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Sinister: Stuart, Peacock and Ian Rankin (some 2015 Edinburgh book festival content, with lots of waffle on top)
by Niko Ovenden 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

Sinister! I'm resending an email I wrote back in the winter of 2015, which never seemed to make it through one of the honey-nets and to you, dear readers. I've moved to my account adding the O at the end of my name (who was that Nik Ovenden guy? He is from so long ago, like so many years, he is literally another person, or at least another email account), and hopefully am out of the nursery and thought this might still be of interest, albeit belatedly. If this one gets snagged too I'll get the hint and fade quietly into the night :) How last century to email, too, but in a nice quaint fashion since it's for you lovelies. Some promised content! Of a sort. Not much. Here we go...Stuart David was at the 2015 Edinburgh book festival! Promoting his book "In the all night cafe". It's about B&S, don't you know. Apparently the subline 'A memoir of Belle and Sebastian's formative year' was editorial licence, as it's about 18 months. Poesy. By now you'll all have read it, right? Right? The event was interesting, in a curate's egg fashion; the soundboard fellow clearly didn't know much about B&S, all the tracks he was playing on the lead-in were after Stuart D had left the band. Ah well. Neither did the fellow next to me though, since when I mentioned this to him he looked bemused too. He wasn't wearing an upside down badge, so I knew that much. Soundboard fellow did at least let us hear an early Stuart David (pre B&S) demo, with some fellow called 'London' noodling with an acoustic guitar all over the top of the vocals. Now I'm wondering, and kicking myself for not asking, whether the early B&S Demo "London Has Let Me Down Again" was actually about Struan being stood up by an early guitarist, rather than an ode to the dirty city. Gah! I may never know. Unless another B&S band member does a Bookfest show soon...although to be fair Hay-on-Wye is my nearest book fest now I've been forced to abandon Scotland for the relative ruralia of Ely and Cambridgeshire (teary emoticon). Back on topic, Niko! Ian Rankin chaired the event, not very well I'd say: it was pretty clear he wasn't a superfan, he had to be reminded which album "Seymour Stein" was off (I mentally yelled 'TWATTYBUS! TWATTYBUS, you scruffily dressed buffoon!' Well, maybe not buffoon, I wonder if I've ever mentally called anyone that. But I did yell TWATTYBUS in my head). Ian Rankin also hadn't ever listened closely to the lyrics, as Stuart D patiently pointed out it was about Stevie *not* having met him. Really, only the Peacock Johnson connection had anything of resonance with Ian [for the non Rebus aficionados out there, he appeared in a Rankin novel, as part of a 'win a charity auction and your name appears in my book'. Stuart D bid on Peacock's behalf, clever man the both of them.] Stuart David was patient, witty, and kind. Also it was great hearing him talk. I mean, I've heard him talk a lot. That's his music shtick, after all. But great voice. Very soothing. Nice early stories, and I bought the book, but not for me - it went to Lawrence, who needed a new book to cheer him up from all the NZ flag referendum malarkey at the time. Remember when referenda/elections were about what now seem like trivial stuff? Ah well. Focus, me! These journeys back into more halcyon times...Stuart and Ian talked briefly about Looper, who I never got to