I have worn my enamel badge on my school uniform since school started and (no doubt the creator was aware of this) they have exactly the same shape and appearance as the badges that school prefects or monitors wear. On a daily basis people come up to me and say 'are you like head boy or something?' and then they actually look and go 'what the fuck does that mean?' It's very amusing. I tell them that I'm in the special division of the school council which deals with all matters regarding old tv shows and splendid pop bands. Maybe some of them believe me...
Two people have actually at least feigned recognition of the band. Who said private skool wasn't cool?
love will
ps say hi to the nation of will at
www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/7509
'i know what people say, im a heartbreaker, thats just my way.'
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to my inquiry about a _Tigermilk_ dupe. It was really quite refreshing to
have so many people express their interest in helping me so quickly. But
then, we're all B&S fans (a rather civilized group, I should think) so I
suppose it all makes perfect sense.
And now I can turn my attention to procuring my own copies of those EPs
that have thus far eluded me (even though I've heard that they pale in
comparison to _If You're Feeling Sinister_).
Again, thank you.
Take care,
Amanda
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Okay, well here's my stab at the ink polaroids
contest....I would love those posters...sigh:
Polaroid I.
Look, these are a year and a half old already! Ben
and I are in a record shop. We?re flipping through the
seven inches. He?s smiling; Ben is always smiling.
That's part of his dashing character. He?s pointing
out a new single from some Detroit space rock band.
He looks fine and slim in his orange Spiny Anteaters
t-shirt. He has never ever worn a collared shirt in my
presence. I am wearing my brown corderoy jacket. I
am not smiling, but I am not scowling either. I guess
best put would be to say that I look somewhat
melancholy, reflective, preoccupied. I remember that
I was rather distracted and though I am holding it, I
am not really aware of the Tullycraft single I?ve
picked up.
II. Here we are standing on the street in front of
Ben?s car. It is a silly little white sports coupe. It is
nitetime and St. Mark?s Place is a charming blur of
activity and lights in the background. Speaking of
lights, the streetlamp overhead is terribly bright and
has all but washed out Ben?s face, but I know that he
was still smiling. Ben is always smiling. He has a
brown sack full of new records under one arm; my
hand is in his left hand. As for me, my bleachy bangs
are all in my face. I guess I will probably never see
my hair?s natural colour again. If you look close, you
can see tears coming up in my eyes.
III. Oh dear, Ben and I are kissing! This is not a
positive sign, though. We are in his car now. This is
when we broke up for good. Just prior to the kiss I
asked him why we were spending so many months
pretending to be in love, when it was obvious that he
would be happier to just be best friends. I remember
exactly what he said, ?I?m ashamed because I should
be in love with you, but being in love just isn?t
important to me.? Then we broke up, but had one last
kiss for the road, to prove we would stay on as best
friends. If you look really close at this polaroid, you
can see tears streaking my cheeks.
there you go, sorry to have bored any of you---
Kelso Jacks
NYC
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Ink Polaroids Compo entry; (OK it's probably rubbish, but it's the best
I could come up with...)
"This one was taken in one of the local clubs. That's me standing on the
stage, in the white shirt. Yeah, I know my haircut back then was pretty
awful, but we all make mistakes. Anyway, there was a hypnotist
performing in the club that night, and I'd had a few drinks, so I
thought I'd volunteer for a laugh. And because I thought it would
impress some girl I was interested in at the time. Like I said, I'd had
a few drinks... The bloke doing it did say he couldn't have anyone
onstage who'd been drinking, but there's no way anyone would go up there
sober, is there?
"The reason I'm dressed like that is because every time he stamped his
foot, I had to run over to a bag and put another tie on. I think I had
about ten on by the end. I wasn't really hypnotised or anything, but it
was good fun so I played along. I guess everyone must be doing the same
at these things. I know it doesn't look like it, but I was supposed to
be dancing when this was taken. That's what the umbrella was for, he was
playing "Singing In The Rain" and I got up and danced. It's a good job
my mate didn't take this photo ten seconds later, because while I was
doing it I fell off the stage. Next morning I had this huge bruise on my
left arm. So much for impressing women.
"That one sitting down behind me on the stage, in the red dress, was a
really good laugh actually, I was chatting to her for a bit while the
hypnotist was getting things sorted out. She seemed quite nervous, she'd
never done anything like this before. I've no idea what she's doing
there, I didn't notice that at the time. The bloke next to her seems to
be enjoying it though!"
