POLLercoaster Ride - ILM Artist Poll #94 - Belle and Sebastian - Discussion/Campaigning Thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZGVgg-QI6w

"Your Cover's Blown" is a top three track for me, lovely evolution. My underrated campaign nom.

it's such an outlier in their catalogue but absolutely one of their best moments

Verses of Stay Loose were definitely ripped off by Of Montreal at some point

Not that I remember much about the show, but I found a copy of the setlist they played in Chicago in 1998!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/18097936@N00/2574704491/in/set-72157605587414204

That was sooooo long ago.

I love the epic structure of Your Cover's Blown. Definitely making my ballot.

Cover’s Blown is one of 4-5 tracks in competition for #1 for me

First listen to Your Cover's Blown. It's got more than a whiff of William Onyeabor!

That version of Loneliness ^^ is lovely. The B A E F#/F#m progression is the most Belle and Sebastian of them all.

That’s the Stars of Track and Field chorus, right?

Listened to Tigermilk for the first time ever to vote for this poll. For some reason, I was expecting something of demo quality, light on instrumentation. It's actually quite filled out, probably more interesting arrangements than Sinister. It's sad that I never listened to "The State I Am In" before now; some other great tracks too

Also listened to Life Pursuit, which was nice, but only "We Are the Sleepyheads" really caught me, which is kinda XTC-like?

We Are The Sleepyheads is wonderful, for some reason it was picked as a weak track in some reviews though.

My "everyone go listen to this now" track today is Play For Today from 'Girls in Peacetime'

That’s the Stars of Track and Field chorus, right?

Among so many others, aye.

I always loved the Dirty Dream #2 video, even if its American-ness makes it a bit strange for B&S. Might be my #1 track by them too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvqhSMAlkhQ

Noted elsewhere, but that video is packed with folks from the Athens E6 scene, plus Corin Tucker (whose husband Lance Bangs directed).

a rarity i adore: their rendition of 'o come, o come emmanuel'

I always loved the Dirty Dream #2 video, even if its American-ness makes it a bit strange for B&S. Might be my #1 track by them too.

it's my no. 1, still, and i've almost finished my discography run. perfect in every way. the strings, the guitar jangle after the chorus, the insistent motown pulse, one of murdoch's best melodies, ugh

lyrics are perfect too
i'm lucky i can open the door and i can walk down the street <-- i think about this all the time for some reason

Love that the video is obviously the American South, but the people and the film stock and clothes and general kissy kissy tweeness makes it feel exactly like the other early B&S vids.

New @bellesglasgow album artwork leaked
pic via @pipterino pic.twitter.com/reVtpaSw1m

— Avalanche Records (@avalanche_edin) November 30, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ljpDsU3raE

Will be ranking Electronic Renaissance highly. Wish they had explored this low-fi synth pop zone a bit more. "Monochrome in the 1990's / You go disco and I'll go my way" is a kind of mission statement for early B&S

i like this one a lot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfTj6ErRQtQ

xp “synth pop zone”

Try “Judy Is A Dick Slap - New Extended Version” from the Jeepster Singles Collection. I heard it on spotify the other day. It’s not on youtube. Definitely perked my ears up.

"Act of the Apostle" seems to be their least loved LP-opener. There are but a handful of enthusiasts in the archives and the band don't seem to perform it terribly often. But it's great. The chorus does strange things to my brain. I'm moving it higher up my list, dammit.

Christ, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Nine of the ten songs on Tigermilk made my 50 song long longlist! Sorry, Mary Jo.

I haven't heard How To Solve Our Human Problems yet and am tempted to skip it to make this easier on myself (I won't).

If you were all to campaign for one song from the last 5 years, what would it be? I'd go for Fickle Season.

i like this one a lot

Yes! I was thinking I would be the only one to vote for Winter Wooksie.

I have a complicated relationship with whimsy and at best I find it suspicious at worst it makes me want to do bad things to my fellow man. For whatever reason, Belle and Sebastian short circuit my whimsy-hate. But, fwiw Winter Wooksie is a step too far. Even that title is putting my teeth on edge!

I totally hear you and that’s how I feel about 50% of their songs, but not that one

Haha, I think 'Winter Wooksie' was the earliest of their tracks I started skipping altogether!