see live (they cancelled Bristol in 2000, alas!). No chance of any live shows soon, either. Stuart talked extensively about Struan's chronic fatigue and the impact it had on forming the band back in the 90s; he (Stuart)'s now suffering the same. Poor guy. Sinister weren't hat-tipped in the talk but Rankin referred obliquely to the 'forum chatter' in getting the Tigermilk word out in the mid-late 90s. That's you folks! I thank you too, of course, as I only joined in '99 thanks to my own belle of the time, Viks, who probably don't get these these days. No doubt she still cool, if the family is anything to go by; her sister did her PhD in Edinburgh and did the zombie game 2.8hrs later on the same evening as me. Now that's cool. Cool cool cool. The book fest, right? Sheesh, Niko. I got to ask one question to Stuart during the wash-up: since I was at the time slave to higher education (both in terms of the MSc I finished the same day as originally sending this email, about the said 2.8 hours later, because writing about zombies was in vogue...and I also had a previous paper-and-people-pushing job at the Uni, now a dim memory), I asked about the Scottish FE College mergers doing away with Stow, and whether the effect would be damaging on Scottish music. I mean, Glasgow Kelvin kept Electric Honey and all, but no 'study at stow' :( Stuart's answer was that he didn't think any A&R types would have the freedom the early Electric Honey and Jeepster synergies had, and had a general sense of bemusement about how to release and/or publish in the modern era. Me, I do neither, but I can see how it'd be confusing. Anyway, any hidden Sinistereenies in the crowd, frantically casting their minds back, that was me. Hello now, if not then. Hello from a horrible dystopian future hellscape. Stuart did the obligatory signings afterwards. Guessed Ian was really not a superfan as he just said 'cheers' and scarpered. Ah well, we all know B&S are better than Rebus. I was second in line as I bought my book before the event, and Stuart was kind enough to sign the book to Lawrence, and he also signed my olde copy of Nalda Said - 17 years old?!, plus a couple of my LPs. I'm lucky enough to have an EH Tigermilk, also from 17 years ago, which he signed in the only area of white space on the back (on the right), and he signed my copy of the Geometrid too. I was at a loss, surrounded by B&S records at home, but thought those two would do. We chatted briefly about Sinister, he was very nice about list mummy Honey; we talked about CFS/ME and so on...I was laid low with something of that ilk a couple of times, 1997 and 2000/1, but have been lucky since. Stuart mused maybe there was something about B&S and/or Sinister...but I wouldn't trade you away for all the wellness in the world. This list has been so good to me. Mostly putting up with my rambling. Anyway, that's awful long. The Pope's probably been to the bookfest, Paul McCartney certainly, but that's all the content I can muster. Hope you're all well, on your phones and your iPads, and I wish you all the best, till the next time the list Kraken awakes. Anyone coming to Ely/Cambridge, feel free to look me up, as I have been forcibly familially relocated from Edinburgh and am so much closer to the dirty South! This bleak future would be cheered up by showing some Sinister peeps around my tiny new city-home and to spin some twee vinyl. Living the dream. Or dreaming of a life without referenda, elections and hellscapes. I guess B&S can still do that, even in quieter list times... Lots of love, Niko xxx

