Whilst being bored and trying not to study for my Business Information Technology Systems exam, I was perusing stuff around the B&S areas of the web and found out that someone had voted for me on the list crush thing. I now like the idea of list crushes. So whoever you are (and I think I know, but I could be sadly wrong, as I usually am), thank you. You have put a smile on the face of an unhappy bunny. I have many exams, and my real-life non-list crush has begun ignoring me. And I can't go to Evie Sands as I forgot that I promised my parents I would visit them straight after my exams. Anyway, my point ..... Robert Morris wrote: I have to interject here and say that I'm quite tired of "there are no good bands in America" thing. Select magazine has a piece this month something to the effect of "...Only in America" that lists all the absolute worst that the American music industry has to offer. It lists the Matchbox, Third Eye, Sugar Ray, Jewel, Cherry Poppin', Blues Traveller, Dave MAtthews, etc. Each and every one of these bands , is of course, crap. Where are the mentions of the Beastie Boys, Beck, Pavement, Yo La Tengo, Wilco,REM, Victoria Williams etc... And if they are going to list all of these American phenomenons shouldn't All Saints, Robbie Williams, Gomez, Travis, Embrace, Catatonia et al get mentions as examples of "only in England crap." Right, the thing I liked about John Mahoney's post (presumably not the John Mahoney who plays Martin Crane in Frasier then) was the quote about not slagging off other peoples taste in music. Which he then proceeded to spoil by doing just that. Then Robert cut in to give his opinion. Which I don't agree with. I think the Beasties are the most over-rated band on the face of the earth. I think he should have mentioned American Music Club and Red House Painters in the list of best things to come out of America. Do you see my point? IT'S ALL A MATTER OF TASTE!!! YOU CAN'T CRITICIZE OTHERS' TASTE IN MUSIC JUST BECAUSE IT ISN'T THE SAME AS YOURS!!! Oh, and England can't be blamed for Catatonia and Travis as they are Welsh and Scottish. And I'd rather listen to Robbie Williams than the Beasties anyday. But that's just me. And anyway Robert, I don't think John was saying that all American artists are crap, as shortly after this point he was listing fave records as being by Money Mark and REM. So can we stop being all "oh, I'm so superior because I like Sebadoh and think Steps are the Anti-Christs, and therefore I really understand good music and can slag others off" or whatever, and get back to being fluffy again please. I've noticed a few others doing it too, and it angers me, as I like a wide range of music from My Bloody Valentine to Take That and don't want to be derided by someone having a cheap shot at shoegazers or pop kids. We all like Belle & Sebastian, so there is a common ground, but where we go from there is up to ourselves. Don't ever turn into Manics fans - you all know what I mean, thinking that other people aren;t qualified to like Belle & Sebastian as they like music you don't therefore can't understand B&S with the same passion you do. This, of course, will probably never happen. But I can see the signs. And I don't want it to happen. That's all. You can come back now. Ailsa xx +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+