Hello Sinister Children, and at times, the children moniker is extremely appropriate. Paul went and said this: "Christ, you'd think that B&S were going to bomb any cities they weren't playing in. They aren't a Public Limited Company and "we", the self appointed fans, have no reason to dictate their behaviour. So we buy their records, doens't give us a mandate to have a go at them or the management" Hush Paul, no one likes logic being brought into an arguement. I don't mean to be harsh, but there's a reason a bunch of tossers say things like this about the list : "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans". Here's the thing, the band doesn't owe us a thing. No artist owes a thing to their fans or the public, that's how you end up with poxy Backstreet Boys albums clogging the system. No, if I was Stuart I'd lift two fingers to the air and say fuck it all and go curl up with a book and a pretty girl. Neil came off as a professional and decent minded chap who was letting us know not to get our hopes up for the east coast, which was fine and decent of him to do. He wasn't offensive in the least, and even apologized to the people of Toronto and Philly, while still pointing out that the band simply couldn't satisfy all their fans spread across the world. They're touring, some will see them, some won't. It also wasn't a press release, but an informal mail to the fans, so I really don't think he was out-of-line at all. Hell, maybe B&S *don't* like their fans (I seriously doubt that's the case, they probably do get a bit tired of the obsessives though), maybe they bloody well despise them. It doesn't matter. Why should it? If they put out music you like, brilliant. If not, find another band to obsess over. Christ, it's as bad as people bitching because they don't sound exactly like they did on Tigermilk anymore. I'm sure our List Honey has a bit of a headache from all this negativity already, so I hope poor Honey has a nice lay down and a cup of tea and is not too annoyed with us. Cheers Honey, we appreciate what you do for us, even when we are a bit unruley. My suggestion is to take a deep breath, step back and realize it's just a band that makes some nice music and not the center of your life (if it is the center of your life, seek professional help) and find a pretty girl or shy boy (whichever's your taste) and do many rude and heathen things with them. As I'm typing this bloody thing I look at my inbox to see: "Brit-award winners Belle & Sebastian could have a stunning new singer in their line-up - Hollywood sex bomb Angelina Jolie." That is nothing less than brilliant, if only because Sinister people all over the globe just shat themselves. Chip went on to say: "It would sum up Angelina perfectly and Belle & Sebastian would be the band to carry it off." Yes, Wild Thing probably is a perfect song for her, anyone who snogs her brother on TV and reports in a interview that she likes bringing knives into the bedroom...well, that song's right up her ally. "They ignore fashion trends and image, opting instead for their Jesus sandals, librarian v-necks and untended hair-dos." Are we talking about the same band then? That's just brilliant that is, even if the article turns out to be complete rubbish and just taking the piss. Be Sinister brothers and sisters... Jim "I haven't feel geeky or dumb since I was 17. I don't feel marginalised or outmoded and neither should anyone else in this thriving, multiplex society. When will successful, creative, intelligent people stop thinking of themselves as childlike outsiders and start engaging with the real high-stakes world? Wake up Fanboy! Wake up Fangirl! Do you want to rule the world? "- Grant Morrison +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ 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 +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+