1. It is perfectly possible to avoid the new "Candle In The Wind" by
either finding a decent radio station (like London's new XFM, which
plays alternative music all day), or by just not listening to the radio.
I managed to miss the whole of Diana's funeral by being in bed
recovering from the night before...
[Keith Watson]
Oddly enough - we decided that as a mark of respect, we'd spend almost 15 hours complete silence, in a near-comatose state ourselves. It's avoidable but let's face facts, it's got to get irritating.
Anyway - last I heard about XFM, their idea of "alternative" music was like Carter USM and Ned's Atomic Dustbin - if that's alternative then I'm sticking with Genesis.
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When they asked for requests the guy sitting next to me whispered
"Freebird" thank god he didn't have the guts to shout it out loud.
The host's intro seemed shy and meek to me and that kinda fit with the
whole atmosphere.
I agree the wait was grueling, but it made me appreciate the
experience that much more.
Leslie.
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Sinister: re: PBS taping
Author: Francisco Alberto Wong <faw1(a)columbia.edu> at X-MAIL
Date: 9/9/97 10:06 PM
I had the recent fortune of being able to attend the perhaps now fabled
Sessions on 54th taping of Belle and Sebastian.
While the wait outside was gruelling--especially while watching VIP/press
and industry people walk right in without having to wait as long, the show
was very well worth it.
I wish the band had played more songs off IYFS or the 2 current eps, but
still, being witness to a slew of new songs certainly made the event
interesting. Part of the excitement was also seeing the notoriously
camera-shy band in person--quite a good-looking band, eh?--as well as having
the back of my head gloriously presented before the cameras as they craned
and dollied here and there 'round them.
Isobel sang the first song, "Is It Wicked Not To Care". This was followed
by "Like Dylan In the Movies", "Ease Your Feet In the Sea", "Century of
Elvis", "Slow Graffitti", a flubbed and playful "Mayfly" (Stuart had to
read the lyrics of a copy of the album that an audeince member donated), a
slow (lazy?) "Lazy Line-Painter Jane", "Seymour Stein" (which I believe
Stevie sang), "Sleep the Clock Around", the epic "Roller COaster Ride".
It was beautiful. They were playful even tho nervous. I wish I saw them
Saturday or Sunday, you lucky lucky people.
When they asked for a cover, I'm glad no one yelled out Freebird; someone
should have yelled out "Jennifer Juniper". I should have yelled out
"Jennifer Juniper".
Did anyone else think the host's intro kinda cheesy, or not genuine?
francisco
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Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 22:06:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: Francisco Alberto Wong <faw1(a)columbia.edu>
To: sinister <sinister(a)majordomo.net>
Subject: Sinister: re: PBS taping
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.95L.970908220609.15131B-100000(a)labdien.cc.columbia.edu>
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Here you go... copied word for word from the back of a setlist (I knew
there was a reason I nicked that!)
----------------------
Sleep the Clock Around
And the moment will come when composure returns
Put a face on the world, turn your back to the wall
And you walk twenty yards with your head in the air
Down the Liberty Hill, where the fashion brigade
Look with curious eyes on your raggedy way
And for once in your life you have nothing to say
And could this be the time when somebody will come
To say "Look at yourself, you're not much use to anyone"
Take a walk in the park, take a valium pill
Read the letter you got from the memory girl
But it takes more than this to make sense of the day
Yeah it takes more than milk to get rid of the taste
And you trusted to this, and you trusted to that
And when you saw it all come, it was waving the flag
Of the United States of Calamity, hey!
After all that you've done, I am sure you're going to pay
In the morning you come to the ladies salon
To get all fitted out for the Paperback Throne
But the people are living far away from the place
Where you wanted to help, its a bit of a waste
And the puzzle will last till somebody will say
"There's a lot to be done while your head is still young"
If you put down your pen leave the trouble behind
Then the moment will come, and the memory wil shine
Now the trouble is over, everybody got paid
Everybody is happy, they are glad that they came
Then you go to the place where you've finally found
You can look at yourself, sleep the clock around
--
Soozy
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Aha, someone with a couple of years on chris@secretsounds...(surprised you
gave it up ras'). I went to the PBS taping, arriving several hours before
the doors opened and sitting on the sidewalk -- drinking soda from a brown
paper bag for the total wino ambiance -- was worth it. Although the sound
quality was not good where I sat behind the guitar amp missing most of the
vocals (two seats away from chris but not nearly important enough to
mention), it was wonderful to see the band. They were so young and so
nervous that you had to love them even without knowing the music. The Sunday
show more than made up for anything missed on Friday. I think that any of
the "roughness " that people have been commenting on was probably due to
nerves or shyness, which was wearing off as the weekend wore on. I think
that the amazing crowd reaction helped them loosen up a bit as well -- at the
taping people were much more subdued and I don't think they got as much
"feedback" -- people were pretty much huddled in the cold studio.
