Sinister: legal man in the southern hemisphere

[Lawrence Mikkelsen]

Post-script to excessively long mail sent this morning.

***LEGAL MAN***
I got "Legal Man" today - quite a surprise. I went into the local record
store and saw it on the shelf ... a day before it even comes out in the UK.
Which meant I had to buy it, even though I have a copy coming in the mail in
about a weeks time. So .... err .... now I have two copies of the single.
Anyway ... I guess I was pretty surprised at how it sounds ... my first
thought was "Kula Shaker!" ... which isn't such a great comparison, but it's
really growing on me. I really like the fact that it "rocks out" a bit. I
think it's a great pop single, but not necessarily a great B&S song. Can't
wait for the album .......

I guess my major complaint with the new single is the serious lack iof
Stuart Murdoch. Whereas we've always got three or four Start songs per EP,
this time we get three tracks, one of which is an instrumental and the other
is a (great) Start David song. And "Legal Man" doesn't really feature Stuart
M to any great extent anyway. It's almost like he's trying to retreat from
his role as "frontman" of the band.

Any why, for heaven's sake, was "The Lonliness of a Middle Distance Runner"
released as a single to procede the album? If there is one B&S song which
could do damage to the charts, its that one. Perfect pop ...

Which brings me to all the missing B&S songs. I wonder, with Stuart David
having left, whether the glorious "Paper Boat" will ever get an official
airing, or whether it will be confined to the cannon of "great lost songs".
I think its time Jeepster did a "Hatful Of Hollow" type compilation,
featuring all the old songs which have never appeared ('Lord Anthony',
'Middle Distance Runner', 'Family Tree') plus some live covers, all of
Stuart Murdoch's brilliant demos like 'London Has Let Me Down Again' etc.,
along with some of the radio sessions. Anyone want to start a petition??

***COLDPLAY/SLIPKNOT***
Someone on the Jeepster notice board is looking for someone to accompany
them to a Coldplay/Slipknot gig. Which kinda makes me think that Belle and
Sebastian's appeal is spreading. To me liking those bands is almost like
subscribing to both Satanism AND Christianity, or being at once matter and
anti-matter. The musical philosophies seem so far apart as to be
irreconsilable. (And ... please ... don't anyone start mailing me off the
list telling me what great bands Slipknow and Coldplay are. Please ... I
just wouldn't be able to take it.)

Well ... that's all/ I'm going to go and listen to "Legal Man" for the
seventh time .....

Lawrence Mikkelsen
http://www.akn.quik.co.nz/mikelsen/aboutme

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