Re Human Problems, I hadn't heard a note of it a week ago and it hasn't been a particularly easy nut to crack. One track that does stick out is "Cornflakes" but I can't decide whether that is just because it's odd. S Jackson sounds exactly like Stephen Pastel and Edwyn Collins in alternate sections (these just sound like particularly lazy Scottish references, but I can't un-hear it) and it's disjointed in an endearing, vaguely psychedelic way. If I can work out whether all this equates to 'good' it may be even be in my thirty. I'm certainly getting a lot a mileage of it, just trying to decide.

S Jackson sounds exactly like Stephen Pastel and Edwyn Collins in alternate sections (these just sound like particularly lazy Scottish references, but I can't un-hear it)

You mean it sounds like he needs tae gie his snout a guid blaw?

Ha!

From the last five years... maybe "The Cat With the Cream". Not least because that string arrangement is kinda unsettling, which is always appreciated.

feel like both of stevie's write about love songs ("i'm not living in the real world" and ESPECIALLY the b-side "last trip") are better than almost anything stuart brought to the table for that record, curious reversal

"perfect couples" is also great but i'm generally pro-stevie

also i am really considering voting for "winter wooskie," slight but so sweet

better than almost anything stuart brought to the table for that record

i take it back, "blue eyes of a millionaire" is wonderful. why is it a b-side

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK_FsSTa7hI

this song was written before tigermilk???? i guess that makes a lot of sense. i'd love to hear the eight minute version which only came out on the girls in peacetime vinyl box set

sorry i know this is my thirtieth post itt in a row but... i think girls in peacetime is my favorite belle and sebastian album now? it took a few years, but then so did dear catastrophe waitress. and it holds a similar appeal, i think: they sound like they're enjoying expanding their sound so much, and every new move is so confidently executed, even "the everlasting muse" which i previously found puzzling. plus all the b-sides are amazing, especially "two birds" and "a politician's science." i generally love hearing a band this inspired so late in their career

"politician's science" in particular is like some long-awaited sequel to "dog on wheels" for me

That slow version of Seeing Other People is interesting and worthwhile, doesn't really hold a candle to the proper version which is (one of 20 or so) nailed-on-top-five for me. But ertainly the sort of thing that justifies the existence of a BBC sessions compilation oh wait it's another baffling omission from that travesty.

I couldn't even find the non-"abbrieviated" session version of I Could Be Dreaming on youtube during a (admittedly somewhat drunken) trawl last night. Miraculously found a cdr with it though, and it was my should-be-getting-out-of-bed procrastination soundtrack this morning. Maybe I should upload it somewhere, cos those of youse who haven't heard the last couple of minutes are missing out, it is the sound of a band writing their own mythology in realtime, or somesuch nonsense

yeah please i was searching for that last night and i couldn't find it anywhere

Here ye go then

https://www8.zippyshare.com/v/Vn5qfVnM/file.html

"They called us winsome... but we're just hopeless..."

thank you, this rules

That's fantastic, cheers - almost broadway.

Stevie's guitar has been the biggest revelation of this rediscovery process. His tone is just glorious.

I remember reading something back in the day mentioned Steve Cropper as an influence and it had never occurred to me but yes! of course! and from then I couldn't help hear that all over the early stuff, that kinda choppy sound

Interesting, esp. since the northern (as opposed to southern) soul stuff is a much bigger (or clearer) influence, but now that you mention it, yeah, some of his fills seem Cropper-y, esp. in stuff like "Step Into My Office, Baby." Regardless, I always thought Stevie got the award for most improved, as both player and writer, as the band has gone on.

I was amazed at how much they downplayed Rich Colburn in the Sinister film. I think he's a fantastic drummer.

colburn mostly downplayed himself, which as a self-taught drummer i get. but yeah he’s great

The first 4 minutes of this reminds me how good they were
live in this era but also what a great song Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie is
https://youtu.be/UCK3CLwAE98

the how to solve our human problems stuff is all so fun. less cohesive and consistent than girls in peacetime but they're eps, imo it's by design. there is probably a solid eleven track life pursuit-ish album in there though. also "we were beautiful" is completely awesome and i have no idea if i have room for it in my ballot