July 2010 - Sinister - missprint.org

Sinister: Has it really been a decade?
by Deller, Ruth A 21 Jul '10

21 Jul '10

Hello Sinister Since there's some noise round these parts at the moment, this seemed a good time to pop my head up out of the parapet and (re-)say hi (well, technically I think my out of office did that for me the other day but please let's pretend that terrible mailing list faux pas didn't happen). Ten years ago, when I was a lowly undergrad, I did my dissertation on the way Belle and Sebastian fans and Cliff Richard fans used the internet... some of you may remember, if you were around then. Anyway, I had loads of juicy material but never did anything with it beyond the dissertation, and now I work in the world of academia (in the media department at Sheffield Hallam University), and have the means to use it, so I want to repeat my study ten years on to see what has changed and what has remained for the two fan communities. The aim would be to turn the study into something publishable, using material from the original study alongside new material for comparison. If it gets published I'll find a way of letting you all read it. I would love to interview some of you (via email/IM/phone/Facebook or whatever works best) about your experiences of Sinister and/or the wider B&S fandom over the past decade. There'll probably also be questionnaires for those who don't want to say a lot, but I want to start with interviews as I think they will potentially be the richest source of material. If you are interested please email me (r.a.deller(a)shu.ac.uk) and I'll send you a consent form and we can chat further. You don't have to have been a member (or a fan) ten years ago, as I am interested in what happened in between as well as how things were in 2000 and how they are in 2010, though if you were around ten years ago, even better! Oh, and I got a first last time around for the piece so, belatedly, thank you all very much! Ruth/Rad 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: why is there so much cake on the floor?
by mummy i ve grazed my knee 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

Many greetings to all the sinisterettes and sinisterines out there in internet land - it's been a while. Well, as the boy Walton has already said (complete with what I first believed to be an overly anal recollection of songs played, until it became apparent that a set list had been pinched in true fanboy style), a performance from Brit Award winning reclusive cult pop band/pop band cult, Belle and Sebastian, was witnessed this weekend and some reporting back is due. It was a funny old business. I don't, as a rule, 'do' festivals. I have an aversion to being cold, wet and in a field whilst Kula Shaker regale a bunch of city boys drinking pimms with their 'greatest hits' set, which I can just about hear above the piercing shrieks of attention seeking teenage girls as it drifts in the wind, alongside the rancid stench of portaloo - an antiquated piece of unpleasantness which the advance of technology has consistently passed by for over 30 years. For this one day however, I was prepared to make an exception. The return of my favourite band after a four year absence, complete with the promise of an orchestra a la Hollywood Bowl, was not something to pass up. What's more, Latitude takes place just a few miles from my childhood home - the place where I first heard Steve Lamacq play Lazy Line Painter Jane one balmy summer's evening back in 1997, and instantly fell in love. I won't go into too much detail re: Latitude clientele. Safe to say, Ken's description was pretty spot on. They are mostly called Felix and Harvey. Once you get over the stench of hummus and deck shoes though, it's really a very pleasant place to be. Three questions were troubling me about the return of B&S: 1. Would they work as a headline act 2. Would anyone still care, and most importantly 3. Would I still care All were answered pretty swiftly. Whilst I accept that my ability to remain objective on matters B&S related is questionable, my take on the evening is a little more positive than Sam's. The band were in scintillating form. Struan had the audience in the palm of his hand from start to finish - a thoroughly engaging frontman who directed proceedings with a real penache. The banter was top notch and the set list dipped lovingly into every era (minus FISHYCLAPS). Admittedly the two new songs were little more than average, but to pass judgement on forthcoming material was not really the purpose of the night. The cry from an audience member for "nothing after If You're Feeling Sinister" following the announcement of Stevie's latest dittie warmed my heart, but it was the well meaning mass 'shushing' of one over talkative couple during the end of TWATTYBUS which really reminded me how B&S gigs used to feel. The audience lapped it up from The State I Am In to Sukie In The Graveyard. It seemed that after all this time, people really do still care, and to my great relief, so do I. I genuinely can't remember the last time I grinned so much for so long...there may even have been a tear or two of joy. Whilst the orchestra that some of us had got in a lather about may have been little more than an augmentation of the band's usual string section, and the new tunes hardly set the world alight, for me this was nothing less than magical. For an hour and a half, I remembered how the 15 year old who joined this list all those years ago used to feel. Perhaps as new material appears and media cynicism sets in there might be a mass re-evaluation of their relevance in 2010, but right now I'm just thrilled that B&S are back, making people smile in a way no other band can. love to you all chris 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: Sinsietr is a bit freaky
by Robin Stout 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

Hello and welcome Jean-Christophe Pacaud! Thank you for showing us your tit bits. ROBIN 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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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RE: Sinister: American Pernod with your older sister
by Sam Walton 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

