- Sinister - missprint.org

Sinister: Do They Mean Us? They Surely Do!
by Peter Miller 07 Feb '06

07 Feb '06

Former listee Alexis Petridis has written a very interesting review of The Life Support in The Guardian. It is an entertaining piece which will surely not be bettered, and it is always a pleasure to read about oneself in the national press, so I thought I would post it here in case anyone missed it. It is presented without further comment: ------------------------------------- Pop CD Belle and Sebastian, The Life Pursuit (Rough Trade) Alexis Petridis Friday February 3, 2006 The Guardian The seasoned rock critic invariably approaches a new Belle and Sebastian album with apprehension. This is not caused by the album or the band, but by Belle and Sebastian's fans. They may be commonly depicted as the drippiest in rock, but nothing could be further from the truth: they're like the Chelsea Headhunters, if the Chelsea Headhunters had bought their clothes from Sue Ryder and cultivated a working knowledge of nouvelle vague cinema. Say a word against the Scottish septet in print and they launch kamikaze raids on your inbox and write letters to your editor in cat's blood. Most artists would kill for supporters as devoted and ingenious. Long before the Arctic Monkeys, Belle and Sebastian's fans had worked out that the internet could raise a band's profile: block voting by their web community won the band the 1999 best newcomer Brit. The downside is that a die-hard fanbase like Belle and Sebastian's will put up with almost anything: they're too busy clobbering non-believers to death with their vintage BOAC holdalls to criticise the band itself. The records that snared the fans - Belle and Sebastian's second album, 1996's If You're Feeling Sinister, and the three subsequent EPs - were as astonishing as the ensuing releases were patchy. Blessed with a unique writing talent, leader Stuart Murdoch persisted in letting other members contribute songs, to deleterious effect: few bands have ever been so hobbled by the willingness to "let Ringo have a go". However, 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress served notice of a shift in approach. Murdoch was back in charge, while the production desk was manned by Trevor Horn, the man behind both Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax and Barry Manilow's Could It Be Magic '93. The result was their best album in years: they were nominated for Mercury and Ivor Novello awards and sent as War on Want ambassadors to the Palestinian Occupied Territories, the latter occurrence prompting hopes that the charity may yet try to resolve the conflict in East Timor by parachuting in the Pastels. Its follow-up attempts to repeat the feat. The idea of Belle and Sebastian decamping to LA to work with a big-name producer would once have seemed as improbable as Belle and Sebastian driving a Harley-Davidson around a hotel suite filled with empty Jack Daniel's bottles and coked-out nymphettes; even so, the choice of Tony Hoffer as producer seems less bold than Trevor Horn. Horn is a maverick; Hoffer is just one of those Americans who get called when dreary British bands like Idlewild and the Thrills need a bit of Californian polish. The end result follows suit. Dear Catastrophe Waitress saw Belle and Sebastian confidently applying fresh musical ideas to their wispy template: electro-pop and dub, Glitter Band stomp and, most unlikely of all, the twin guitar attack of Thin Lizzy on the wonderful I'm a Cuckoo. The Life Pursuit offers further experiments but they don't quite have the same consistency or impact as their predecessors. The electronic glam of White Collar Boy and Song For Sunshine's spidery funk sound fantastic, but there's something forced about We Are the Sleepyheads' frantic disco, and the odd combination of syncopated beats and affected Bolan-esque warble on Sukie in the Graveyard is just too lumpy to digest. Sukie in the Graveyard highlights a paradox at The Life Pursuit's heart. On its predecessor, the best tracks were the most musically adventurous. Here, you can applaud Belle and Sebastian for trying something different, but the highlights stick closest to their well-worn blueprint. The carefree jangle and swooping melody of Another Sunny Day could have come from any of their albums to date, while Dress Up in You employs every trick in Belle and Sebastian's well-thumbed book - ineffably melancholy piano, muted orchestration, choirboy vocals, a lyric that slowly reveals itself to be written from a female perspective - and still sounds heartbreaking rather than hackneyed. Act of the Apostle II and The Blues Are Still Blue are gorgeous and both token homages to Stuart Murdoch's beloved Felt (there is, incidentally, at least one somewhere in the lyrics or music or sleevenotes of every Belle and Sebastian album, a kind of musical Where's Wally? for people who know more than is strictly healthy about 1980s indie); the former is inspired by Felt's impenetrable instrumental albums Train Above the City and Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death, the latter obviously indebted to Felt frontman Lawrence's latterday project, Denim. Literate, droll, moving and often very beautiful, The Life Pursuit certainly isn't a bad album, but it's a disappointment after Dear Catastrophe Waitress. The diehard fans, who, even as you read this, are filling their fountain pens with sulphuric acid, won't mind. The less committed might be advised to wait and see what Belle and Sebastian come up with next time. --------------------------- And this... is me. I do not like the packaging of the new album. It is sexist, promotes paedofiddlia, and the knees are nobbly. The latter is a problem that has beset B&S before, notably in the Read It In Books video. It is a good album though, I give it four stars. I think maybe the excitement of the approaching release date was a bit too much for Sol Campbell. I hope to attend the Hammersmith Palais concert, so I might see some of you there. Kind regards, Sister Disco +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: in pursuit of a beer
by Hewitt, Stephen 07 Feb '06

