Search And Destroy: Belle And Sebastian

Seriously, what else is there?

It rather reminds me of all the black-clad, multiply-pierced clove-smokers who'll swear on a stack of Bauhaus records that they're not g*ths. Denial's not just a river in Egypt, it would seem.

Search 'The State That I Am In'
Destroy 'Beyond The Sunrise'.

But also destroy 'Storytelling' while you're there.

Listening again to DEAR CATASTROPHE WAITRESS - some of it is probably the kind of thing that's improved by a decent hi-fi (which I now have), seems to have more point this way. But 'Asleep On A Sunbeam', my goodness, that is BAD and lame by any lights.

DCW IIRC is OK but has two songs that suck beyond belief - namely the title-track and "If You Find Yourself Caught In Love"

"Seeing Other People" is a fkn brilliant song, on the other hand.

I like 'Caught In Love', and don't find anything wrong with the title track

We disagree. Hurrah!

No bad tracks on DCW. Oh, apart from "Lord Anthony" of course.

I liked that one!

I quite like it too. This LP seems oddly divisive.

Actually I don't of course like the religious hectoring of 'caught in love', but I do still like the wilfully-naive (?) verse about foreign wars.

I also think the *arrangement* of 'Lord Anthony' is pretty marvellous.

Having just heard the end of the LP I am struck by sense of B&S as *performers*. On stage: they went from shambolic-could-hardly-play band (so I'm told) to astonishingly competent instrument-swappers. But also on record: they seem more and more to have become imitators (easy to say that), a band *performing* making music somehow, trying out guises and succeeding, putting on a show. The impression is very different from the early work (though maybe lots of that - 'You're Just A Baby', 'Electronic Renaissance' - was actually genre-essaying 'performance' too?), as most know. It's impressive, and can be enjoyable, but still an odd pop experience. But some of the oddity does testify to their abilities and ambition, not just to decline.

Then again, look at the time: 5 years already since DCW; DCW was only, what, 7 years after Sinister. Time always speeds up, or slows down, that way.

http://a615.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/48/l_886be3a1938bb32a3508ffc2ca534246.jpg

Disc 1 – Radio Sessions: The State I Am In, Like Dylan In The Movies, Judy and the Dream of Horses, The Stars of Track and Field, I Could Be Dreaming, Seymour Stein, Lazy Jane, Sleep The Clock Around, Slow Graffiti, Wrong Love, Shoot The Sexual Athlete, The Magic of a Kind Word, (My Girls Got) Miraculous Technique

Disc 2 – Live in Belfast: Here Comes The Sun, Theres Too Much Love, The Magic of a Kind Word, Me and the Major, Wandering Alone, The Model, Im Waiting For The Man, The Boy With the Arab Strap, The Wrong Girl, Dirty Dream 2, Boys Are Back in Town, Legal Man

INTERESTING though wait a miute not all the Peel session tracks are on here - even I can tell that.

minute

Trying to make a mix for a male friend who I think needs some B&S in my life. Anything missing?

My Wandering Days are Over
Expectations
She’s Losing It
Lazy Line Painter Jane
Dog on Wheels
Seeing Other People
Me & the Major
Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying
If You’re Feeling Sinister
Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie
Mayfly
Is It Wicked Not To Care?
Dirty Dream Number Two
The Boy With the Arab Strap
Legal Man
Family Tree
Step into My Office, Baby
If She Wants Me
Piazza, New York Catcher
White Collar Boy
The Blues are Still Blue
Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It

NB I didn't put things like The Boy Done Wrong Again because he's got this idea that they are a sappy folk band, I'm trying to show him they know how to have fun.

well my favorites include:

The State That I Am In, Electronic Renaissance, String Bean Jean, A Summer Wasting, Ease Your Feet In The Sea, Beautiful, Simple Things, Sleep The Clock Around, I'm a Cuckoo, Big John Shaft, Jonathan David, Storytelling, Photo Jenny, This Is Just a Modern Rock Song, Slow Graffiti, Pocketbook Angel

I don't like these ones as much: Dog on Wheels, Mayfly, Legal Man (I know it's harder rock), White Collar Boy (I know it's harder rock), Family Tree, The Blues are Still Blue, Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It

But Finefinemusic, their lyrics are mostly sappy. If I cared at all about the lyrics being sappy though I wouldn't be listening to Belle and Sebastian in the first place. I don't care. The only time the lyrics bother me is when something awkwardly stand out like in The Model when he sings "it was the best sex she ever had". If it wasn't for that line it would be a great song.

btw, 'God Help The Girl' soundtrack by Stuart has leaked

If you're trying to prove that they're not a sappy folk band, "Stay Loose" or "Your Cover's Blown" would be ideal, I think.