Stuart G
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century of elvis:
i'm surprised they did '...elvis' instead of '...fakers' at
the pbs taping. actually, i'm just jealous, i doubt they'd
ever do it again.
was elvis at the gigs?:
elvis couldn't have been at the gigs - he'd've been in
quarantine...
old people at the gigs:
and did anyone else noticed the young boy that was at
sunday's gig? i think i saw him at one of the scottish gigs
as well so i'm wondering if he's some relation of one of the
band members. will have to ask him next time...
pbs broadcast:
the bloke asking about this seemed to be confused. the pbs
taping was done specially for the tv in a studio(?) and was
different from the two concerts. that said, there was a
bloke with a video recorder upstairs at the sunday gig so i
guess that got taped as well.
oh, bloke in comic shop on monday after spotting my badge:
"is that your dog?". what do you say? do you stand there for
10 minutes explaining belle and sebastian and dog on wheels
or what?
radcliffe:
the thing i missed about radcliffe when he moved to mornings
was the lack of guests and i think the guests helped fill
the program up whereas mark and lard on their own struggle.
add to that the playlist restrictions and the lack of
swearing and stuff and the morning shows were, and i quote,
'a shed'.
oh, peel played some delgados last night, said there was
some sort of delgados sessions lp coming out. which is nice.
i'll stop now.
andy
oh, and katrina, 'scotchtober fest' was a ploy by principal
skinner to tempt bart simpson into committing an expellable
offence. it seemed to entail groundskeeper willy dancing in
a kilt on a barrel with a large glass in each hand.
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Dear all, after a long wait, Nightshift (the local gig guide magazine here in
Oxford) have reviewed the B&S gig. This review didn't appear in the hard copy
(i.e. the paper copy), as B&S objected to them using a photo, and also the
review was too long !!
The actual website is, for those who want to see it in it's entirety (it's a
good site):
http://www.oxlink.co.uk/nightshift/sept97/live_5.html
BELLE & SEBASTIAN
The Zodiac
Question: What's got sixteen legs, eight heads and the voice of an angel;
rarely appears in public but when it does causes panic and desperation of
biblical proportions? The answer, of course, is Belle & Sebastian, an
unassuming, publicity-shy pop group from Glasgow who have, in the space of two
short years and two discreetly classic albums, achieved legendary status among
the ranks of the country's gentle-hearted romantics and fey, dysfunctional
outcasts.
The scenes outside the Zodiac beggared belief. Two hundred punters from out of
town queuing for an hour to get in because they'd all booked their tickets by
phone and had to endure the credit card processing rigmarole. Their's is the
panic - will they get inside before the band come on? The desperation is on
the faces of another two hundred people who, with no chance of getting in,
still queue up, hoping for a miracle. And miracles can happen. How else do you
explain the unheralded triumph of pop beauty over the ugly lad zeitgeist? The
world needs Belle & Sebastian even if they don't seem to need the world.
On the face of it it's all so unimposing. One pretty, late twenty-something
boy with an acoustic guitar surrounded by a ramshackle troupe of musicians
that include a cellist and a trumpeter as well as two keyboardists mounted on
a platform in the middle of the hall because there's no more room on stage.
The music is so gentle it could evaporate in a club setting like this (they're
more accustomed to playing in libraries and cafes) but Stuart Murdoch's
gentle, folky voice holds the audience in something approaching rapture. He
sings tender songs for pale, skinny people who treat him with genuine
reverence.
It hardly matters that Belle & Sebastian refuse to play a `greatest hits' set.
Aside from a couple of new songs, as yet unreleased, everyone knows all the
obscure stuff anyway. So much so that when Stuart messes up the beginning of
`State I Am In' the crowd are singing the words for him. And this is no
`Wonderwall' anthem; instead it's a fragile lullaby with a convoluted story of
confusion and angst in the mould of Nick Drake or Felt and perhaps the most
beautiful song written since `Northern Sky'.
Belle & Sebastian's influences are many and varied and crop up throughout
their set, from Love to Simon & Garfunkel to The Smiths. Yes, it's folk-pop
but it's much much more. New single, `Lazy Line Painter Jane' is the one great
song that The Beautiful South never wrote, and if the comparison makes you
balk, don't let it, it's more the way Stuart's voice contrasts with that of
guest singer, Monica Queen, from Thrum, while its rising crescendo of 60s
organ chime takes it closer to the more melodic side of the Velvet
Underground. At the opposite end of the scale there is the jazzy
instrumental of `Tigermilk' before cellist/tambourinist Isobelle takes over
vocal duties for the country-tinged `It's Wicked Not To Care', perhaps the
only song ever to feature a glockenspiel solo.
The way that every softly played, carefully crafted song is greeted by
rapturous applause that's twice the volume of the music is bizarre but they
seem neither fazed by such adulation nor do they play up to it. They're happy
to potter about, tuning up or swapping instruments as if in a bedroom
rehearsal, before sheepishly announcing `Another new one'. There may well be
many out there who will see Belle & Sebastian as the start of the rebirth of
wimp-pop while others might dismiss them as an anomalous throw-back to 60s
folk whimsy. These people have no souls. So blinded by a haze of ugliness (did
anyone else feel physically sick at the sight of John Power on the front cover
of Melody Maker last month?) that they fail to see real beauty when it blooms.
