Sinister: pheeeeew. thanks Nick....

[Alan Burns]

Nick Dastoor wrote:

Hmm... I have real problems with 'The Chalet Lines'.  It's like a trial you 
have
to go through each time you hear the album.  Does it really tell us anything
about rape?  It just seems to be a succession of cliches about the way women 
who
have been raped feel in its aftermath.   If it were a woman singing about it
from personal experience, then maybe it would different, but Sensitive Stan 
as
Stuart is, I just don't think it serves any purpose, which to my mind makes 
it
gratutitous.  No doubt it's better read as a personal evocation of his own
feelings, but I just end up resenting it for being so... boring.  I don't 
feel
the emotion that someone else remarked upon at all.  At least it's short.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

so now at last, I too can shout it from the rooftops:
I'm sorry, but I just can't stand that song at all.

and I can normally stomach a lot lyrically: Lou Reed's "Berlin" did after 
all last a full six months on my CD rack before I knew I'd inflicted too 
many psycholoical (and physical) wounds on myself, and finally got rid of 
it, but "The Chalet Lines" is just way too much.

I mean, come on. any bloke singing stuff like that. to my mind, that's 
gratuitous, tactless and grossly offensive to women. I can obviously 
appreciate how "Me And A Gun" is a very harrowing account of real pain felt 
by a woman; but a man trying to relate a story like that? it's just sick. 
sorry, but that's how I feel.

and I love Stuart as a lyricist. this time, though, is the only time I'll 
accuse him of self-indulgence and I have to believe that it's as if he's 
thinking 'I'm "Stuart Murdoch", Copyright, Registered Trademark, etc, 
therefore I can get away with singing something like this'. sorry once more 
to anyone who's genuinely been touched and moved by this song, but this is 
my personal ideology and belief on the matter: I won't be listening to it 
again.

anyway, rant over!!

some other thoughts, then, as the album starts to grow on me with each 
listen....

Nice Day For A Sulk. I love it; it's absolute classic Belle & Sebastian, 
could've fit on IYFS, and to my ears it's the most upbeat song on the album, 
and one of my personal favourites. that song arriving in my life at the 
start of a rainy, gloomy summer with a rollercoaster love-life just suits my 
whole situation perfectly.

Beyond The Sunrise. I see it's been causing a fair bit of controversy over 
the fact it's such an obvious departure in style!! I was trying to place 
where I'd heard anything like that before, and then someone on the list 
mentioned Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood, and it made perfect sense. Anyone 
who's heard the two of them duetting on "Sand" ('young woman, share your 
fire with me...') or Lee's woozy, boozy half-remembered reminisces on 
"Summer Wine" will appreciate where this is coming from. And as I'm already 
deeply entrenched in Johnny Cash, Nick Cave & Leonard Cohen, the vocal 
doesn't grate with me at all. A really good grower for me; wasn't sure first 
couple of listens, but now I love it.

I Fought In A War. Stuart dusts off his big book of Arthur Lee chord 
progressions once more, and fashions another beautiful, sweepy ballad. One 
thing though; it's strikes me that B&S could end up with a serious 
self-parody/cliche problem on their hands: that's four albums in a row 
that've all started off with a plaintive wee Stuart vocal; can we have a bit 
of punchy bombast at the start of the next album, just for a change?? Great 
song though, with some really touching lyrical moments.

Waiting For The Moon To Rise: I thought this was Isobel!! it's absolutely 
gorgeous as a first offering from Sarah though.

Don't Leave The Light On Baby: the harmonies towards the end are the most 
beautiful I've ever heard on any Belle & Sebastian song. lots of audible 
shades of my favourite Velvet Underground album, the untitled third one.

The Wrong Girl: yeah, it is a bit country-influenced...which is great for 
me, though (you should see some of the corners of my CD collection that I 
tend to hid from most of my friends!!)

I realise I haven't mentioned every single song on the album, but this is 
all the stuff that's on my mind about it at this stage. One more I'd like to 
mention; my undisputed favourite, Family Tree. The lyrics bring back so many 
memories of me getting kicked out of Higher Maths lectures for daydreaming, 
then going to the Music Dept and writing some songs, that it's almost 
unbearably poignant *sniff*; and it's got a gorgeous melody, and perfect for 
Isobel's voice.

pleeeease don't take this post the wrong way, anybody, it's just a load of 
opinions. I've read everyone elses thoughts too, and considered them. this 
is the second time I've been involved in a fans' mailing list for a band or 
artist when a new album comes out (other time was just last month for Neil 
Young's "Silver & Gold") and both times have been totally fascinating, to 
see the different opinions of so many people when they're all exposed to a 
new album at roughly the same time.

"Nothing I say is written in stone!"

(Neil Young, "Don't Cry")
----------------------------------------------------------------------
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
    +---+  Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list  +---+
    To send to the list mail sinister at missprint.org. To unsubscribe
    send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
    majordomo at 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           +-+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+