Bless you, bless you all of you pretty girls (and boys, let's not be sexist)! I feel more than a bit ashamed that my first mail to The List is not a heartwarming story about lost loves and new dreams, nor is it a somewhat belated thought on whether briefs are better than boxers or whatever that whole underwear discussion was about. I have a story though on Stuart D. and the rest of Looper, but I am keeping it for my last paragraph, so I hope you all wille read the boring part in between as well. Having reread it, I feel not that secure about the length as well. I will try not to worry as much as I do. Promise. A friend of mine invited me to visit him in Berlin thursday, which is the-day-after-tomorrow. Unfortunately, four of the nights I will be in this immense construction site that the Big B. seems to be turning into, he will have his family over as well. Great for him because now they can celebrate his sisters birthday all together in a most cheerfull manner, but poor me... Now I * sob sob * will have to sleep under the Dammbrücke or under the trees of the Friedrichshain Park. The Youth Hostel is full and I am even planning to stay home in Amsterdam, unless I find a place to stay in Beautiful Berlin. Is there any sinisterine from Berlin who can accommodate me for <bold>sunday, monday, tuesday and wednesday night</bold>? I will only need a place to put my little matress and I will be fine. Of course The Good Angel that will help (Berlin? Angels? I think there's a Wim Wenders flashback coming up from somewhere) shall always be welcome in my humble residence in Amsterdam, which is according to some English pothead friends I once met the ideal city to listen to B&S in. Euh... actually only one of them knew the band. Come to think of it, they were Irish. But hey, it was six o' clock in the morning and the awaking birds were making a hell of a noise. I anybody has some great suggestions on what places I should definitely visit in Berlin, please mail them as well. I may have a Rough Guide of the city, but the good stuff is never in those publications. It's like Alex Garland wrote in his miraculously exciting novel The Beach (go read it before the Leonardo di Caprio-movie is making it impossible to enjoy the story because his pouting face will stare at you continuously while reading the book). Visiting places recommended by word of mouth is okay, when sites are in Lonely Planets etc. you can bet they are filled with monstrous souvenir stalls, American college students with to much money and too little imagination and the prices are doubled... each month. What club is most likely to play B&S for instance - or is the whole of clubland Berlin one big Love Parade House Thump all year? Are there any really nice places to see? Mail them to me privately at <bold>laarmans@dds.nl</bold>, otherwise The List will change into a surreal tourist information point. If there's a meet-up planned before the second of July, let me know as well. But now the Stuart D.-story you have all been waiting for (?). There are actually two stories. I interviewed Stuart two months ago im Amsterdam for my new popculture internet magazine that will go online at the end of July. If any of you would like to be foreign correspondent, you are by the way all very welcome to apply! Let's make it a worldwide media conglomerate run by sinisterines! But back to the stories... He told me two very strange tales. One was about the albums they have released. Stuart said all the members of the band really despised (he used that word) IYFS! It had nothing to do with the sound they tried to create and Stuart M's twisting the knobs of the mixing decks for weeks and weeks at an end didn't improve the end result a bit. They weren't very comfotable with TBWTAS as well, but now Tigermilk is going to be released on cd, finally the poor people-that-are-not-priviliged-by-ever-having-heard-a-vinly-copy-or-a-tape-of-Tigermilk will finally know what B&S is really about. Another story he told me was hat just before there show in Amsterdam this year (or was it just in 1998, whatever...) one of the band members was victim of a collision with a passing motor cyclist. I have forgotten who it was (I sort of recall it being Isobel!) but he or she was not actually run over, but stil went down with a bang and the motor guy didn't even stop! The show went ahead because it wasn't such a big deal after all (only some scratches I recall but nonetheless...) and it was a great show - as someone told me afterwards, when I had succeeded to survive some stupid deadline. Grrr. Thursday in the train to Berlin I will write the whole interview out and maybe I will find some more strange things (like the fact that Stuart D., the friendly bearded bassplayer who all know, once wore his hair like David Silvian - and there are photographs to support that accusation, Karn told me). I will let you know in a couple of weeks. Hope I haven't bored you with my rambling. Erik Noomen cheeckbones like geometry, though not sexually enlightened by Cosmopolitan __________________________________________________________________________ Burema & Noomen makelaars in teksten Keizersgracht 219 1016 DV Amsterdam The Netherlands tel: +31 20 4229399 fax: + 31 20 4229398 __________________________________________________________________________ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister@majordomo.net". 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