On Sunday we, too, were imposed upon by the Times' photographer. She
certainly had a way of spreading herself out and getting in the way -- and
that flash!! -- at one point Stuart Murdoch put his foot up to block a shot,
and the guitarist kept waving her away. I thought the Times review was
lacking, with too much emphasis on things like instrument changes and too
little attention to the magic of the music. For the record, it was so hot
that they couldn't lower the mike because their fingers were sweaty from
playing -- Doug was more than happy to help!
Michele (sorry chris))
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There's alot of sexual overtones in B&S's lyrics. I've also found that
quite a few songs hinted that the writer was gay (or bi). Any info to help
me out on this?
-alex
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Just out of curiosity, how many of us were at the NYC shows? I was at the TV
taping (by the piano) and the Sunday night show...
Anyone else?
Paige
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greetings!
I too was at the taping on friday and the show sunday night! was
everyone on this list there?? seems like a high percentage of us at any rate!
at the taping i was sitting behind the guitar amp stage right - between
mathew kaplan superstar (you know-helen love's lawyer - they wrote a song
about him) and dominique of ny band ivy -
ivy has a new record out in usa oct 7 - and it is absolutely fabulous and
sure to rate right up there with sinister as best records of 97!! please
give it a listen if you get the chance - it features dean wareham and james
iha on a couple of tracks... but i digress - i was also the fella who
sheepishly pulled out my sinister LP for stuart to read off of - kind of
embarrassing but they autographed it with lovely sentiment afterwards... so,
well worth the bother of carting it around! As for the performances -
nothing short of fantastic! While very nervous at the taping they still gave
lovely renditions even with the occaisional goof - they are, after all, human
and you can certainly here a few strained moments on the records too - and i
feel leaving those moments on the record, rather than overdubbing to
perfection is part of the open, honest approach which makes them so
appealing. on sunday they were certainly more confident - and since it was
technically not a cmj showcase show the pressure was off and they could just
play - excellent performance despite the sauna like heat and humidity - a
real endurance test at the end of the cmj marathon!
i am curious as to what bands others on the list saw during the cmj week -
anyone care to share? and for those who don't know - the cmj music marathon
is a once a year event where 300 or so bands converge on nyc to play over
four days for assembled college radio types and other industry fringe persona
from all over the usa- you can never see all you want to! as for myself, i
had to drive an hour in and out of the city, work in the shop then do it
again for five days - ouch! - so the marathon aspect is certainly close to
home - here is what i was able to see:
snowpony, wannadies,belle & sebastion, high llamas, doktor kosmos, linoleum,
scarfo, magoo, mulu, beth orton & finally belle & sebastion again! imagine
if i stayed in new york how many more i could have seen....
well i hope i have not bored anyone - take care all !
chris(a)secretsounds.com
ps - i am coming to london oct 1st - 6th - can anyone reccomend any good
shows at that time!? - looks like i am already planing to see helen
love/yatsura on the 2nd(my birthday- i will be 41!!can anyone on here top
that age?) and sukia/stereolab on the 4th
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Firstly, the surprise, ( but not too surprising, for we knew after their Peel
Sessions that they were great) of the week was the Delgados at the Merc on
Saturday night. This band is sensational and if they continue to develop the
flute/strings ideas that they showed off there, their next record is gonna
amaze.
Of the three B&S shows (PBS and two at the temple), Sunday's set and the PBS
show set were quite similar. Saturday's set was shorter than Sunday's, but
songs included Judy, State I Am In, Seymour Stein, Get Me Away From Here, and
the VU's What Goes On, which included the 30 seconds of magic where Stevie
babbled about being in NYC and doing the song for that reason, the Stuart
saying, but Stevie, i am the singer, so why are you talking so much, then
Stevie calling Stuart a "fuckin' cunt," then the bandgoing into the song full
force, Steviesinging, and Stuart taking off his guitar and dancing for the
first half of the song. It was brilliant. It was groovy. Stevie play
guitar like he's in a 6tees soul band.
And finally we caught the Pastels/Autumn Leaves/Delgados/Orange
Peels/HoneyBunch show in Boston last night, and though we were close to death
for both the drive up and down from NYC, it was well worth it. Delgados were
just as thrilling w/out the strings, Autumn Leavesare a unique 6tees
pysch-pop foursome from the Twin Cities with total grace and style on
stage-new album on Grimsey out in the very near future so look for it-and the
Pastels closed it out with a set that included Over my Shoulder and Through
Your Heart.
B&S review in the NY Times today.
yours,
bts
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Hello there! Here's the Times review of the B+S show on Sunday. Sorry if
this took too long to load up, or if someone else has already sent it to you.
