Sinister: I'm in love with my clone

[Reid Dossinger]

You know what I think is funny?  You people.  I think you people are
funny.  Funny, ha ha.  Unintentionally.

Until I hear a Burger King commercial sung to the tune of Sleep The
Clock Around or The Rollercoaster Ride advertising the new "Beast With
Two Backs" coaster at Busch Gardens or A Summer Wasting used as the
theme song to the new Jennifer Love Hewitt "vehicle", I'm going to keep
from putting "Belle and Sebastian" and "sold out" in the same sentence.
Oops, just did.  Well, you know what I'm getting at.  Putting extra
tracks on different versions of a single is tiny, man, TINY.  I've
always thought it's pretty funny when indie folk pretend that "it's only
about the music", but will get all bent out of shape over something as
small as extra tracks or the wrong clothes or the wrong taste in music
or the Wrong Girl.

And even though I personally don't have any problem with trying to sell
more singles, so many people forget that Belle and Sebastian, like so
many other bands, are in the enviable position of being able to make a
living off of their record sales.  It's their *job*.  And even though
that doesn't mean that we should forgive them if they deliberately alter
their sounds for the sake of selling tons (which they haven't done), I
don't think it's too much to ask forgiveness for trying to sell a few
more records and make a better living.  We'd all take a promotion at our
jobs, but we'll put down musicians who, more or less, are doing the
same.  They're just trying to get ahead like the rest of us, and if they
can do that without compromising their vision (which, again, B&S haven't
done), that's pretty fucking amazing.  What it does mean is that they
have to do TV shows, and they have to sell extra versions of their
singles, and they have to try and get airplay on MTV.  Let them.  It's a
small price for us to pay.

It makes me anxious and scared to disagree with the Duke's thoughtful
words, but, as great as the  'the things that made me fall in love with
you disappeared when you saw them too' quote was, I don't think it's
correct.  I think that Belle and Sebastian are doing exactly what
they've always done: exactly what they want to do.  It's always been
equally frustrating and admirable that they don't seem to give a shit
what ANYONE thinks of them, including their fans.  If they had given
half-a-second's thought to what we did and didn't like about them, they
wouldn't be giving Isobel and Stevie so much air time on the albums,
seeing as how their songs are consistently at the bottom of the voting
results on the Jeepster site.  And if you've heard "Legal Man", there is
no way you could possibly think that they're tinkering with their sound
for the sake of a hit.  The last time I checked, the formula of a top 40
hit was not '60' retro and electric sitars.  Maybe it'll be so
successful that it ends up creating that formula, but I'll welcome that
like I'd welcome a long lingering hug from Gwen Sefani.

By the way, I won't say anything to give it away, but I have heard the
new album.  It doesn't have the highs of TBWTAS, but it doesn't have the
lows either, and from everything I've read in interviews with the band
members, this is the kind of album that they've wanted to make for a
while.  *They've* wanted to make.  For themselves, you understand.  I
don't think they give much thought to what we think of it.

As a side note, re: Shania Twain as the "anti-christ"...if  a bland,
slightly odd-looking "country"-pop singer is the worst thing you can
think of, you have a pretty great life.  I'm not too crazy about Shania
Twain either, but I can imagine a whole lot worse.

So I guess this is the part where I have to apologize for the length of
my letter, say that I hope I didn't bore you and make some "funny"
comment about "If you've read this far, you're a saint", etc.  So there
you go.

Famous for showing my chest,
       Reid

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