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Sinister: "best of" and "worst of"
by Bruno Gomes 30 Sep '16

30 Sep '16

Greetings, Some (dubious) decisions had to be made, otherwise it would have been impossible to cope with the constraints... +i could be dreaming +get me away from here i'm dying +dirty dream number two +women's realm +there's too much love +stay loose +to be myself completely +i didn't see it coming +sunday's pretty icons +nobody's empire +allie -mary jo -mayfly -a space boy dream -chickfactor -beyond the sunrise -you don't send me -song for sunshine -for the price of a cup of tea -little lou, ugly jack, prophet john -entyer sylvia plath -play for today -B

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Sinister: Dear Sinister
by Satyin Taylor 06 Sep '16

06 Sep '16

Hello y'all. Apologies there's no list from me. I've not been into B&S later stuff (sorry!) and didn't even get to the RAH gigs, but, obviously could never quite get myself to let go of being 'of this parish'. I'd like to express gratitude for a few things though, I'm amazed I'm still on this list 19yrs on. I hold that period of 97 onwards for a few years so dear to my heart. From the Union Chapel then 3 in two days in Manchester over Xmas, a few jaunts around the country to do B&S pilgrimages, the beautifully shambolic gigs, Bowlie (inc 5-a-side tourneys there and ATPs -yay for the pasty faced vegan* geeks that beat the NME!) and more importantly meeting strangers off t'internet, ah them were the days... Those early gigs, I'm not sure I've ever been so in love with a band. I guess there have been others, but I'll save you that list. But thank you so so much B&S. Anyway, entirely *on content* there are still tix for an event this 7pm Saturday in London. I only found out about it as its a local cinema for me and was planning to go anyway, was just seeing what's on, it's our Struan in person presenting/hosting! Apart from worshiping at the Church of Lenny which I'm sure you rightly all do regularly, "Stuart will also be showing a homemade 25 minute compilation of some of his favourite clips featuring music and images that were influential to him and his group Belle and Sebastian." http://www.scaredtodance.co.uk/2016/09/stuart-murdoch-film-night-on-sat-10t… I'd also like to thank Honey for this list's existence. Somewhere it has sly references to my falling in love, and well probably should reflect heartbreak too, but I was no doubt less brave to make reference to that. Aside from having attended a Sinister wedding, funeral and many a picnic in between, I'm grateful to have just got back from End of the Road festival, including spending time with the lovely and grate Ian Anscombe who I'm delighted to have met down the front at Bowlie during B&S's set. I'll save the stories of that, but from such moments love between friends can start. The point, wonderful just wonderful to spend time with *him*, and, a little posse of friends jointly discovered a *singer* who is a real delight. You may know her already but she was new to me, reference points that took me along to see her was having supported Herman Dune & Jeffrey Lewis, but anyone that writes a (great) Leonard Cohen inspired song is also good by me... https://soundcloud.com/lailarad/1934-a-song-for-leonard-cohen I haven't been so struck by a new artist in a few years, so please do stick "Lail Arad" (pronounced Lyle... I learned after calling her Lale) into your soundcloud/bandcamp/Spotify/YouTube/FB/twitter blah blah, I've been so enamoured with her it's even brought me the urge to pick up a pen myself. I really think she's worth checking out. Oh, and and how cool to release a new album on 1) high quality vinyl and 2) lyric book with download code on the bookmark. I'll just say again, it was one of those sets where you pay attention, fully, get drawn into great lyrics, smile, feel your heart warmed and mind soothed, turn to your friend and whisper between songs "she's great" with some degree of seriousness. And your friend agrees. Oh yeah, also on Sunday night Ian and I jumped up and down to Teenage Fanclub down the front like, well like a teenage fanclub, which given Bandwagonesque came out 25yrs ago, we're definitely not. Ok enough. Amos (presumably formerly) of this parish was spotted over the w/e & tweeting the set list which shock of shocks confirmed they were originally not going to play the Concept. *btw I'm now Vegan, so I guess the NME hack was more prophetic than I realised. Ah, better explain, I also have a new name as I got ordained a couple of years ago as a Buddhist, still working in mental health, but now a Chaplain. So much love, Satyin (Purpletrousers)

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Sinister: My claim for a Sinister trainspotter award
by Bruno Gomes 05 Sep '16

05 Sep '16

Hi all, but especially Honey, At the footer of the latest Digest, we have => End of Sinister Digest, Vol 2, Issue 1 But in the previous (or close enough) Digest, from "some days ago", we had => End of sinister-digest V4 #1445 So, how come we change from V4 to Vol 2? Anyway... so glad to hear that the lis tis still alive, and one last thing: PLEASE don't move to facebook! And now a lame attempt to bring some activity to the list: 1 - Would you all please send your opinions on what would be your B&S all time bestof? But with "some constraints" (so the thing gets balanced through ALL the discography), like so: - the elegible records are the 8 studio albums (i.e. no EPs, singles, or soundtracks) - you must pick (at least) 1 track from each record - you must come up with a total of 11 tracks OR 46 minutes total running time (yes, the average number of tracks and running time of said 8 studio albums) 2- Well, the same as 1, but for the "worst of". Last but not least: can anyone please remind me of all the álbum acronyms? (such as fishyclap, etc) - did all the "later" albums receive this treatment? <off>

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Sinister: Obsessive list makers united take over (v2)
by Bruno Gomes 31 Aug '16

31 Aug '16

Hi all, I must confess than I almost shed a tear when I realized that someone had accepted my "B&S all time bestof" challenge! Oddly enough, in B. Clay Moore's bestof there's 1 track that I would possibly consider for my "worst of" (Roy Walker) Shame on me for not posting (yet?) my own 2 lists, but time is short and I've been busy ranking Moz studio albums (from best to worst: Vauxhall & i; You are the quarry; Viva hate; Southpaw gramar; Your arsenal; Ringleader of the tormentors; Years of refusal; Kill uncle; Maladjusted - and yes, there's 1 album missing in this list) -B

