Sinister: why this is important?

[Stuart Gardiner]

> > Important in what way? No band is ever going to
> > change the way the music
> > industry works, and frankly I don't see why they
> > should.
> 
> no, but you might see why they should WANT to,
> yes?  From a Political point of view...

Fair enough, I can see that if a band don't like the way they're treated
by the music business (which I guess is quite common), then they'll want
to change things so that they and others get a better deal. If they decide
that they don't want to do acres of interviews in the press, that's fine
by me. However, I don't think that that actually matters to us, the fans;
other than wanting the best for them as people, we have nothing to gain
from them getting political as far as the music is concerned. I disagree
with Chumbawamba's politics, but that doesn't alter the fact that
Tubthumping is a great party song.

> > The important
> > thing about music, the ONLY important thing for > > me, is what it
> > sounds like.
> 
> well see my post about 'selling out to majors' for
> part of my views on this one.  It's just i think
> in amazingly different terms to you, and i think
> that when you talk about art, you're NOT talking
> about just the way it sounds, or looks, you're
> inevitably going to be thinking about a host of
> different factors, simply by the fact that your
> life is not amazingly simplistic.

I think I just didn't explain myself well on this one. I agree entirely
that music brings more to your head than just sound waves; personally I
can't hear Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecilia" without thinking about driving
down the A1 from Edinburgh to Berwick, through the most beautiful
countryside, on a lovely sunny day in January, on the way home from a
korfball tournament. That thought increases my pleasure when I hear the
song. But it only increases my pleasure when I hear the song, not every
time I see a reference to the band or whatever; and I think that as much
as anything it was the sheer perfection of that moment which has stuck
with me, and part of that perfection was the music. That's why I said
that the music was the most important thing - it changes my mood by
reminding me of a pleasant experience, which it itself was an integral
part of, it doesn't make me think of two blokes with dodgy haircuts.
> >
> > Personally I would rather hear more variety, but
> > not just variety for the sake of it; I want
> > variety so that I can find
> > more music that I can love, music that moves me.
> 
> but you won't be moved by it so much if you hear
> it on the 'populist' radio because it's no longer
> difficult to find.  I maintain that part of the
> beauty of the musics that 'we' like is the
> relative obscurity, the fact that actually we
> probably have to work pretty hard to get it, find
> it, whatever.  If it's easy we often just don't
> bother.  I don't mean this to sound snobbish or
> whatever, it's just more to do with the thrill of
> the expedition than the discovery itself. (and i'm
> generalising of course!)

I disagree on this one. The fact that Spice Girls albums are easier
to get hold of than Felt albums doesn't make them worse (although
obviously the actual music does ;-}). While in the short term, actually
getting my hands on, say, the new B&S EP is something I look forward to
for ages, and the anticipation increases the eventual pleasure, in the
same way as finding a copy of something you've been looking for for ages
does, in the long term I would hope that I'll get something more out of
the music than that. If the best thing about some music is the time you
spent without it, it doesn't say much for the music :-)

> > I'm on the lookout for similar music in the hope
> > that it may have the same
> > effect on me.
> 
> ah, but this is what i found so special about B&S,
> the very fact that i'd kind of given up hoping
> that such music WOULD affect me in this way.  I
> maintain that although the sonic qualities have a
> lot to do with it, the thing that makes me feel
> this way is actually indefinable.

This is all getting very philosophical (not neccessarily a bad thing).
It's true that what I love about B&S is the way they make me feel, and
just because somebody else came along with delicate music they might not
have an effect on me; similarly somebody completely different might make
me all gooey inside, say a punk or techno band. But if I had never heard
B&S's music, I wouldn't love them; so it must be doing something. While
their musical genre isn't the definition of everythng I like, it's a good
starting point...
 
> > hear all the material; but it does mean making
> > things that are released
> > as widely available as possible, and releasing
> > as much as possible
> > (including Tigermilk), and maybe even (shock
> > horror) doing a decent number
> > of gigs, including supporting other bands.
> 
> i like the idea of off-shoot things though, like
> the limited Nurse With Wound/Stereolab single for
> example.  I think it's important that bands don't
> treat all their releases in the same way.

Rarities are all well and good - cover versions are particularly well
suited to becoming desired but not essential possessions. It's just that
if a band leave their own material essentially unavailable to the mass
public, it seems like they think it's not good enough; in which case why
bother at all? It bears analogy with "Director's Cut"s of movies; they may
have extra scenes put back into them, but there's normally a very good
reason that those scenes were left out in the first place.

> As for 'supporting' other bands, well they did do the dates with
> Tindersticks.
> 
And more of the same would go down very well... But also I think it's
important to try to reach out to people who aren't used to their type of
music, whereas Tindersticks are fairly similar. I've seen the Wannadies
support the Lightning Seeds, and even poet Murray Lachlan Young supporting
My Life Story; although it is risky, and they may well go down like lead
balloons occasionally, most music fans are open to new things and if, say,
1 per cent of the people each night love them and become fans, some good
will have been done. B&S supporting Oasis anyone?

> I'm out there
> proclaiming the greatness and magic of Belle &
> Sebastian as much as the next person, but i think
> that 'selling out' would be to start giving
> concessions to the media and record company
> bosses, not spreading the word and getting people
> to buy their records.

But can a band get to Number 1 without selling out? And perhaps
more importantly, can a band get to Number 1 without being accused (not
least by their fans) of selling out? I sincerely hope that the answer is
yes, but I have my doubts.

btw before I go can I just congratulate anyone who's still reading this?

Stuart G

P.S. Love the new footer...

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