Hallo :) (i'm making a mixtape, so please bear with the interruptions) I won't mention the w a r because I am scared of arguments. I do think, though, that the relevance of those seven dancing dwarves Belle and Sebastian to their Sinister mailing list has always been more of a thematic one than one measurable in "content". In fact, I was reading Stuart's Diary today, and he was talking about something else, but I think he sums it up nicely: << I was into Orange Juice and had a passion for them that went beyond simply liking the music. Something about the 'idea' of them. >> The idea. That's the thing. (hold on, i'll just change the cd. pause. eject. that's right) As an example of tangential content, I was going to write a post without any reference to the band at all but it seems I can't help myself. I have to say how much I'm enjoying reading Stuart's Diary. I think that if Stuart was to make an appearance on Sinister wrapped up in disguise like an old washer woman and wrote something about his Youth Club or scrabble and we were none the wiser as to who he was, what he'd be writing is the sort of stuff i'd want to read. I think that, ignoring who he is or why he's famous, the diary's pretty good reading. This is brilliant: << When I'm about to die I'm going to go to a swamp so that I will topple in when the time comes. In 50000 years when they dig me up, pretty well preserved, the scientists will have to work out what sort of life I lead from my bone structure and teeth, and what not. Maybe I'll be clutching a Felt record or something to give them a clue. Well, they'll look at my foot and say 'This man broke a bone and it's healed funny.' And they'll look at the Felt record, analysing the grooves with a Groove Analyser and they'll say 'He was obviously in an indie band and one day the pressure got too much, and he booted a wall.' And they wouldn't be far from the truth, those crazy scientists. >> Thanks to our own Stuart too, for some excellent reporting back. I look forward to the next installment. I once interviewed a friend of mine in a bath while I played a piano in my smoking jacket. I played "Paint Your Wagon". It was for a school project and we were almost expelled for "not taking it seriously". I also ran about in my pants. Nothin' wrong with that. (click. clunk. mmm, My Lighthouse. fantastic!) I spent the weekend in Kidderminster - Twinned with Husum. No giraffes had escaped from the zoo this weekend but there was still fun to be had. I saw a smattering of snowdrops on the peak of the roundabout, I saw the ribs of the old carpet factories as they were picked apart by cranes, and I wondered about the statue of the Reverend Richard Baxter which looks greyly over his flock. The town's most overlooked hero, licked into second place by Sir Rowland Hill inventor of the postage stamp, Baxter was a nonconformist with ambitions to poke a stick in the eye of the King of England and unite the churches behind the Lord's Prayer, the Gospel, a love of sherry and a good knees up. Now he's just a statue at the side of a roundabout, overlooked by the Biggest Sainsburys in the Midlands. I still think of you, Reverend. You may remember last time I was in a bookshop in Kidderminster I saw a whole shelf of "Kidderminster - A History" positioned in the Horror section. Well, on Saturday in the same bookshop I saw a book called "The Strangest Pubs in Britain!" which features such wonders as a pub with a tree in it and a pub which is home to The Oldest Bee in the World! HOW STRANGE!!!!!! Even better than the Unnatural Tree and Ungodly Bee, however, was the poster advertising it which was packed full of "celebrity endorsements", such as: "It sounds fun" - Patrick Moore and "Best wishes for the success of your book" - Prince William Wow! I think they have a bestseller on their hands!! (la la la la! they've never seen your sentimental siiide!) Enough of this. Great to see some old faces showing up again. I'm a little worried about Eric and the tear gas, though. Hope he's okay. r o b i n x x x ps: Chris Field, sorry for being so slow to reply. It takes a while sometimes to get the old bean in gear. I will write to you soon about a Kidderminster Picnic OH MY GOD CAN IT BE?!!? [ by express delivery : http://www.superatomic.co.uk/blog ] _________________________________________________________________ Use MSN Messenger to send music and pics to your friends http://messenger.msn.co.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! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+