Sinister: return to sender?

[alex tobin]

After sitting here for quite a while now, mostly shaking my head in
disbelief as some people find it appropriate to tear each other apart, I
just want to say one or two things as well.  What the hell, eh?
Everyone has an opinion...  Just please keep in mind that I am now only
speaking for myself.

I love music.  It makes me feel good.  Sometimes it makes me yearn for
days long-gone.  Sometimes it evokes old and painful memories, and my
mood evolves into a state of minor melancholy or pure kitschy
sentimentality.  But music is good.  It is powerful.

I love Belle and Sebastian's music.  As with many people on this list,
B&S often remind me of sunny afternoons - often reproduced a bit in the
late 90s at Sinister picnics or by Tim Hopkins-lookalikes at Bowlie's
bars - when things seemed just a bit less complicated and drab.

Belle and Sebastian are anything but chart-breakers here in Holland.
Most people listen to completely different music; some of them have
taste (in my eyes), some of them don't.  Surely it can't be a
coincidence that the Vengaboys are from Holland.

I have many friends who listen to - shall we call it this? - 'crap'
music.  I still love them dearly.  I indulge their poor taste and have
found myself at parties and gatherings serenaded by the bloody Spice
Girls.  Alright, so shit happens...  They're still my friends.  Even if
I don't repect their personal, individual taste, I still respect them as
a person.

We on this list - at least most of us - like B&S music.  Otherwise we
probably wouldn't have joined up in the first place, regardless of what
things mutate into.  But Christ! - Grow up, some of you!

There is more to life than music.  I often find myself lurking here when
talk is of bands I have never heard of, much less never will.  Sometimes
it makes me feel stupid; sometimes I couldn't care less.  Sometimes - in
hours of need - music plays a bigger role in my life; sometimes I've had
it with music altogether.  I wasn't able to come to Bowlie, but was
still more than happy to hear that other people had a lovely time.

I have just started my own mailing list (http://www.popjourno.com).  I'm
not doing this to start arguments with people.  I'm not doing this for
me wgo, to be an all powerfull list mummy.  I'm doing it because I feel
passionate about certain things, and I would love to share my
experiences with other people who might think similarly.  I might not
agree with someone's tastes.  I might not like certain people.

When Paul set up Sinister, I doubt very much that he wanted it to turn
into a battleground for certain people's unchangeable viewpoints.  I
can't speak for him, but I am certain that he also wanted to provide a
forum for people to come together, get to know one another, and share
good and bad times in their lives, with - as a common point -
appreciation of a certain type of music.

Well, I'm rambling, but what I want to say is that Sinister is much like
TV.  If you don't like the channel, switch it.  Unsubscribe.  Do
whatever you have to do.  Whatver makes you feel better.  I won't blame
you for it.  It's your choice.

But - please, can we just act like adults, which most of us are?  I
mean, I could sit here, spouting off about how I saw Morrissey at a gig
a while back, and he was fat and bald.  What's the point?  Am I going to
deny other people's memories and fondness of a particular artist or
deride their own viewpoint?

A while back, due to my extreme shyness, I often found myself hiding
behind a facade of cynicism and often sarcasm.  i was never good at
sports, and this was my way of showing people how bloody clever I could
be.  I grew up.  It doesn't work.  It doesn't.  Think about it.

Sorry for the rambling here and for the kindergarten-type of lecturing,
but even I - as a lurker of sorts - have had enough at the moment.

I'll probably regret writing this very very soon, so I'll hit 'send' now
and suffer the consequences.

Thanks for listening,


Alex
http://www.popjourno.com

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
   +---+  Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list  +---+
  To send to the list mail "sinister at majordomo.net". To unsubscribe
   send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
  "majordomo at majordomo.net".  WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister
 +-+  "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+
 +-+  "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+
 +-+                     "jelly-filled danishes"                   +-+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+