Hello again Sinister As the Pinefox has just so ably pointed out, in a break from proofreading his book to proofread my emails (and I am grateful to him for it): >The song about the frog is called 'Funny Little Frog'.Of course, it is (although I dispute whether the song is about an actual frog). However, on the set list I pilfered, it very clearly says "funny looking frog" (all in lower case, in a variation of Clarendon by the looks of things, font fans). Had I registered this error when transcribing, instead of just soldiering on, I would've added the word 'sic' in square brackets, so the fault is both mine and the writer of the set list. Perhaps Belle & Sebastian aren't so aware of the correct names of their extensive catalogue these days. In other proofreading news, there were two erroneous inclusions of the word "an" in my previous post too - award yourself a listen to your favourite two Belle & Sebastian songs if you managed to spot them. Love, again, Sam.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 +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Sinister: American Pernod with your older sister
by Sam Walton 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

Hello Sinister Wow. Two posts from me in the space of a week - it's as if it's 2002 all over again. And indeed aiding that feeling this weekend was my reunion with Mummy I've Grazed My Knee (of this parish) and the appearance of Belle & Sebastian on a stage in front of me. The group played: # I Didn't See It Coming (an new mid-tempo piano-led number with Sarah sharing vocals with Struan) # I'm A Cuckoo # Step Into My Office, Baby # The State I Am In # I'm Not Living In The Real World (an new upbeat Stevie-sung number in the style of Wandering Alone, with handclaps and oooh-wah backing vocals) # If You're Feeling Sinister # Sukie In The Graveyard # Fox In The Snow (this was in brackets on the set list) # Jumpin' Jack Flash (not on the set list) # Funny Looking Frog (# either Dog on Wheels/Stars Of Track & Field - this was dropped because of the Stones cover) # The Boy With The Arab Strap # If You Find Yourself Caught In Love # Judy & The Dream Of Horses # Sleep The Clock Around ==== # Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying # Legal Man Jumpin' Jack Flash was an impromptu cover after Stuart revealed that Stevie had had a dream about playing it the previous night. At this tidbit the crowd cheered with expectation, and after a little persuasion the band relented and, given that it was entirely unrehearsed, the song sounded pretty tight. It was also heartwarming to see Stevie clearly fulfill something of a dream by playing the song in front of thousands of people. Elsewhere, when it all came together, the band sounded lovely, and the atmosphere in the crowd during the old ones (particularly Sinister and Fox in the Snow, both of which put to use a 16-piece string section) was terrific. Funny Looking Frog was played considerably slower than usual, and consequently sounded even more unremarkable, and the decision to end the encore with Legal Man was odd; the band didn't look too happy (or indeed able to play) with their number-15 smash hit from ten years ago, and it closed the show slightly limply. The new songs? Well they're on YouTube already so you can make your own mind up. Personally, they were passable, but I wasn't keen. But, as I say, when it was good, it was brilliant. The band themselves looked much the same as ever, and Stuart played host with great confidence, getting about 20 audience members up on stage (almost all of them teenage girls picked by the security) to dance during TWATTYBUS, and leading an amusing chant of "Maggie Maggie Maggie! Out out out!" during the breakdown of Step Into My Office Baby. I wondered, before they began, whether I would ever see B&S again after this show. Now it's done, and I enjoyed the gig, I'm not sure. I'd probably go back, but all the same, I loved that band and, for some reason, now seems about time to draw a line. I was talking to Mummy I've Grazed My Knee earlier in the day about how I wouldn't be too disappointed if they declared this new album as their swansong, played a few farewell shows and left us all with warm feeling of completeness. But then again I guess we all have to make a living somehow. Anyway. Maybe YOU were there. Back in the old days a post like this would be referred to as Reporting Back; the list would be awash with discussion. But it's quiet round here these days, so you'll just have to make do with me. Bulk love, Sam.x ================================ "He's strictly a pain in the ass, but he certainly has a good vocabulary" - Holden Caulfield +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: If you're feeling Iniesta
by kenneth.chu＠uclh.nhs.uk 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

Long time no see, sinister. Did you guys watch the World Cup? Pretty exciting, it was. I had money on U R U GAY but I didn't win. Hey, there are some exciting BELLE AND SEBASTIAN RELATED STUFF on this post. Plus SINISTER RELATED STUFF. CONTENT. So it seems B+S are playing in a bunch of places again - they're almost playing as many gigs as Pavement are these days (which seems to be every other day?) They're playing in some things that have been mentioned on Sinister, I'm listing them in a wanky header way so that it would look more "interesting" LATITUDE: HEADLINING, but will not be attending, I went to Latitude last year and it was the actualisation of a nightmare that I once had - which involved waking up to find that the entire world has been turned into a neverending Upper Street, and I wandered about this apocalypse, constantly being attacked by passive aggressive stares from posh parents because I was walking too near to their prams or they thought I was stealing their Yakult - and with added cruelty towards sheep. I wanted to spray paint each of their babies in fluorescent colours to see how cute they'd find it. Saying all that, I hope it'll be fun. I did see SLOW CLUB there last year and they were very good. THOM YORKE's ZOMG SPECIAL NOON APPEARANCE was a bit/very wanky. They also gave away Muller Fruit Corner which were disgusting, I would probably have more enjoyed being at the receiving end of THOMAS MÜLLER'S CORNERS. LAS VEGAS: HOLY SHIT, this is possibly the best thing in the world, BELLE AND SEBASTIAN! PAVEMENT!! SONIC YOUTH!!! OTHER BANDS!!!! And CASINO!!! GAMBLING!!! FREE DRINKS!!!!! BUFFETS!!!!!!!!! HOOKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's like ATP on Speed. I hope to see members of Belle and Sebastian all getting wasted and end up marrying each other. I would definitely have gone to this if this was announced say, six months ago, when I hadn't planned a LAS VEGAS trip and things that involve seeing BELLE AND SEBASTIAN, AND PAVEMENT, AND OTHER BANDS, AND GAMBLING, already, and am now out of money to pay for the plane fare - if you live in the US though, this seems to be quite a bargain (if you had already wanted to go to LAS VEGAS). M!I!N!E!H!E!A!D!: OK, So this is like Las Vegas on Anesthetic. But BELLE AND SEBASTIAN!! Curating like they did in 1999! Man. I have a chalet already. I think it'd be amazing and I trust that all of you will attend?? We can all have a WINTER PICNIC!! Drinking Ribena in the cold somerset rain. They have FOOTBALL PITCHES TOO. I scored 3 goals on Monday you know. I hope to score against Sturan again in December, like that time near the RAH! So, who's coming??? Think of all the puns you can make!! I KEN GET CHU OUT OF MINEHEAD. Etc. etc. SINISTER: SOMEBODY 's gonna be 13 years old next month.. Picnic??? LnRB, Ken ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This email is confidential and is intended solely for the person or Entity to whom it is addressed. If this is not you, please forward the Message to mail.administrator(a)uclh.nhs.uk. We have scanned this email before sending it, but cannot guarantee that malicious software is absent and we shall carry no liability in this regard. We advise that information intended to be kept confidential should not Be sent by email. We also advise that health concerns should be Discussed with a medical professional in person or by telephone. NHS Direct can also provide advice. We shall not be liable for any failure to follow this advice. University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: Longing for Latitude
by Sam Walton 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

Hello Sinister Is this thing on? Or this one? Anyway. Belle & Sebastian were, alongside Pulp, my favourite band of my teenage years. Some of you might already know that, and those with an inquisitive streak can confirm it with a quick peek at the archives. So it's with interest that I'll see the band again, ten years since I first did (and five years since I last did), this weekend at Latitude – yes, I'm coming, despite scepticism about reviews describing Latitude as a bit sedate, expensive and needlessly civilised. The only reason why I'm mentioning this on the list is to find out if any other Sinistereens will be in attendance. Back in the ol' days, when a B&S gig was quite an occasion, we used to meet up for a beer beforehand, and everyone would stare at their feet not saying anything until Mark Casorotto got angry and started calling everyone twee fuckers (something which, I must stress, I both enjoyed and admired). Any plans for something similar this time round? They are, after all, *headlining* the bloody thing. Sheesh - that last sentence would've been a weird one to type ten years ago. That's all. *For now*. Sam.x ================================ "He's strictly a pain in the ass, but he certainly has a good vocabulary" - Holden Caulfield +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: Ruisrock festival, Turku, Finland setlist
by jean-christophe pacaud 14 Jul '10

14 Jul '10

# I Didn't See It Coming # Step into My Office, Baby # Like Dylan in the Movies # I'm not Living in the Real World # If You're Feeling Sinister # The Stars of Track and Field # Dog on Wheels # The Boy with the Arab Strap # If You Find Yourself Caught in Love # I'm a Cuckoo # Sukie in the Graveyard # "Finlandia" # Judy and the Dream of Horses # Sleep The Clock Around +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: B&S go Vegas! Matador at 21
by Lesley Katzen 05 Jul '10

05 Jul '10

I am over the moon about being able to see B&S *two times* in October, although tickets don't go on sale until Friday for Matador at 21...I thought I'd email the list (As I already have my flights, naturally) to see if anyone is planning on going - and if so - if anyone is up for a Vegas meetup? +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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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