07 Feb '06

ello babies THE BAPPS, he sa: > > Monsieur Carsmile was suggesting some Pre-Hammersmith Gig > pubbage. But I seek clarification about which establishment > should be the meeting place. I can't hold my booze like I > used to and despite it's close proximity to Apps Towers am > not too familiar with the various merits of Hammersmith's > hostelries. If anyone can recommend a decent one me and my > other half will certainly see you there! I haf ascertained that the bouzer I was refering to last week is the DUKE OF CORNWALL: http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/51/5193/Duke_of_Cornwall/Hammersm ith Which is very close to the appollo, as previously mentioned. I intend to be there for 5. it's not the biggest place in the world, but I don't think there are that many of us turning up, are there? You find me in less than fine fettle this morning my sinibabies. Despite railing loudly about people who come to work when poorly, here I sit, feeling like cr@p, because we haf an auditor in today. I wouldn't mind, but it's not like I can even tell her much having only been in my new job for a month or so... I have yet to buy the album, but I have a sicknote for yesterday please miss. I think I shall go to FOPP at lunchtime. Who knows, I might even bump into sister disco lurking round covent garden... FINALLY, if anyone happens to have a spare (standing) ticket for Friday, I'd be very eager to take it off yr hands. I thought I had one sorted for mypete, but then my cow-orker has sold it to someone else in the meantime, d'oh... Nice to see a busy list (haha, nearly typed busty list there! That's an entirely different mailing list...), KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! xoxo Carsmile **************************************************************************** For the latest City Lit news &information, please visit our website www..citylit.ac.uk **************************************************************************** The City Literary Institute Registered Office: 1-10 Keeley Street, London WC2B 4BA Registered in England no: 2471686 Registered Charity no: 803007 **************************************************************************** PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE. **************************************************************************** This e-mail may contain privileged or confidential information. The message and any files transmitted with it are intended only for the use of the recipient or organisation to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, no action may be taken on the information nor may it be copied or shown to a third party and you are asked to notify the sender named above. Views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where specifically stated to be the views of The City Literary Institute. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: Belfast gig
by James Jackson 06 Feb '06

06 Feb '06

'ello, awful to only come out of lurkerdom for concerts, but I was just wondering if anyone would like to meet up before the belfast gig on Tuesday? Maybe go to Auntie Annie's for a pre-gig pint? Regardless, great to see lot's of people being enthusiastic about the tour, I've seen them four times now and each time it's the best gig I've been to... Watched the bonus DVD last night, very good indeed! Regards, James J ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Photos � NEW, now offering a quality print service from just 8p a photo http://uk.photos.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: in pursuit of a penis
by Ben Apps 06 Feb '06

06 Feb '06

Wotcha! Having resisted the temptation to listen to the entire album before it's release date, I scampered down to 'aitch em vee on my way to work, and plumped for the special edition bonus dvd version of the album. My own portable CD player having packed up a few years ago I cleverly hid Rachel's pink Hello Kitty one inside the HMV bag and pressed play. The first half of the album quickly gained my approval. The T-Rexish stomp of The Blues are still Blue is an early favourite. Things progress nicely (I'm loving Sarah's 'bada bada bada's' on We are the sleepyheads) until the first stumbling block for me, "Song for Sunshine". I can't get "Hello Sunshine" by the Super Furries out of my head. "To be myself completely" failed to really get going. Not sure if it's a Stevie song, he's certainly singing the lead. Nice to see the closer referencing one of London's most attractively restored tube stations (or the Radio 4 show/game). Overall from 2 listenings I give The Life Pursuit 10/13. Monsieur Carsmile was suggesting some Pre-Hammersmith Gig pubbage. But I seek clarification about which establishment should be the meeting place. I can't hold my booze like I used to and despite it's close proximity to Apps Towers am not too familiar with the various merits of Hammersmith's hostelries. If anyone can recommend a decent one me and my other half will certainly see you there! ttfn Ben -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.brapps.net +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: chicago info
by leyda campbell 05 Feb '06

05 Feb '06

i am from st. louis but it would be cool to meet up with some sinisters from chicago...my hometown. let me know what the plan is. over and out. xoxox leyda _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 in chicago...is going to rock!!
by leyda campbell 05 Feb '06

