Hello boys and girls I have a horrible feeling this is going to prompt death threats for me, but....well, it's about Sarah records. Yes, the Orchids were great, the Field Mice had many moments to treasure and I liked the way Heavenly failed so charmingly to be the Shangs, but er, can I upset the apple cart again? You see, I really didn't like the label, as an institution, there always seemed to be an air of the soul-destroyingly politically correct and of narrow-minded preciousness. And the result was that, while fellow fanzinists and guitar pop stalwarts of the late 80s (the likes of Stereolab and Saint Etienne) were trying new and exciting things, spreading their wings and embracing pop music in all its forms, Sarah were shunning 99% of it, and populating the label with interchangeable fey indieboys with floppy fringes and rickenbackers, and becoming a parody of themselves. I was genuinely thrilled by 'Are you scared to get happy?' at the age of 18, and I know Matt and Claire wholehearted believed in what they were doing, but their ramblings became increasingly irritating and pictures of cherries and disused railway lines didn't scream 'POP' but Middle England. So for all those people bemused by the mentions of Sarah records, don't think you're missing out too much. Belle and Sebastian aren't the logical progression of Sarah. I don't even see them as an indie band, indie is a lonely place where the catalogue number is mightier than the melody. Ultimately these songs make me catch my breath and give me the same rush as 'Disney Girls', a girl group weepie, a Northern Soul stomper, or anything written by Serge Gainsbourg or Robert Forster, something that a million Gentle Despites with a million typewriters could never do in a million years. Just my opinion... love Tag xx ----------------------------------------------------------------------- . This message was brought to you by the Sinister mailing list. . To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". . For subscribing, unsubscribing and other list information please see . http://www.majordomo.net/sinister . For questions about how the list works mail owner-sinister@majordomo.net . We're all happy bunnies humming happy bunny tunes. Aren't we? -----------------------------------------------------------------------