Sinister: Dancing In The Street

[Warrander John - FML]

Hello Friends,

There does seem to be an awful lot of nit-picking going on with the latest,
greatest, 12" vinyl, LP recorded output of our oh-so wonderful heroes. What
the fuck's that all about then? If I read another bloody review that says
something like "but it really sums up what's wrong with the album". Why does
there have to be something wrong with the album? Why isn't there more "this
is what's so right about this album" or "that's what makes this album so
fucking great". Now I know lots of people love the album. And I'm not saying
there's anything wrong with not liking the album. Or even bits of the album.
But there does seem to be a lot of reviews being posted that read like one
of their goals is to pick faults and therefore, possibly subconsciously,
show how this album falls short of the almost insurmountable heights
achieved by Tigermilk and Sinister. Maybe it's cos people feel in their
hearts that it isn't as good/meaningful/whatever as the earlier stuff. Maybe
some of you are just a whole lot more realistic than me. But it doesn't half
grate, especially when all you want is uncontrollable hyperbole and gushing
enthusiasm and excitement and joy and the thrill that comes when pop music
makes you feel so unbelievably good that you shake with excitement cos you
realise life can feel that good. I suppose what I really want is fanzine
prose. Probably cos that's what I wanted when I was a spotty teenager and
Belle and Sebastian are one of the only bands around these days making
records that make me as excited now as lots of bands used to make me when I
was a teenager. And this excitement somehow needs the empathy of you lot to
make it real. And frankly, the last few days (with exceptions of course) has
sort of made the release of Belle and Sebastian's fourth album seem a bit of
an anti-climax, a bit of a disappointment, a bit flat. Belle and Sebastian
are the greatest fucking pop band in the world at the moment. Bar none.
Presumably we're all here cos we love Belle and Sebastian. And this kind of
makes it our moment too. We should be savouring this moment. Soaking up
every last drop of emotion. When I'm in one of my more retro moods I
sometimes wonder how amazing it would have been to go to a record shop the
day Pet Sounds was released, take the record home, put it on, then sit down
and listen to that amazing music for the very first time. What would be my
reaction? How would have I felt? What emotion would there have been? Well
bollocks to that. I did that on Monday. We should be bloody celebrating that
we're here now and in love with such an incredibly special band. Cos they're
not going to be around forever. And there might never be a band as special
as them to us individually ever again. Imagine that. I find that quite
scary.

I meant to draw an analogy here between pop-kids and Labour supporters but
remembering most of the political rhetoric that's popped up on the list I
suppose to a large extent we're pretty much one and the same (apart from
Northy - obviously). Isn't it depressing how when the Tories are in power,
no matter how shit they are, they still managed to mount a relentless attack
on Labour and there's always this underlying monster in their rhetoric of
the "nightmare scenario" of a Labour Government. Yet all we get from Labour
supporters is whinging about how shit Labour are. Me included. They are
shit. But what's going to happen if we moan too much? We're going to end up
with a fucking Tory government for most of the 21st century as well. So
what's the answer? Well, you could stop being so bloody negative for
starters. Or the next album you buy may well have William Hague on lead
vocals. And how bloody grating would that be?

Needless to say I'm not going to be the one providing the ray of sunshine.
But I will go as far to say that I think the new album is absolutely superb.
I'd love to be able to gush about it and to make you all feel good. But I
can't. I know my limitations. I'd love to gush about the TOTP performance
too. Cos it made me dance around my lounge like a spaz - which may or may
not be how Stuart M was dancing, depending on your view on life. I can't
remember ever dancing round my living room like a spaz to TOTP. Well, not
since the hits from Grease were top of the charts in the 70s. So it was
possibly the best TOTP ever. Even better than the Smiths? Comparisons like
that are so stupid, so I won't even bother. It made me really wish I still
went to hot nitespots in town so I could dance like a spaz in public though.
And I'm sure there's a point to made somewhere about how Legal Man being
mimed on TOTP was so much more joyful than the much better Middle Distance
Runner being done live on that awful millennium Tube thing. Such is the
vagaries of life I suppose. It shows you should be careful about what you
pass judgement on though. Especially before it's even happened.

Enough of that though. Gitta said...

> Joss(former listee) will be going to Skotland

which made me sort of sad cos I want Joss to be a current listee. And I want
to go to Scotland too. And drink with Joss. Even if I would be ill for days
afterwards. But I can't.

I think that angry Mark Casarotto fellow would be wise to reconcile himself
to first division football next season before he gets himself in trouble~.

That's about it then.

I doubt I love any of you but never mind,
love...John

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