Sinister: sheep in bowlie clothing and the best of both worlds

[carle groome]

dear sister-nines,

i know how often our blighty bretheren (and sisteren--not "cistern"
which could be misinterpreted as either a "well" or, at a far remove,
"reservior") have talked about chance sightings of stray badges and
outer-underwear to make contact with others of our ilk (hmmm, not
exactly happy with "ilk", but we'll let it go this time) but in nyc, at
least for those of us beyond the precincts of major universities (i.e.:
nyu, columbia, sarah lawrence, etc.) it isn't too common.
so imagine my surprise at finding myself staring at the fabled "study at
stowe" in faded cerulean blue! i was meeting my gay pal sam to go off to
a birthday party on the hudson that a sculptor friend of his was
throwing (BTB, smashing picture postcard sunset, that) for herself. and
it seems the bright lass in the b&s tee was staying at my his apartment
while he was out of town (on a recommedation from his niece at yale,
where both fems attended). my first reaction was, of course, "are you
sinister?" and, of course, she wondered what the deuce i was talking
about. after my explanation, hers was that she'd "borrowed" it from her
suitemate (interesting about that word; homophonically, the same as
"sweetmate," implying something altogether different in relationships)
and was hoping she'd never remember to ask for it back. however, as we
were late for the river and the gal was already wheeling her mountain
bike towards the door and so there's little else to say about her
tastes. nice shirt though.
lesson? beware of sheep (aka: the "eli" or "yalie" is nicknamed after
their school song "we're poor little lambs who have lost our
way"--honest! i'm not making this up!) in bowlie clothing!

yes. well, stretching points is much more fun than sticking on them.

part two.
in re: the above confusion of there/here. noting a thread on the
strangeness of the isles speech and the richness of the slang therein,
it should be mentioned that there's no reason why we should pretend
towards, nay!--or even champion, exclusiveness in our word choice.
winston churchill said it best: "america and england are one people
separated by a common language." over here, we've been absorbing your
lingo since shakespeare, with a healthy dose of dickens and by the time
of "the british invasion" of the '60s, we were more than ready to take
on more. and perhaps that's why even abba had to sing in anglomerican
(or "midlantic" if you prefer... first heard that one in "absolute
beginners." was that just concocted for the film or is it real?) in
order to make it huge.
fact is, the world of pop is ours specifically from that consequence.
try as they might, no other country can really make anything that
resonates with the immediacy to affect teens, toffs, toughs, 'tweeners
and turf-surfers en masse. it is the bastard child of a thousand fathers
that takes a little from french, german, spanish, italian,
scandanavian--whatever comes along. 
several years back, i was doing a review of the love box set (no, not
house of love--the west coast psychedelic era band fronted by arthur
lee) and it occured to me how incredibly varied this material was. and
then i thought about the context that it came out of: top 40 AM radio.
that was the time you could have the rolling stones "satisfaction" and
the kinks "lola" on the same list as frank sinatra, peggy lee, "the man
of la mancha" broadway cast album, dave brubeck's "take five" jazz,
wilson pickett, novelty hits like a jugband number called "the eggplant
that ate chicago" or "winchester cathedral" as it harked back to rudy
vallee... i mean, a complete hodgepodge, true, but one that could never
be called dull, or offer sameness in the manner of today's programmed
MOR. so old arthur lee could have honky tonk next to a movie soundtrack
cover next to big swing next to interpersonal ballads next to all-out
freak-outs, and THAT would be consistency, not conformity.
that's why b&s can stand alongside giants like brian wilson as he
exchanges bows with the beatles and burt bacharach can join with elvis
costello and all can look back to where tin pan alley, folk city and the
brill building shared space with the venerable music hall and street
buskers. therefore, if we pepper our palates with "suss" (re: Who) or
"fag" (countless cigarette refs in movies) or "loo" (cf. previous) there
should be no need for any sanction. (actually recall a book called "the
loo sanction"...nevermind)
so, the best of both worlds.

and best to all concerned
carle
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