My head is fried from a too long day in school doing far too many things so apologies if this post makes even less sense than old posts of yore... Erm, first of all a big hurrah! for Katrina for the posters that are even as I write brightening up my classroom wall. Not that anyone can see them at the moment except maybe the caretaker making his evening rounds to make sure all the pesky students really have gone home and none are camped out in front of the rooms eager for an early start in the morning. Ahem. Yes. The poster for the album is cool, but I think more of the kids ought to have asked me what it's all about. So far no-one has said 'what is a belle and sebastian?' and nodded sideways at the wall with a confused look on their face, and that's a bit of a shame. Maybe they all know what one is and realise that therefore I am a sad old git. Perhaps. Or maybe they really do have no taste. They still wear Blink 182 hoodies round these parts you know. Sad, but desperately true. That was the first thing. Second thing is that Keith Watson clearly has as little taste as ever and that the past five years has taught him nothing... Thinking that Tracey Thorn's 'a distant shore' is shite is akin to saying the world is still flat. Which it clearly isn't. I don¹t think. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe a scientist can help us out here. Oh, and keith, go buy the Marine Girls albums and the solo Ben Watt from the same era. You'll love 'em. No, really, you will... And the eight quid's in the post. No, really, it is... Thirdly thing would be that, ah, I wish that it really were 'torquay oh' and not 'tokyo' in 'cuckoo'... Like how I wish it was 'down in oakhampton' and not 'down in old compton' in 'arab strap'. Oh well. More South West of England references needed in songs that arent by the Wurzles or by ropey tin whistle wielding hippy twats with beards and / or tie-dyed dressed. And rainbow coloured guitar straps... (shivers at the thought) And I love that there is that chessy 'rhyming' thing going on there. It's funny. I think I said it before, but it's certainly worth repeating: I think this album sounds like the band are having a lot of fun, and that's something we ought not to underestimate the importance of in Pop. Or maybe it's just me. I mean, not that all records need to be gung ho jolly jaunts, but you know... I was having a discussion on the way home from school today about art, and I was saying how in general a lot of artists in a variety of media make work which is about 'dark' or melancholic themes, and that it's a lot easier to do that than to capture the idea of fun (this is why most of my own stuff is kind of world weary - I'm just too lazy to try anything different or more challenging). When people do 'happy' it tends as often as not to be clichéd and shit and shallow... Personally I think B&S have made an upbeat album that sounds magnificent, and carries the feeling of joy whilst being underpinned with some challenging ideas and lyrics. I just think it's a genius record; their best yet, and by a fair margin. Which is something I never thought I'd say. I mean, I really had given up the ghost, was all ready to slate this record... But I can't. As Sethe would say it is L.O.V.E. Love lovely Lovvvveleeeeeeeee. Or something. I'm sure there were other things, like a fourthly and fifthly and such like, but I'm aware I've wittered long enough and really ought to bugger off now. Besides which I have a film to finish for tomorrow... Argh! Oh, and I think that B&S ought to come and play a show in my school assembly hall. They could play 'we rule the school' and 'lord anthony' and it would be a gas. Peace The Duke www.tangents.co.uk the home of unpopular culture PO box 102 . Exeter . ex4 6yz . 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 +-+ +-+ "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! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+