I am leaving anyway, hope that you don't mind it was two of the people I care most for a couple of weeks ago, and by chance, out of the blue, I remembered the song and how much I liked and listened to this record when it came out, should have been more or less the same time as BWTAT if I'm right I had to listen to that as well in succession. And Finally my favourites for a couple of years, essentially THE EXPLOSION IN THE SKY!!! The are a revelation. On stage is a sort of half mystic experience. I think they have the best song titles for instrumental music as well and record title as well. Those who tell the truth shall die, does who tell the truth shall live forever. I think the second part of the sentence is true, although often happens that they rather die: the first songs shouldn't have been anything but 'greet death': I'll do, of course! on the 'the earth is not a dead cold place' got a couple of songs that almost move me to tears each time I hear them 'first breath after coma' and especially 'your hands in mine'. I can't listen to this song without thinking how different my life should have been right today if I were not a bloody idiot. But I am and can just live on memories. And memories for how nice can heart. Is amazing how sometimes there is no need for words to explain things. TEITS seems to know that quite well. Will be back soon on the CD drive when my teeth will unrealistically shiny because of System Officer. Hope all of you are fine Love and happiness stefano :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Stephano School of Biological Sciences Queen Mary, University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Department of Biology University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: E-mail: s.santabarbara(a)qmul.ac.uk :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Taking notes for a crooked underground
by rrrrobyn 27 Jul '04

27 Jul '04

Hello summer-fun kids and the list that still manages to bind us, Again, time has whipped past me like some drunken bastard riding his bike on the sidewalk. And again I have cursed it though it was far too gone in all ways to have mattered. But at least it's still summer. I've been riding my bike a lot, quite soberly, and too often at dusk when all the bugs come out, making me wish I had a windscreen for my face, or at least my mouth (blargh, bugs.) But dusk is still a good time for bike riding, though I know from elementary school visits from traffic police that it is also the worst time because the low light plays tricks on drivers' eyes, kids, and they can't see you as you chase a ball into the street or ride your bike wildly, hands off handlebars, all over your neighbourhood. Yes, I know it, but there's still a thrill in being a fast-moving shadow in the haze of a slow summer evening. Death and bugs aside for a moment at least. But right, I like the reporting back. It's all Good Ol' Days and strange. It got me thinking about the first time I saw B&S in 2001, how it was quite nice but something was off - partly that what had been private was suddenly being shared by a theatre full of people (yes, as you've said) and partly because the show happened two days after the world trade centre attack. I recall thinking, as more and more people joined their friends last-minute in front of me in line (where I had arrived much earlier. Much.), that we'd all be more aware of, er, humanity or at least other people as thinking feeling things. But no, people prefered to bristle rather than smile, pose rather than recognize a commonality. And maybe it was all too big a show - too much spectacle and hype, too big a theatre with all its velvet seats and gold trim and not enough audience to fill it either with bodies or pomp. I enjoyed myself, but despite so much. Then in the spring I saw B&S in Toronto, just before flying to England for the first time. And it was one of the greatest shows I'd ever seen - all fun and excitement, friends and dancing, and a cheerful, confident band (plus The Aisler's Set!) It was the starter's pistol to my holiday and freakin' hell did I run. I supposed I'm talking about the Alignment of the Universe or Right Place, Right Time things. Or I'm talking about getting older and trying not to look back too hard on the past, but to see it as an environment of which I was an active part. But then, maybe I've been setting up a bizarre environment for myself right now that affects my backwards view: tonight I've been writing articles about grad student "life" (how do I rope myself, hangman's knots and all, into these things?), reading "Watchmen" (how long has this taken me? I read the first quarter six months ago and have ripped through the rest in the past two days.), reading Foucault and Foucault criticism (ooh, ah, ooh, etc.), watching 10 grindingly dull minutes of "Pearl Harbour" on the CBCtv (and assuming that if a bomber plane scene can be dull then the rest of the movie must be unwatchable crud), and unsuccessfully defragging my aged computator. An environment for Nostaligia Disaster, I know, I know. I saw Camera Obscura a few days ago too, for the first time. I started listening to them just over two years ago, so you see how this ties together? It does (/me makes complicated tying motion with fingers). The show was really lovely though a lot of people (esp the French-speakers) had a tough time with the Scottish accents. Which just added to the overall greatness, of course. They played all the right songs and ended on "80s Fan", so what else can you ask for? (Except the strength to not bluddy cry during that last one - what the hell? These connections our brains make between songs and people and times and things can be crippling even to women of steel such as me.) I also rode my bike there. I did not ride my bike to England in the early spring though. But I did see several Sinister types again, and that was nice. This time the holiday did not ressemble a race, nor did any grand event begin it; it just seemed to happen, and a lot of it happened under cloudy skies. I would never complain about clouds or rain though, not coming from where I come from, and I would never complain about the weather when given the opportunity to go to England or anywhere else. No, I guess I mention it because the sky sets a mood that you can move in and out of but not really escape (it being the sky). This sky made me feel shadowlike, as dusk does, but slow and pensive. So there I was, a slow and pensive shadow moving through London on foot or by bus (no bikes, none), falling far too much in love with the A-Z (does it not seem when you have no answers that something that appears to have them all is most saviour-like? Though I now know that our salvation couldn't possibly be in the A-Z, at least not the A-Z mini version.), and generally letting things happen. Like going to Brighton on a stormy day, getting drunk on more than one occassion, getting only slightly lost on more than one occassion, looking at art, getting a hate on for the Collection of History in Old Musty Places Far Away from Where History Happened, doing some dancing, cooing at my friend's new and amazing baby, getting rained on, reading, eating haggis, making a conscious effort to Think Less, Feel More or something silly like that (which never works, not even when watching back to back episodes of Nick and Jessica: Newlyweds.) All necessary and good. A while ago Ken C. wrote about karaoke and I thought: How badly do I want to karaoke to "Stay Loose" with Ken Chu? Very, very badly. I'm a good back-up singer, Ken. Consider it. The last thing I karaoked was "Sweet Child O' Mine" (it is a standard), before that "Little Red Corvette" (which a friend told me afterwards was like an "indie-rock spoken word version". haha!) I wish my local karaoke nite had more indie pop. And by "more" I mean "any indie pop at all". (sorry to any I offended with the use of indie-pop and indie-rock. I remember when the debates raged for days over such terms. Those times have passed. What have we moved on to now?) No, really, what have we moved on to now? I'm going to listen to some music, ride my bike, read things and do as much frolicking-in-summer as I can while you compose your thoughts into email versions much more succinct and concrete than this beast I'm about to hit send on despite so much. Balloons with your name on them, Robyn ===== I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything. ~Steven Wright ~~~ Robyn Fadden rfadden(a)yahoo.com Montreal, QC __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: fwd: NOTICE TO ALL BRISBANITES!
by Toy Stephen 27 Jul '04

27 Jul '04

my, i haven't posted in so long i feel unqualified to forward this message from Stuart's diary. But I'm doing it only because it reminds me why I like Sinister things, like Belle & Sebastian. hello to all, Stevie. >Hi >If you have a ticket for tomorrow night's show in Brisbane >(Wednesday 28th July) and you want to come and see us >tonight for free, just come down! Bring your ticket and we'll >let you in. We'll probably do an almost completely different >show. >Two for the price of one.. >Also, if you've never seen the band and you fancy coming >to see us tonight, just come down and say that "Stuart said >it would be cool if I came down". They'll let you in. It's >doubtful that you would be reading this, but you never >know... >If you're on one of the affiliated sites, Sinister or Bowlie for >instance, can you put the word around? Thank you. I can't >access our New's page from here, so not many people will >read this perhaps.. >See youse.. >Stuart +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Sydney Reporting Back
by terry boyle 27 Jul '04

27 Jul '04