05 Feb '06

i have my tix for the chicago show with B&S and New Pornographers. i am so excited i can hardly stand it. any kids from the list going to that one?? not to be a brat but it is going to be WONDERFUL!!! hope i can see some listers there. xoxo leyda _________________________________________________________________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee® Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: The New Pornographers, Pursuing Life...and a less catchy subject line
by Nik Ovenden 05 Feb '06

05 Feb '06

Hello all, Firstly, I am *immensely* jealous all of you US-ers will get to see The New Pornographers alongside our beloved B&S. That is a gig to rival all gigs. With crossed fingers (assuming the exam gods don't dump a test on the same weekend), i will be at Weekend 2 of ATP06, so I'll get to see the Pornos too. They are absolutely Fan-f****ng-tastic. You jammy gits. I finally bought a copy of DCW; since I'm buying the Life Pursuit i figured it was time to pick up a DCW too. Ooh, i'm also buying that comic book anthology, what a sweet concept. Hooray for B&S popularity, although i second the big booooo for loud, drunk, rude and cellphone talking boorish louts at the recent gigs. I didn't go because i am poor, but I'm sure B&S were excellent despite the louts. Content: I have the radcliffe session on my PC after listening live [email me ;)]. They were very "chuffing" good, quite witty and Mark Radcliffe now intones just like John Peel used to; i think we've found the man who wants to fit into that market. The last semester of uni sucks. I'm not saying i'm emailing you *just* to avoid deadlines, but I'd be lying if that didn't have something to do with it. And then in 4 months i get shown the door and have to be an adult. bollocks to that. I'm going to take a holiday, with what little cash i can scrape off my bedside table...ooh, 24p. Great. I can take a holiday to the corner shop to buy a banana. Ooh and the superbowl's tonight. I get to stay up till 4am drinking weak american beer and watch men clout each other (go steelers). Still, bang goes another evening that i could spend doing my essays. This semester I am doing a course on "Happiness", one on Chinese Medicine, and the other 2 are core courses about power, language and other dense things. Just as i get to love social anthropology, I'm graduating into a world that doesn't use us well. Grr. So apart from graduation dissatisfaction and essay deadlines, my world rocks out. The recent musical discoveries fill me with happiness, I love my degree and scotland is surprisingly un-wet for this time of year. Thanks to the groundhog for saying we only have 6 more weeks of winter, too. Usually Edinburgh's winter is October-May. If anyone wants a S*nister meetup in Edinburgh, get in touch. Picnics in February? How twee. Lots of love, Niko xxxx __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.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: Cambridge Reporting Back
by robster 04 Feb '06

04 Feb '06

Excellent night at the Corn Exchange. Band on form, new stuff very good and lots of Sinister. Hooray! REMEMBERED... *Stuart wore a nice stripey blazer *They played The State I'm In :):):):) *They made a couple of stabs at starting We Rule the School then gave up and said "we'll do it tomorrow" TAKE NOTE BRIGHTON *In response to audience pressure they played Fox in the Snow *Despite a shouted request from a drunk bloke in the middle of the audience, they failed to play My Humps More Reporting Back you lot! robster ___________________________________________________________ NEW Yahoo! Cars - sell your car and browse thousands of new and used cars online! http://uk.cars.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: Nebraska listees?
by Grant Bennett 04 Feb '06

04 Feb '06

Hello, all. I really don't have much to post, B&S related or otherwise, but I am curious as to whether or not there are any listees in Nebraska, specifically SE Nebraska. I'm based out of Beatrice right now, and there are any number of ways to reach me. I'm just curious since that in an area with over 300,000 people, I've met two that know of B&S, and only one that's a fan. -- Grant Off-topic, and inspired by Andrea Kittenmouse, I also have Animal Crossing for the DS. I'm Rawk in DeGrassi, and I'll post my friend code if you'll post yours. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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: Best of 2005??
by Javi Sorribes 04 Feb '06

04 Feb '06

I know best-of-2004 wasn't too successful, but... hey, I had to try!!! Rules are here (pasted from Bruno's message for 2004). By the way, we're talking about albums!! i'd like to hear about your "best-of-2005" lists, so please send them to this addy [*] with best-of-2005 as subject. please send lists with up to 20 albums. if you can sort the 20 lucky ones according to their "ranks", please format the list like this: 1 - xxx 2 - yyy 3 - zzz ... the 1st will get 20 pts, the 2nd will get 19 pts, etc. but if you can't decide if xxx is better or worse than yyy: - xxx - yyy - zzz ... each entry will get 10,5 pts (in a list of 20) and that's that for now! [*] and not to the list cos i think it would be fun to compile them and only then post the results in the first days of march, ok? HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL!!! -- Javi Sorribes javiersorribes(a)gmail.com http://javiersorribes.blogspot.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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