God Help The Girl

After the success of the most recent Belle And Sebastian album, "The Life Pursuit", band leader/singer/songwriter Stuart Murdoch decided to pursue his dream of writing a rock musical scored for female singers. After auditioning vocalists via Internet contests, he made his choices and, with all members of Belle And Sebastian backing him up, recorded this breathtaking record. It combines the strengths and feel of early Belle And Sebastian records in a broader musical palette, which draws equally on musicals, 60s girl groups, 80s indie, and most of all, classic pop.

of the ones I mentioned the least folky are: Simple Things, Sleep The Clock Around, Electronic Renaissance, Slow Graffiti

xxxp I respectively disagree, I think they tread a nice line of sinful and repentant.. "A sharp suit and a clip-on tie, a big arrow pointing to my fly," "She said you ain't ugly, you can kiss me if you like.." "Saint Theresa's calling her, the church up on the hill is looking lovely," etc. I like their sappy stuff but I don't think it's nearly as infectious and easy to approach as the poppier stuff... I've never really given Storytelling a listen and I see you've mentioned a few songs from there, will check them out -t hanks!

jaymc I forgot about YCB, that's a great one but maybe too disco-y for this dude (likes include: Public Enemy, Propoghandi, Gwar) - might stick it in anyway. Never heard Stay Loose! Now I am intrigued.. as well as this God Help the Girl compilation I never heard of, wow!

I feel that you aren't going to impress him by playing the hardest or most electronic Belle and Sebastian songs. I would stick with the best ones that aren't annoying or boring (Legal Man is annoying. And this guy probably won't like Belle and Sebastian anyways.. so it really doesn't matter.

We were cottaging this weekend and he was into The Blues are Still Blue, which is one you don't seem to like. Legal Man annoying? Or fantastic? I seem to love the stuff that you don't.. but I wouldn't consider any of it hard rock! :)

I'd limit the length of the mix to about 30 or 40 minutes. 74 minutes of B&S is just too much.

Do you love the ones on the list I made? (maybe you can download them and play em all back to back) Btw, all the songs that I didn't mention on your mix are really good.

what would you trim? I can't bear to edit it down.. this is just going to be a .zip file that I email to him, I am too lazy to make him a mix CD, my computer sucks balls.

I can cut Piazza since that's on the Juno sdtrk and his fiancee plays that frequently. Just wanted to give him a good retrospective than taking my chances and saying "just go get If You're Feeling Sinister"

oh yeah, for sure I love those songs! I am pretty much in love with B&S' entire 1990s output, gave up around Fold Your Hands and have been recently convinced to listen to their newer stuff, hence not knowing any of Storytelling.. never heard Pocketbook Angel, though, is that on ST?

Pocketbook Angel is a rare demo track. Storytelling isn't so good but the title track and Big John Shaft are pretty excellent (and a couple other songs are pretty good).

I already told you what I would trim though

Pocketbook Angel was a pre-Tigermilk one that turns up on various sharing sites and that, I don't think it's ever been released. From that era, I like Hurley's Having Dreams, but it wouldn't win you any "they're not twee" arguments.

xpost

I would add Dress Up In You, just because it's lovely. And lose Family Tree, it's awful. It's the one everyone I knew used to use as the excuse to go to the bar during gigs.

LOL fair enough ailsa, I stuck it in as an afterthought because I keep getting that "My family tree goes back to the romans" line stuck in my head lately and I think it's kind of cute. I'm much more Stuart than Isobel any day of the week though. I wish B&S were touring so I could just take him to a concert with me, he's a great dancer and I know it'd win anyone over. SO GOOD live.

Sorry Mulvaney the trim q was an xp to f hazel!

Wandering Alone and Storytelling are the hits from that album. Cover (version) is one of my personal faves that isn't sappy. God Help The Girl is a real winner I think. There's an ILM thread on it already.

Cover (version)?

nevermind, it's a song off of Books that I don't remember

It's a filthy, funky, almost instrumental version of Your Cover's Blown.

Lazy Line Painter Jane: indie rock's "Don't Stop Believing"?

Could you elaborate? I'm not sure what you mean.

Another song about a small town girl living in a lonely world, taking the mid-night trainbus going anyywwhere, but for the scarves and majored-in-English set. The genre's own fists in the air, stadium anthem.

monica queen needs to release something new already. one day the world will discover how amazing her last record was.

i was unaware she'd done anything other than 77x

i finally got all my B&S things on the computer and was actually shocked as to how much some of the early tracks make me cringe

LLPJ still sounds good tho

To finish our yearlong celebrations of 10 Years of ATP, we are thrilled to bring back the event that started it all. In 1999 Belle & Sebastian curated The Bowlie Weekender, the event that became All Tomorrow's Parties, and this December they will return to headline and curate Bowlie 2.

The festival weekend will run from the 10th - 12th December at Butlins Holiday Centre, Minehead featuring around 40 bands picked by Belle & Sebastian. The first exciting set of line-up additions will be confirmed on Monday at the general on-sale.

info here: http://www.atpfestival.com/events/bowlie2.php

Cécile Aubry, author of the television show 'Belle et Sébastien', has died

What Stuart Murdoch was trying to do with God Help The Girl, Nick Krygovch has done better with his GIGI project. That is all.

http://forum.bcdb.com/forum/Belle_and_Sebastian_author_Cecile_Aubry_dies_at_81_P109189/