The new Belle and Sebastian single is out.
June 12, 2001 5:47 PM   Subscribe

The new Belle and Sebastian single is out. If you have it, what do you think of it? Is it a return to pristine form, a limpid mess, or a bold move in an innovative new direction? (This link brought to you by MeFites for Introducing Other Mefites to Good Music they Might not Have Heard Otherwise.)
posted by tweebiscuit (26 comments total)
 
(Does anyone think this post is too specific? Belle & Sebastian is as big as an indie band can get, so I didn't think it was crossing the line, but I'd like to get everyone's opinion. Don't forget to chip in your thoughts on the single, though...)
posted by tweebiscuit at 5:48 PM on June 12, 2001


Hmm.. I'll have to get it. I thought Legal Man was good, but haven't really 'got into them' as such.. just a few tracks. I'll give it a go and report back.
posted by wackybrit at 6:09 PM on June 12, 2001


Well -- if what you need is an introduction, do yourself a favor and get Tigermilk, or the Lazy Line Painter Jane EP boxed set. All of their work is good, but those are the albums to fall in love with.
posted by tweebiscuit at 6:13 PM on June 12, 2001


I like Belle and Sebastian, but I love The Lucksmiths... just saw them in S.F. and was very, very impressed!

Take a listen...
posted by insomnia_lj at 6:26 PM on June 12, 2001


Oops. They got tricky with the URLs, they did... Here's the correct link.
posted by insomnia_lj at 6:32 PM on June 12, 2001


Welcome to Plug Land...lets not forget about everyone's favorite king of sadcore, poorly selling one-time Rolling Stone songwriter of the year...yes, you know who I'm talking about...Mark Eitzel, and his new album,The Invisible Man!

What? You don't know who he is? Shame, shame on you...
posted by thebigpoop at 8:03 PM on June 12, 2001


Warning! Self-link ahead! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, I try to focus on lesser-known electronic and indie-rock bands at my music review site. