Sinister: White Horses

[andrew dean]

> Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 10:29:11 -0700
> From: "Elish Hope" <ehope at xxx.com>
> Subject: Sinister: Dreams...
> 
> Say what you like about Jeepster, about the Belle's, but don't expect me to
> sit idly by and listen.
> 
> With that, I throw my hat in the ring and wave my white flag.  Please no
> more emails to me about the price of this and the price of that.

oh, that was me. sorry. i was trying to be informative but i came across
as someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing...

> I don't feel like I owe them anything, or whatever, I just don't see the
> sense in planning on Jeepster failing us and whatnot.

but a pessimist is never disappointed.

that said, i nearly didn't go to bowlie after the less than thrilling
london gig back in september. but that sunday night just after stevie
had done his best pete townsend windmill arm action guitar playing it
made me remember just why i started doing all this in the first place.

and yeah, an optimist has a better time waiting...

> Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 18:21:21 +0100
> From: CALLENDAR R <RACALLEN at xxx.uk>
> Subject: Sinister: Shyness is nice and shyness can stop you....

> Just a brief note: I was under the impression that it costs under a
> pound to actually press a CD, and even after publicity costs, artwork
> e.t.c a CD that is MASS PRODUCED and sold for 1.99 can make money.

but, and it's a big but, with the distributer taking a cut and the
record shop taking a cut the bands cut is pretty slim at the end of it
all. i have friends in the distribution business and they're always
talking about 3 for 1 deals (where a shop buys one copy of the new 1471
single, say, and gets given 2 free) and a piece in the guardian a while
back said that woolworths virtually demands a 70% discount on anything
they stock. it's a shady business.

(andy then goes on to say how he thinks the future belongs to small
labels promoting stuff themselves over the internet, selling things
cheap and keeping costs down by blowing cdroms to order but it's all
very dull so...)

(further off topic: alan moore once said that he started his own
publishing company (comics rather than records) when he realised that DC
got a 90% share of the (enormous) sales of Watchmen for 'editing
mistakes in'. i think a lot of record companies are similarly
detrimental to a bands output. jeepster, i hear, have a fifty fifty deal
with b&s so kudos to them for that)

antje:
> I bet you won't find "Tigermilk" at any recordshop in the UK for 8 pounds.

no, not anymore, but at the time that's all it cost. (and that was mail
order from stow college rather than from a record shop. i did see copy
in rough trade at the time for 10 pounds though.)

i kept the envelope it came in too. how sad is that?

> Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 20:01:42 +0100
> From: JJ <johnj at xxx.com>
> Subject: Sinister: probably depends where you bought it

> Perhaps. I agree with Dog on Wheels, but I paid 1.99 for the LLPJ
> eps (bought 3, for friends), 1.99 for 3,6,9 (bought 3, for friends), and
> MRS was a staggering 1.97 (bought 3, for friends) in Music Zone in
> the all-new singing and dancing Trafford Centre.

blimey. that'll teach me to live somewhere that lacks a decent
independent record shop. couldn't move in the local virgin meagrestore
for that new single with chocolate in the title, they must've had 300
copies of it, two entire racks full of the things (almost all of which
were still there on thursday when i went in and seem destined for the
bargain bin) but can i find the new isan single without having to travel
the 35 miles into london? can i bugger.

> It won't cost you 8 pounds, it'll cost 10.40 altogether if you work
> it all out. Mind you that's still better than HMV's smashing 13.99
> (sale price, of course) or whatever they'll try and fleece you all for.

sorry, prices again, but the new luna lp is 16 quid in virgin here. i
was aghast. and they wonder why mp3s are so popular...

um, there's a little thing on channel 4 at the moment, the politically
incorrect show i think it's called which brings together various people,
half american and half english, that usually wouldn't appear on shows
together. theme for the week has pretty much been cultural differences,
y'know like that spat we had on the list a while ago. anyway, last night
the english and the americans (michael moore, mark lamarr and someone
else) came together in a united cause, one that i wholehearted agree
with - to attack edwina curry. and it was the funniest thing i'd seen in
ages.

made me glad i didn't defenestrate the tv like i promised to on some
other list... (hi lucy btw, didn't know you were on here too)

ok, off to the shops to but a newspaper and a wonka's xploder bar.
actually, the last twice i've bought two, one for me and one to send to
my girlfriend and have ended up eating both of them. just like all those
kinder eggs that 'rolled under the bed' and were never seen again around
easter time. 8)

irn bru: my girlfriend got her local import shop in LA to order some irn
bru for her. it duely arrived but was made in canada rather than
scotland. which is odd enough. but the canadian stuff also lacked the
caffeine that the scottish version has in it. especially odd when you
think of the north americans' obvious love of caffinated drinks (jolt
cola anyone? 'only caffeine has more caffeine')

andy x


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