It was in the scent of hairspray. It was in the geometry of cheekbones. It was in the tone of eyes. Such is the way of the world of course. I hadn't listened to Belle & Sebastian for such a long time it could almost have been never, but when I put on Tigermilk last week it was like the world had never breathed before and everything was turned upside down, back to front and inside out. Of course. Everything flooded into place, as it always does. Tigermilk is a record of five years ago. Of course it is because it says '1996' on the sleeve somewhere.... but more than that of course Tigermilk is a record of five years ago, as is If You're Feeling Sinister and all those songs are 1996, and are even more 1997 and it all goes fuzzy and hazy and there are all sorts of faces and names and thoughts and feelings and they mean so much and no-one can take that away and that's what's great about Pop and that's what's special about Belle and Sebastian and that's what's so wonderful about life and er,,,, STUFF. So I was Going Back... and going back means going forward of course in some ways strangely and naturally. I was going back and listening to old recordings of Belle and Sebastian shows and recalling how they were always events of wonderfully elongated moments of reflection punctuated by shorter bursts of really rather beautiful sounds. And it made me go a bit teary if you must know. So much so that I started to wonder if it wouldn't really have been a rather good idea to have tried to find some tickets to one of their concerts this year, but oh dear, I don't know you know because this year is not 1996 or 1997 and It Just Wouldn't Be The Same, Would It? Of course I'm just a snobby old school fan. But seriously, I was wondering if it wouldn't have been fine to see them again and then as I pondered this I got an email from a Jasmine Mink who wandered into their Dunoon concert hall last week when he heard the strains of 'Sinister' and thought 'is that really Belle and Sebastian' and of how during a break in this rehearsal a chap approached him and said 'Jasmine Minks!', before proceeding to tell a tale of hitching to London from Glasgow for an 'event' called 'Doing it for the Kids' way back in the mists of time. He said his name was Struan. Except obviously he didn't say his name was Struan at all. And the Jasmine Mink went back and watched them rehearse the next day and then watched them play a 'real' concert and was so impressed he told me all about it. And naturally I was jealous as hell. But of course I cannot get to any of the Belle and Sebastian concerts this year because, well, you know, I just didn't get my little epiphany soon enough and anyway I have to be in school all the time and I'll get a bit huffy in a minute if I keep on thinking about THAT... and... and... Anyway. There was going to be a point here but I'm not sure I remember what it was going to be. It might have been something to do with the fact that the first two Belle and Sebastian albums still leave me beautifully bewildered and although the Other Two have moments that sparkle they just don't quite... and oh dear me I've wittered about THAT far too much in the past, haven't i? Archives... archives... archives... So I'll shut up. And actually the point might be that isn't Pop such a wonderfully perfect receptacle to store all sorts of memories and emotions in and aren't you/we/I lucky to have some NEW Belle and Sebastian Pop Recordings in which to do just that. Mine will be to do with the scent of hairspray, the geometry of cheekbones, and the tone of eyes. But that's just today. I think you should all tell us yours. And in hindsight there was no point to this post after all, except to say hello to Honey and Peter and everyone else who has been here since the day dot. I probably love you all. Only not in that particular way... The Duke. Tangents the home of unpopular culture www.tangents.co.uk editor@tangents.co.uk po box 102, exeter, ex4 6za, uk +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@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 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+