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Sinister: Stars of Track and Field
by alistair fitchett 27 Aug '16

27 Aug '16

Some shameless self-promotion here. This year I am indulging myself by writing about one song and one artwork for every one of the fifty (yes, count’ em, FIFTY) years of my paltry existence. A few weeks ago we reached 1996, which meant that Belle & Sebastian had the song of choice. You can read my witterings here: http://unpopular.typepad.com/unpopular/2016/08/1996.html There is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a tangential reference to Sinister. That is all. The Duke. www.unpopular-culture.com the home of unpopular culture

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Sinister: 19 years?!
by John Washabaugh 25 Aug '16

25 Aug '16

I've been subscribed for quite a long time, I'm not sure the exact length of time. I don't believe I've ever submitted anything before, but I've always enjoyed seeing them come into my mailbox. I've got a very wide taste in music, but Belle and Sebastian is a band that I always find myself coming back to. I can still remember opening my BMG shipment in college with my copy of *The Boy With The Arab Strap*. Thus began my love of the band. Here's to 19 more years. And one of my all-time favorite bands.

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Sinister: OV6am
by Jamie H 25 Aug '16

25 Aug '16

I always smile when these very infrequent posts from Honey (and all you lot!) come through. it's akin to hearing about an old friend from back in the day and getting news that they are still well and plodding on. I hear B&S have a new song out. I haven't actually *heard it yet though. I guess I'm not as bothered as I used to be? it's about the Olympics though, and they were great at distracting us from the shite of other worldly things that distract us, so that was good. I spent ages (at least two minutes) trying to come up with a witty and sufficiently dirty sounding acronym for the single, but failed. I'll leave that to someone else. I re-re-re-re-read Young and Foolish a couple of months ago and it still brings back great memories of the list in the day, music in general and the feeling of addiction to a band that people still subscribed to this list will undoubtedly feel about B&S. Recommended reading to anyway who hasn't. Music tastes change over time, but for the first time I think since the B&S days I'm obsessed with a band to a similar extent - they are Martha. obviously they are nothing like B&S.. They are a bit shouty as my mum would say. I do however get that same feeling from hearing a new song from them as I did back when TWATTYBUS came out. anyway, this has been written on the 13:46 train from Euston to Milton Keynes, and we will soon arrive so I will press send. To the next 19 years! Jamie

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Sinister: Happy 19th, Sinister
by Honey 25 Aug '16

25 Aug '16

It's still the 24th August in some parts, so I'd like to wish those still with us a very happy 19th Sinister birthday. Given that I've just moved the list from a big whirring commercial server in America to a tiny computer you can hold in your palm, I should probably keep this short in case it falls flat on its face. If you *do* get this, a few things changed, but you can see it all on the new compact but still crappy webpage at: http://missprint.org/sinister/ including news that we might be now the longest running mailing list for a band on the Internet (now that I see the longer-running XTC one moved to Facebook, not that I'm pleased about that or anything). We probably aren't. There's probably an older Grateful Dead one. Given that it's easier to leave now, some of you might. That's ok! But given that you don't have to do nonsense like send plain text anymore and you can move your email addresses etc via the web, you could stick around or even say hi sometime. Or just keep that cosy feeling that you're still a member of something that happened in 1997. As I said elsewhere, Sinister started as a mailing list about Belle and Sebastian, quickly became a mailing list about people who like Belle and Sebastian, and is now at the time of writing I suppose a mailing list about people with an affection for a mailing list about Belle and Sebastian. It's very quiet, but still here to thrill and/or embarrass you with your own past history. Sometime, have a peek in the archives to see what you like back then. Happy Birthday, Honey x

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Sinister: Holy cats!
by Grant Bennett 25 Aug '16

25 Aug '16

I was just thinking about this ol' list the other day. Hope you are all lovely and well. -Grant

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