hello, here goes... My lovely friend and I arrived at the Enmore Theatre at about 8pm, expecting to see Architecture in Helsinki kicking off their set, but they obviously started earlier and we only caught three or so songs. They seemed a bit boring though, which was disappointing as I like their records. Their last song (The Owls Go) was pretty good. This was my first time to the Enmore (and first gig in Sydney for that matter, excluding a very nice instore appearance by The Fiery Furnaces), and I was impressed. It has very nice acoustics and a great atmosphere. Between sets we got some drinks, then I went off to the loo, not expecting the belles to start til 9pm. When I re-entered the unisex environment the band were on stage and Stuart was mentioning something along the lines of the band were a little tired and couldn't really remember the previous night's Melbourne show. I just got back in the theatre in time to see them kick off proceedings with I Fought In a War, after which Stuart made the following joke: Did you hear about the Gay Sailor? He steamed into Sydney. It didn't really get any laughs, probably because no one knows what steaming is (including me). I assume it is a gay reference? Anyhoo, B&S then played the following songs (in a very jumbled order and probably some omissions. and maybe songs that they didn't actually play at all - it all gets so confusing...): Step Into My Office Baby The Model Wrapped Up In My Books If She Wants Me The Fox in the Snow The State I Am In If You Find Yourself Caught In Love Like Dylan In the Movies She's Losing It You're Just a Baby Asleep On A Sunbeam Stay Loose Le Pastie De La Bourgeouise Travellin' Light Judy and the Dream of Horses Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying The Boy With the Arab Strap I'm A Cuckoo Legal Man Sleep the Clock Around A very different set to the Melbourne show it would seem. They took a little while to get, the first part of the show was a bit flat (except for Stuart, who was dancing like a kid on red cordial for the whole show. I haven't seen anyone dance like him since, bizarrely enough, Billy Bragg). Wrapped Up In Books and If She Wants Me were my highlights of the first half. If She Wants Me was entirely cool and groovy actually, probably my favourite song of the night. Fox in the Snow would have been good but for a nasty mix which saw the bass buzz everything else into oblivion. Everyone cheered when Stuart forgot the words to The State I Am In, and again when he threw the microphone into the air and unsuccessfully tried to catch it (adding strength to David Hewitt's suggestion that Stuart stick to sports where you can't use your hands). If you Find Yourself Caught In Love was performed with huge amounts of gusto and saw the band blow out the cobwebs, move up a gear, take it to a higher level, and other such cliches). Stay Loose was equally danceable, and Le Pastie (a pleasant surprise) really got the kids moving. Sarah got perhaps the biggest cheer of the night when she stepped up for Asleep On A Sunbeam, and she totally deserved it. She was just spot on all night, seemingly happy to stay out of the spotlight but when she steps up it is pure brilliance. I think she is my favourite member now. Halfway through the set was cover time. After a fair amount of crowd and band interaction they had an attempt at Take On Me. No one knew the words, or the music, but Stevie figured out the chords in quick time and the band doo-ed and daa-ed their way to the first chorus, which turned into a big sing-along. This was a really cute warm fuzzy moment. Then they asked for more cover suggestions, someone yelled AC/DC, and so it was. Problem Child was performed in true Oz Rock style, except it kind of ended up sounding like an 80's indie tune (with Stuart's vocals. Stevie was lead guitaring himself silly and Bob epitomised the cool bass player (as he did all evening). The second half of the set was a little patchy, but that may have been caused in part by my aching feet (I'd been wandering around Sydney and surroundings in the week leading up to the gig). The highlight was Arab Strap, which turned the Enmore into a great big disco. Legal Man ended the main set, before the crowd stamped their way to a brilliant encore - and gig closer - in Sleep The Clock Around. About a dozen lucky folk got to have a dance on stage and have photo's taken. And then, kind of suddenly, the lights came on and it was time to go home. My overall impression - fantastic in some parts, a little disappointing in others. At times it was a little close to listening to the CD for my liking, a bit too polished and clean, but there were plenty of moments that were exactly what I'd hoped for. I also think the gig was a little tainted by the way I perceive Belle and Sebastian. This could end up sounding completely ridiculous, but their music is really personal and intimate for me, and seeing them with a couple of thousand other people felt a bit like dating Kylie Minogue but having to share her with ten other people. You have the sheer delight of "woo I'm dating Kylie!", but it is tainted by the ten other blokes that also get a piece of her. Entirely selfish I know, but I'm always asking for more (more) more (more). looking forward to hearing other Melbourne and Sydney experiences (the exact set list would be great!), and some Brisbane reports (this means you Alex!). love, terry here's what i think: http://naivetysucceeds.blogspot.com caitlin and terry's sinister recipe tree archives: http://www.joannou.net/topofthestairs/sinifood/ -- _______________________________________________ Find what you are looking for with the Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.as… +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Melbourne: Reporting Back (take three)
