Hello Friends, There does seem to be an awful lot of nit-picking going on with the latest, greatest, 12" vinyl, LP recorded output of our oh-so wonderful heroes. What the fuck's that all about then? If I read another bloody review that says something like "but it really sums up what's wrong with the album". Why does there have to be something wrong with the album? Why isn't there more "this is what's so right about this album" or "that's what makes this album so fucking great". Now I know lots of people love the album. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with not liking the album. Or even bits of the album. But there does seem to be a lot of reviews being posted that read like one of their goals is to pick faults and therefore, possibly subconsciously, show how this album falls short of the almost insurmountable heights achieved by Tigermilk and Sinister. Maybe it's cos people feel in their hearts that it isn't as good/meaningful/whatever as the earlier stuff. Maybe some of you are just a whole lot more realistic than me. But it doesn't half grate, especially when all you want is uncontrollable hyperbole and gushing enthusiasm and excitement and joy and the thrill that comes when pop music makes you feel so unbelievably good that you shake with excitement cos you realise life can feel that good. I suppose what I really want is fanzine prose. Probably cos that's what I wanted when I was a spotty teenager and Belle and Sebastian are one of the only bands around these days making records that make me as excited now as lots of bands used to make me when I was a teenager. And this excitement somehow needs the empathy of you lot to make it real. And frankly, the last few days (with exceptions of course) has sort of made the release of Belle and Sebastian's fourth album seem a bit of an anti-climax, a bit of a disappointment, a bit flat. Belle and Sebastian are the greatest fucking pop band in the world at the moment. Bar none. Presumably we're all here cos we love Belle and Sebastian. And this kind of makes it our moment too. We should be savouring this moment. Soaking up every last drop of emotion. When I'm in one of my more retro moods I sometimes wonder how amazing it would have been to go to a record shop the day Pet Sounds was released, take the record home, put it on, then sit down and listen to that amazing music for the very first time. What would be my reaction? How would have I felt? What emotion would there have been? Well bollocks to that. I did that on Monday. We should be bloody celebrating that we're here now and in love with such an incredibly special band. Cos they're not going to be around forever. And there might never be a band as special as them to us individually ever again. Imagine that. I find that quite scary. I meant to draw an analogy here between pop-kids and Labour supporters but remembering most of the political rhetoric that's popped up on the list I suppose to a large extent we're pretty much one and the same (apart from Northy - obviously). Isn't it depressing how when the Tories are in power, no matter how shit they are, they still managed to mount a relentless attack on Labour and there's always this underlying monster in their rhetoric of the "nightmare scenario" of a Labour Government. Yet all we get from Labour supporters is whinging about how shit Labour are. Me included. They are shit. But what's going to happen if we moan too much? We're going to end up with a fucking Tory government for most of the 21st century as well. So what's the answer? Well, you could stop being so bloody negative for starters. Or the next album you buy may well have William Hague on lead vocals. And how bloody grating would that be? Needless to say I'm not going to be the one providing the ray of sunshine. But I will go as far to say that I think the new album is absolutely superb. I'd love to be able to gush about it and to make you all feel good. But I can't. I know my limitations. I'd love to gush about the TOTP performance too. Cos it made me dance around my lounge like a spaz - which may or may not be how Stuart M was dancing, depending on your view on life. I can't remember ever dancing round my living room like a spaz to TOTP. Well, not since the hits from Grease were top of the charts in the 70s. So it was possibly the best TOTP ever. Even better than the Smiths? Comparisons like that are so stupid, so I won't even bother. It made me really wish I still went to hot nitespots in town so I could dance like a spaz in public though. And I'm sure there's a point to made somewhere about how Legal Man being mimed on TOTP was so much more joyful than the much better Middle Distance Runner being done live on that awful millennium Tube thing. Such is the vagaries of life I suppose. It shows you should be careful about what you pass judgement on though. Especially before it's even happened. Enough of that though. Gitta said...

Joss(former listee) will be going to Skotland

which made me sort of sad cos I want Joss to be a current listee. And I want to go to Scotland too. And drink with Joss. Even if I would be ill for days afterwards. But I can't. I think that angry Mark Casarotto fellow would be wise to reconcile himself to first division football next season before he gets himself in trouble~. That's about it then. I doubt I love any of you but never mind, love...John +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead 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 +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+