Sinister: Make a new cult every day.

[Lawrence Mikkelsen]

Listees!

Well, sometimes it feels like it's just me here. Howling like a beagle
in a wind tunnel. But I know there are still people out there in
internets-land.

Anyway, I'm not sure if it's been mentioned here (probably not, given
the traffic of late) but Continuum Press have just published a book on
"If You're Feeling Sinister" as part of its 33 1/3 series. It's
written by Pitchforkmedia editor Scott Plagenhoef, and, based on the
half I've read so far, it's a pretty good read. What's more, it's
really filling my heart with a sense of pride. You see, there's a lot
of talk about this list in there - talk about *us* - and just how
revolutionary this thing was back in the late 90s, before MySpace and
FaceBook and before record companies could use the internet to
generate hype about a band. (Remember Pete Waterman spitting the dummy
back in '99 when "our" band beat Steps for the 'best newcomer' award?
How great was that?) Plagenhoef reminds me of just how hard it was
(and how much fun it was) to be a Belle and Sebastian fan in 1998.
Especially for me in New Zealand, when the NME arrived by sea mail,
about three months out of date. But also just how mysterious and
enigmatic the band were, and how much more rewarding that made the
music feel.

So, anyway, I've been thinking a lot about Sinister. I'd love to say I
was there at the *very* beginning, but, alas, I didn't join until
1999, which things were already up and running. But, Lordy ... I've
met a fair few real-life friends on this list. People who've slept in
my spare room, people who have sent me mix tapes and CDs, people who
have taken me to bars in New York and Glasgow and Melbourne, and
people who have put me up in their spare bed in Scotland and
Australia. People in foreign cities whose houses I have been 'round
to, just because we like the same band. Hell, the guy I sit next to at
my day job in Auckland, New Zealand, and who I struggle to try and run
an indie label with is an ex-Sinister listee who I met online. And not
only people ... if it weren't for B&S and Sinister I'd never have
discovered Orange Juice, or Josef K, or The Go-Betweens, or The Field
Mice, or Hefner, or Felt, or Spearmint, or Love, or The Left Banke, or
a bunch of other bands I've taken to heart over the years.

I appreciate that this list will probably never peak the way it did
'round the time of "Legal Man". I know a lot of us have grown older,
have got married, had kids, or found themselves with a mortgage, or
maybe just stopped listening, or caring quite so much. (Or found that
there are more productive or useful things to do with their spare time
than to post long, rambling stories on internet message boards.)
Still, it's nice to know that the list still exists out there, and
that I'm still a part of it.

Honey, Helen, Scott, Nick, Jeremy, Stacey, David, Julie, Jim, Laura,
Ian, Lucy, Patrick, Katie, Paul, Eric, Sean, Amy, Marisa and anyone
else who I've met, shared a drink with, corresponded with, or argued
with online ... it's been a pleasure.

Remember: We were there.

Wishing you all well,

Lawrence
xxx

Flying the flag, 1999 - present

PS - Jenowl. She made a brief reappearance a few years ago. I wonder
whatever happened. If she didn't exist, would the list have invented
her?
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 +-+       "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper           +-+
 +-+  "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
 +-+    "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000     +-+
 +-+  "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000  +-+
 +-+  "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001   +-+
 +-+               Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa                 +-+
 +-+               Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut!                +-+
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