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

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

I just noticed another song missing from the Google Doc: "Wrong Love" from the BBC Sessions.

It's basically a simpler arrangement of "The Wrong Girl", no?

yes

Fun fact: 86 different tracks have received votes so far.

oh shit it's happening!

They are a perfect polling band, with the nooks and crannies of the early EPs, generous output but also steadfast classics.

just submitted my ballot

she thought it would be fun to try photography
she thought it would be fun to try pornography
she thought it would be fun to try most anything
she was tired of sleeping

Dylan in the Movies would be my #1 had they recorded it with Cooke's trumpet.

you could invert my entire ballot and it'd still make sense as a ranking

too many good b&s songs

looong xp, but i just bumped into the piece referred to by:

the horn solo in "judy" is maybe the single most joyous moment for me in their catalogue

the near-juxtaposition of that section to the first, faulting recorder bit is so effective for me. agreed, it’s grand.

Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance is surprisingly much better than i remembered? it's still a bit bloated and doesn't have anything quite as great as "I Didn't See It Coming" but i certainly prefer it to The Life Pursuit and Write About Love. "Play For Today" is the highlight

man "Sweet Dew Lee" from How to Solve Our Human Problems is great? really wasn't expecting something that good after how ignored those EP's seemed to be

I have that peacetime big box, made 4 cds out of it, it's basically four EPs and works that way.

Might get around to the new album at some point.

the rest of How To Solve Our Human Problems is generally forgettable but "Best Friend" is quite nice too at least

Ballot sent. That was tough.

I've not really paid much attention to the Left Banke before. 1) They're great and b) well, listen for yourself!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBv64sXY-Gs

have relistened to the albums through Fold Your Hands and the first three EPs so far

the most indelible track of these records, for me, is still the title track on If You're Feeling Sinister

not sure it's their best but it's the one that's still stuck in my head 20+ years later

The incidental playground noises somehow boost it to a whole other level.

I know for me it’s all nostalgia, can't really be objective, but in the 7 releases I’ve revisited so far I'm not sure there’s one I like better - although The State I’m In, The Rollercoaster Ride, Stars of Track and Field, Lazy Line Painter Jane, The Boy With the Arab Strap are all close seconds

listening to it again The Rollercoaster Ride reminds me a little of the hushed harmonies of Yo La Tengo

I remember thinking at the time DCW was a new beginning for them, but that was the point I lost touch

looking forward hearing it again

That slow version of "Seeing Other People" is interesting. The limitations of their singing are really on stark display, but it's still so endearing.
I don't know if this is what fgti was referring to upthread as "slack", but if so, it was a key element of their early appeal. Combine this with their mysteriousness in the pre-napster era, and it really did feel like some kind of private club.

Boring administration note: if folks wish to enter a unranked ballot of n < 30 selections (I've received some already), I think I'll use the average value of the first nth places listed in the original post (rounded down) for each selection. eg. 25 each for an unranked 15.

I don't wish to actively encourage this, tbh, as I'm lazy, but this seems fairer than using the flat 17 points mentioned up top for every situation.

So. Am I being stupid? Can someone tell me (and her) - how did Lazy Line Painter Jane get her name?

It’s a good question. I think the lyric refers to her just as ‘lazy jane’ before the ‘wondering how you got your name’ bit so maybe when it comes to her wondering, there’s no ‘line painter’ about it.

The video has her making mischief with a number of lines, starting with a Stevie Jackson’s yellow line painting in the road but who knows if all that was in SM’s mind when he wrote it.

I think LLPJ was the first B&S song I heard and I said something like “take this off; it sounds like Deacon Blue”