Hello fellow appriciators of B & S. I have been on the list for a few weeks but this is my first mail. On the subject of converting friends to Belle and Sebastian, I was actually converted to them by someone on this list. My friend Richard started raving about this band I had never heard of late last year. I heard them quietly in the background in his car and thought, this is quite good but nothing really special. The next week I was in HMV in Kingston with money in my pocket wondering which CD to buy. When I walked past the B section, 'If You're Feeling Sinister' seemed to stand out to me and I picked it up straight away and bought it. At the time I wasn't quite sure why but I have never regretted it. It must surely be the magic of Belle and Sebastian. When I got home and was able to listen to it properly on my own I understood the true brilliance of it. I think Belle and Sebastian's music is very personal and does not work as background music when you are with a lot of people - much better to listen to on your own. The song that really appealed to me first and made me think what a brilliant band they are was Judy and the Dream of Horses. I immediately phoned Richard up to ask him if I could borrow his B & S EPS which I also thought were excellent. If it wasn't for that impulse buy in HMV I wouldn't be writing this now and I would still have been listening to Radiohead, ignorant of the existence of B & S. Richard has lent me his tape copy of Tiger Milk for the weekend and although it sounds rather like 'If You're Feeling Sinister', that isn't really much of a criticism as they are much worse things it could sound like and it does predate IYFS. My friend is infact Richard 'Northy' North. I go to the same college as him and do A - Levels but I do not share his strong right-wing politics (which I am not sure if even he believes in). I do share his appreciation for Catatonia and the Lightning Seeds (who I was into before him and are truly marvellous live). I also went to Catatonia gig with North the other night and Catatonia were good despite what North says. I would also have to disagree with his point about Superstar being 'dull, dull, dull'. On the tube on the way home from that gig, a homeless guy made a speech to the train carriage we were in about his situation. He said he was in a catch-22 situation, no fixed address means he can't get a job or dole, and no job means he can't get a fixed address. He said he had worked all his life and had been in our position and didn't like being bothered by the likes of him. But if anyone could spare any change, food or even water it would be greatly appreciated, and if we couldn't or didn't want to, that was okay too. I had no money or food on me but North had money and gave none, nobody gave the man anything. He didn't complain, he just went onto the next carriage to give his speech again. After he was gone North was complaining saying he hated people like that - making him feel guilty, laying the 'guilt trip' on him. He also said the guy had no right to do that to him. How selfish is Northy? Oh dear, did the homeless guy make poor old North feel guilty. Perhaps if he felt guilty then there was something to feel guilty about. I felt sorry for the guy and wished I could help but did not hate him for talking to us. This is not a personal attack on Northy, I am just letting you all know the truth. I do not need to make the obligatory first mail to the list request for Tiger Milk as I already have a copy (even though it isn't mine). As North will be gone from the list for a while, you will have to make to with me. I am less controversial but also live in Ashford which makes me a perfect Northy substitute. If anyone wants to see what Northy looks like (Tag may be curious) they can mail me privately and I can tell them where on the internet to go (yes Northy is out there somewhere in cyberspace). I would be really interested to hear Beck's interpretations of any B & S songs. I think he would probably ruin most of them but it could work. It would be very interesting. Take care everyone, Paul (the new one) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fill in own amusing or clever line here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- . 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? -----------------------------------------------------------------------