Sinister: come out come out

[Steven]

Hi All,
    I've found some more writing on B&S at the gay bookstore where I work.
This time it's not from one of the porno mags but from one of the more
"respectable" ones. Now even all you youngins can run out and buy it! But I
figured most of you won't be out asking for the new issue of Out(it's the
June issue in case you do) so I've copied the article below for you. Quite
an interesting one too. What do the rest of you queers think? Anybody know
what's up with Stuart and Isobell then? I want gossip, damnit! I need to
know who's sleeping with whom. Nice photo of Stuart from some concert too.

"La Vie Est Belle And Sebastian
Meet the elusive darlings of indie pop: eight Scots who sing about being a
queer, in all sensed of the word.

We just can't help it. Despite the fact that Scottish septet Belle and
Sebastian shun any and all publicity, obsessed critics and fans-legions of
them gay and lesbian-continue to swoon over these unlikely pop stars,
particularly waifishly beautiful lead singer-songwriter Stuart Murdoch.
What's driven so many queer music lovers into the frail arms of this
ex-choirboy who's been favorably compared to Nick Drake, Donovan, and
Morrissey?
    Besides having a "wee bottom", as it was recently praised on a fan
webpage, the 31 year old singer delivers soothing, heavenly vocals so fey
they make Rufus Wainwright seem like Meatloaf. And though Murdoch isn't gay
himself(he used to date band-mate Isobel Campbell), it's clear from his
lyrics that he either hangs out with a lot of queers or, for whatever
reason, deeply identifies with us:"My brother had confessed he was gay/It
took the heat off me for awhile," he sings in "the state I am in" from the
band's flawless 1996 debut, Tigermilk. "She's Losing It," also from
Tigermilk, is a better dyke anthem than anything Melissa Etheridge has ever
written.  And "Seeing Other People" from the equally exquisite follow-up, If
You're Feeling Sinister, can easily be interpreted as the story of a young
closet case. In general, the band's lyrics tend to switch pronouns midway
through songs, so that just about everyone seems to be bi. One popular
single, "Lazy Line Painter Jane" flips chorus from "you will have a boy
tonight" to You will have a girl tonight" in the blink of an eye.
    The group's new, mysteriously titled Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk
Like a Peasant, is a graceful recovery from its one uneven release, 1998's
The Boy With The Arab Strap. Out of 11 songs, eight are perfect, and there's
only one flat-out dud(the biblical "beyond the sunrise"). The overall sound
of the record is a kink of sophisticated easy listening, with apparent
Carpenters and Simon & Garfunkel influences, and grandiose flute, violin,
and trumpet parts. The obvious hit single is "woman's realm" a head bopping
duet between Murdoch and Campbell that encompasses everything a Belle and
Sebastian song can be: It's sweet as a peach, with a driving piano beat,
hand claps, a catchy-as-hell hook, and evocative, whimsical lyrics.
    Gay characters aren't as evident on Fold Your Hands; instead, the band
seems preoccupied with feminist issues. She may have a breathy baby voice,
but Campbell sounds adamant in "family tree" when she sings, "if you're
looking at me to start having babies/Then you can wish because I'm not here
to fool around." The saddest and most shocking cut is the haunting "the
chalet lines", on which Murdoch sings from the point of view of a girl who's
been raped-a subject hinted at on previous albums but never addressed this
bluntly: "he raped me in the chalet lines/I had just said no for the final
time.../She asked me why I don't tell the law/Oh what's the fucking point at
all." It's the darkest Belle and Sebastian song yet, and all around the
world hearts are breaking."------by Amy Kellner



Till next time,
Steven




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