What a rosebud is to a garden, so Belle & Sebastian are to pop music. Wake up
and smell the blossom.
Dale Kattack
There is a Belle & Sebastian mailing list. To subscribe, send a message to:
majordomo(a)majordomo.net with the text 'subscribe sinister' in the body of the
message.
So there you go, if you do get to this stage of this mail, I hope you enjoyed
reading it.
Ben.
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Andrew Dean wrote:
thanks for that leslie. but are you sure this was '...elvis' and not
'...fakers'? i can't see them doing '...elvis' live as there's too much to
remember...
It was indeed "..elvis" -- He read the words from a notebook and I didn't
hear much of it due to sitting directly behind Stevie's amp.
On another recent topic: I am the parent at our house (sigh). My son and I
first heard "Sinister" at the same time and both loved it. I probably bought
it first--having more disposable income-- but we each own everything that has
come out thus far (except the fabled Tigermilk of course -- altho' I believe
he has arranged to get a tape). He was kind enough to bring me to the PBS
taping, (which was probably smart of him because who else would have been
able to get him excused from school for it).
Surprisingly, while we might disagree from time to time, we rarely hate each
other's musical tastes, which has been pretty nice all in all -- music has
given us something to do together as he has grown up. I have to say I'd
rather go to shows with him than with most of my friends, who rarely want to
go anyway.
He started out being a captive to my taste, and then began contributing to
mine as he started listening seriously and needed me along to get into shows.
Now he can go on his own. I usually decline his invitations to come
along as the crowds are much younger than I, and I often feel out of place.
That's one wonderful thing about B&S: the music transcends age. Everyone
can love it because it is beautiful and universal.
Anyhow, this parent loves Belle & Sebastian and will now pretty much go back
to lurking.
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alright. here's the deal.
my dad is one of those computer guru types who has all this stuff that i
know nothing about. so he informs me that he has a "cd burner" that can
record onto a cd. fancy that.
he said he could hook it up to something or other and i could record
vinyl or anything i want onto a blank cd.
so here's my offer. blank cds cost about 10-12 us dollars a piece (so he
says)...if anyone wants to record me a very good quality copy of
tigermilk, from the original, not a dub of a dub, and mail it to me so i
can get me a copy on cd, then in return i will record you a copy onto cd
as well at no charge and then mail it back to you at my expense. all you
would pay is price of the blank tape and a stamp to get it to me.
(maxell XL2).
if anyone would like to take me up on this, please let me know.
on another note...i received "dog on wheels" today (thanks to
secretsounds)...i love it. it is better all around than the lazy line
painter one. i've listened to it already about 10 times.
-brad
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Keith Watson recently wrote:
>And regarding Indie Clubs - Paul plays B+S regularly at the Egg in Edinburgh
and I wouldn't
>say there's any sort of "clearing of the dancefloor", good laugh.
Thanks for the mention - We do try! I almost played Judy and the Dream of
Horses last week
- a long standing fanatical request - but I chickened out yet again as I
don't think some of our punters (The '60s psych types actually) could
handle the somewhat relaxed intro.
>John Stuart wrote (sorry, I didn't save the message)
>that his girlfriend had danced to B&S in some Edinburgh indie club.
Would that have been at The EGG? only I can't imagine FBI or
EVOL('Shine'-style Indie Superclubs) spinning B&S at all. O.K. maybe when
Dog on Wheels came out - and then only the title track - its not snobbery
on my part, since playing any other B&S would normally be commercial
suicide knowing their playlists and customer base. Maybe its another
symptom of
B&S going overground! - I'll prepare to be corrected and amazed on this
point.
By the way, if anyone wants tapes of any Felt stuff you could drop me a
line. I've got just about everything bar the first single (which probably
came out when I was about 10 yrs old!).
No Tigermilk from me unfortunately.
Bye for now,
Paul
<plaird(a)netdirect.co.uk>
"Go to work on an Egg" - Egg Marketing Board
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Has anyone heard if B&S are coming to Atlanta? I haven't heard word yet,
but I saw the note on the official homepage that they were trying...
--Steven
***************************************************************************
Steven Goldman * *
Box 22688 * Fun-lover, pop freak, sometimes *
Emory University * DJ, and aspiring actor/writer/director *
Atlanta, GA 30322 * *
(404) 251-8310 * "Faith manages." *
sgold06(a)emory.edu * --Delenn, "Babylon 5" *
WWW: http://tswww.cc.emory.edu/~sgold06 *
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