Enjoy!
--Matt
Good music doesn't always come to you. Sometimes you have to find it
yourself, without radio, MTV, major record chains and magazines. But somehow,
in Manhattan, quality in pop and rock usually doesn't go unheralded. Concerts
by two new, promising and little-known British acts, Beth Orton (on Saturday
night at the Westbeth Theater) and Belle and Sebastian (on Sunday night at
the Angel Orensanz Foundation on the Lower East Side), were filled to
capacity with admiring fans, most of whom had discovered these artists via
word of mouth.
Unlike Oasis, Blur and other bands playing Brit-pop, Ms. Orton and Belle
and Sebastian played light, airy Brit-folk characterized more by shyness than
brashness. Softness, plainness and sensitivity were not signs of weakness but
goals to be pursued in songs chiseled out of delicate arrangements and smart,
perceptive lyrics. Self-effacing onstage, both acts seemed embarrassed when
the audience applauded at the beginning of a song it recognized. Both also
consisted of eight-piece ensembles that weren't afraid to destabilize the
folk songs with touches of punk-rock and electronic dance-music. At the same
time, each song would have sounded just as good performed by one person on an
acoustic guitar.
Ms. Orton dedicated "I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine" to Diana, Princess of
Wales, softly intoning such moving lyrics as "If I never saw the sunshine,
baby, then maybe I wouldn't mind the rain." As soon as she was finished, she
added a punk-rock editorial, exclaiming, "Fascist regime!" a quote from the
Sex Pistols' anarchist version of "God Save the Queen." "I'm not a royalist,"
she explained, "but I am a humanist."
On her album, "Trailer Park" (Heavenly), Ms. Orton sounds like Tim Buckley
or Nick Drake updated as an experimental trip-hop act. But in concert, Ms.
Orton sounded more traditional, like an underground version of Jewel. A child
of the 70's with a tender touch on guitar and a beautiful voice fading on
this last night of her American tour, she backed her songs with cello,
violin, drums, percussion, guitar and bass.
In songs like "Galaxy of Emptiness" and "She Cries Your Name," her lyrics
examined the whole of the universe and the entire landscape of the mind and
found nothing but loneliness.
Though just as introverted, the Scottish ensemble Belle and Sebastian was
more of an anomaly. Its members appear to be lazy, unambitious bumblers full
of private jokes they're too sleepy to share. Members forgot lyrics, fell out
of rhythm, lost their place during melodies and took long pauses to switch
instruments. During one break, they asked an audience member for help in
lowering the microphone stand.
But somehow, the songs sounded meticulous and exquisite, with Stuart
Murdoch singing in a shy, sweet voice buoyed by a loosely knit cushion of
guitars, violin, cello, brass, drums and keyboards. The approach was best
summed up in lyrics from one of its albums, "Nobody writes them like they
used to/So it may as well be me." Though there is nary a low point on its
excellent second album, "If You're Feeling Sinister" (Jeepster/The Enclave),
or its even newer singles, Belle and Sebastian performed mostly unreleased
songs. Its lyrics looked at characters like a woman modeling the Velvet
Underground in clay, a runner who breaks hearts and lots of people in boring
jobs with active fantasy lives. Its knack was for simple storytelling, with
each lyric thinly veiling a world as lonely as Ms. Orton's. "Could I write a
piece about you now that you've made it?" Mr. Murdoch sang in his winsome,
genteel voice in the song about the runner. "About the hours spent, the
emptiness in your training/You only did it so that you could wear/Your terry
underwear/ And feel the city air/Run past your body."
After an hour of watching the concert, fans may have loved the band, but
they still didn't understand it. "You're so very quiet," Mr. Murdoch told the
audience.
When the crowd responded by cheering, he raised a hand and meekly tried to
stop them. "No," he explained, "we like that."
Copyright 1997 The New York Times
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Hey, I was at the taping, as well both Angel Orensanz shows!
At the taping I was sitting right behind the drummer, Richard.
Hey Francisco and you had the best seats in the house!!!
Leslie.
______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________
Subject: Re: Sinister: NYC shows
Author: Francisco Alberto Wong <faw1(a)columbia.edu> at X-MAIL
Date: 9/9/97 7:09 PM
> Just out of curiosity, how many of us were at the NYC shows? I was at the TV
> taping (by the piano) and the Sunday night show...
> Anyone else?
> Paige
Uh, I was there. I was the nerdy asian kid sitting in the very front.
Yeah, that was me that the host pointed out as having found out about the
taping "from the website". Sigh.
it was nice that they played mostly new songs.
francisco
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Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 19:09:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: Francisco Alberto Wong <faw1(a)columbia.edu>
To: MPRVixen(a)aol.com
cc: sinister(a)majordomo.net
Subject: Re: Sinister: NYC shows
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