by David Hewitt 26 Jul '04

26 Jul '04

G'day all. Well, finally, after all this time, the dream's been realised: Belle & Sebastian on home turf. And it just about lived up to what we were all hoping for, I reckon. I'm not sure it was *quite* as amazing as the last time I saw them (Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, May 2002), but that's probably at least partly because that was also the first time I'd seen them, which always tinges one's view somewhat. I'm not good at this whole "reporting back" thing, and I don't have a setlist or anything, so forgive me if my impressions are all a bit jumbled. Firstly, the venue. They played down at the Palais in St Kilda, which is one of my least favourite parts of town, but the venue itself was a beautiful old theatre, which the band themselves, and most of the punters, seemed to really like. Except it was cold in there. Really cold. Perhaps that was to make them feel at home - I'm not sure. They started off a bit wonkily, I'm afraid. Stuart and Chris both owned up to making a lot of mistakes, but I'm sure they weren't the only ones. The first few songs were shaky, and the atmosphere in the room was terrible. Everyone was sitting perfectly still, and it was starting to look like it might be a bit of a long night. Stuart forgot most of the words to I'm Waking Up To Us, and my missus (bless 'er) said "that's alright, Stuart - I don't think your recent songs are that memorable, either." There were a couple of good tunes in the early going, though, including Pastie and Slow Graffiti, which I didn't really expect to hear. A pleasant surprise. The first song they really nailed was Don't Leave The Light On Baby, which seemed to warm the audience up properly for the first time, although they didn't really spring to life until The Boy With The Arab Strap, at which point it seemed the gig really turned a corner, and everything was going to be alright. They played a couple off Tigermilk (My Wandering Days Are Over and I Don't Love Anyone), which were two of the better songs of the night. IDLA was thanks to a group of people down the front who'd made a spiffy banner requesting the song. They were asked up on stage during that song, in order to prance around and wave the banner about a bit. Fair enough. We got a fair bit of stuff off DCW, including: Dear Catastrophe Waitress Step Into My Office, Baby If You Find Yourself Caught In Love Piazza, New York Catcher I'm A Cuckoo Asleep On A Sunbeam Stay Loose I think we also got You Don't Send Me, but I can't quite remember. So that's most of them. I think everyone was a bit surprised that we didn't get Wrapped Up In Books or Your Cover's Blown, actually. I was pleased they didn't attempt Roy Walker, but disappointed not to hear If She Wants Me, which is the best of the new material, I reckon. I think I was expecting a bit more of a Greatest Hits show, as they've not been here before, but (as was rightly pointed out to me by Sinister's very own Lawrence Mikelsen, one of nature's gentlemen) the new stuff sort of suits the way the band plays live these days a bit better anyway. It all made sense on the night. Most of the new songs were delivered really well, with special mention going to Asleep On A Sunbeam. It was an absolute pearler. Off IYFS we got Seeing Other People and Judy And The Dream Of Horses, which I think were the only two. Both were fairly tidy renditions, if memory serves. And off TBWTAS I think we only got Simple Things and The Boy With The Arab Strap. For my money, those were actually the best two songs of the night, with the possible exception of the encore, which I'll get to a bit later. As for FYHCYWLAP, I already mentioned Don't Leave The Light On, Baby, and I think the only other song we got was The Wrong Girl. And it stank. Something just didn't work about it live - it was the worst song of the night by a mile (and I really like the recorded version), and the only genuine stinker. I think the only song they played off of Storytelling was that harmonica thing that Stevie does. They opened with it. I can never remember what it's called. EP songs included Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie, Jonathan David, I'm Waking Up To Us, Slow Graffiti and Legal Man. Oh, and Lazy Line Painter Jane, which was the encore. They were going to play something else, but I think someone over on the other side of the theatre was shouting for LLPJ, and Stuart acquiesced. And he got a bunch of loons up on the stage, including one girl who claimed to be able to sing Monica Queen's parts. Actually I think