Hi everyone, Subject line was prompted by Stuart name-checking Gerard Langley in the Q & A. It's been so long since I've posted or done anything remotely sinister-y at all that the experience feels a bit like exploring the attic, finding an old box of photographs, blowing the dust off and opening it up to relive old memories and discover some things which you've forgotten about totally. What have I been doing whilst I've been away? Well, one thing is that I've set up a blog. I'm not quite sure why. I've no idea whether I'll find the whole thing so compelling that I'll be posting to it all the time, or whether it will become such a chore that I'll rapidly begin to resent its existence. Anyway, right now I've got so many ideas buzzing around in my head, just like the un-named character in the Bangles' "If She Knew What She Wants", that I feel that I'll be contributing quite regularly, just like the Kaiser. If the summer is for picnics, then surely autumn and winter are for travelling long distances for gigs. There's no reason why I shouldn't go to London or indeed even further to see bands I like at other times of the year (and I often do) but it is convenient - ok, then, *lazy*, to divide the year up in this way, especially as my two visits to RoTa have both been towards the close of 2000 and 2001 respectively. Tomorrow, however, its off to the very local Cellar to see Chris T-T whom I've only read about, not actually heard, but anyone who writes a song about a bus route must be good, surely? So James Thorniley has joined the York Sinister Massive. It's ages since I've been to York, but I have lots of good memories of it...the Burning of the Boats ceremony on the Ouse, the smell of chocolate wafting through the air from the Terry's factory, searching unsuccessfully for Dick Turpin's grave and almost missing the train home (I swaer someone had been moving the signs around). Has York produced anything of merit musically lately? It's somewhat unfortunate that the only band I can think of from York is Sh*d S*v*n. There is no such thing as the Oxford Sinister Massive. I wish there was. Maybe there are some sinister freshers who lurk, who knows? The Boy G is here apparently, though I have yet to bump into him. Ever had that experience of finally noticing something and going "duh, oh yeah" in a slightly embarrassed and quite-a-bit asinine sort of way? I owned Teenage Fanclub's "Grand Prix" album for years before I realised that each band member is standing under a sign with his own name on it. Been playing this album a lot lately for some reason (and looking up verisimilitude in the dictionary). And with Norman Blake playing Stevie's dad, that almost counts as 'content' ;). "if you're feeling like a minister, go off and write to sinister", wrote Juju, but which kind of "feeling like"? You can feel like you're dressed up in a cassock and are about to be offered more tea, or alternatively be reading Canon Roger Royle's column in Woman's Weekly and suddenly think, "Phwoar! I'll have me some of that!" Very confusing, this language of ours. Time flies like an arrow, etc. Mark. ______________________________________________________________ For up-to-the-minute music news, reviews and specials visit http://www.nme.com Get free e-mail (anyname@nme.com) now at http://www.nmemail.com The sender of this e-mail is NOT an employee or associate of NME, nme.com or any other IPC magazine. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+