her friends volunteered her. I couldn't really hear. In any case, it turns out that she/they was/were actually right! She was only a little waif of a thing, but she absolutely nailed it. It's not an easy song to sing (we've all had a crack at it in the shower - admit it), but I reckon she was all over it. Kudos. Then, when the stage invaders were wandering off, Stuart grabbed hold of one of them and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and started talking to her. He then announced that it was the girl from the cover of LLPJ, and seemed surprised to see her. I'm not sure if he was telling the truth or just on the pull. He took her backstage, in any case. Best of luck to him. Oh, and the novelty cover was a bit of a weird one. They took ages to decide, and I don't think they'd heard of many of the classic Oz Rock tunes that people were shouting out. Someone asked for the Stones, though, which set Stevie off, so that's what we got. They made a pretty good fist of Under My Thumb, in the end. I was particularly impressed with how quickly Chris figured out his part, which didn't sound very easy. He was playing a Glockenspiel or a Xylophone or something. One of those ones you hit with little wooden sticks. I can never remember the difference. As for the band: Stuart was actually fairly personable, if a little embarrassing at times. I guess that's part of his charm, though, eh? His voice actually seems to have gotten even better, but his dancing hasn't. Stevie is, like, totally the man. Stage presence, rock moves, and that occasional bit of jittery leg thing that he does to let you know that he's *really* into it. And as far as his voice and his guitar playing goes, I don't think he dropped a stitch all night. No complaints here. When the band implodes, his'll be the side-project to keep an eye on, I reckon. Sarah was on fine form, I reckon. She seems to be able to play any instrument she picks up, and her voice was spot-on. She still looks a little nervous sometimes, like when she fiddles with her water bottle while singing, but there's no need for it. Asleep On A Sunbeam was one of the high points of the night - no question. Richard only ever seems to use about half his kit, and grimaces a lot, but he gets the job done. He was the quiet achiever of the night. Chris really impressed me, actually, and not just because he shaved his moustache off. When he was done, I'm pretty sure those ivories *stayed* tickled. Mick's another one of these annoying sorts who seems to be able to play anything he picks up, including bass guitar and a couple of different sorts of horns. I tried to play the trumpet once, and it's fucking impossible. He also seems like kind of a cool guy. I'd have a beer with him. Oh, and he sometimes has to shake one of those little plastic eggs, and he looks so *serious* about it. He even had to shake a large one in one hand (more like an orange than an egg, really), and a small one in the other hand, and had a different tempo going for each. I reckon that's pretty hard to do. Hats off, Mick. Which leaves Bob. I remember reading something that the band or one of their elected representatives said about replacing Stuart David, and it was something fairly dismissive along the lines of "playing bass isn't exactly rocket science", which made me think that this new Bob character might just be a bit of a monkey, hired for his long locks and tight jeans. Not so. He actually had it going on, I reckon. And not just on the bass. He played the strummy guitar bits on Piazza, and he also plays the noodly guitar wig-out in Stay Loose. Who knew? He's a bit of a dark horse, that one. Oh - one last thing: it's just as well that football (soccer) is Stuart's sport of choice. He and Stevie were trying to be slick at one point, and play a bit of catchie with a tambourine. They both fucked it up royally. And to think, Stuart referred to our national sport, and Melbourne's official religion (the AFL) as "Gay-FL". It's just as well B&S fans are all pasty, twee weaklings. If he'd have said that in any other room in Melbourne that night, the clumsy sod would have had his shit fucked up, I reckon. Bulk love, -Vanilla Flavoured David. PS: Apologies if this posts twice - I posted this a while back, and it seems not to have gone through, so I'm trying again. PPS: Okay, that was ages ago, and I'm going to try it again now, from my old email account. Perhaps it's gmail that sinister's having problems with. Other people seem to be posting and replying to each other in real time. Peter Miller said: "We haven't had much Reporting Back from Australia." Well, I'm trying, dood. I've been trying for the past couple of days. Bloody stupid Internet. Fingers crossed that this one goes through. If you lot get this three times: tough titty. Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies. http://au.movies.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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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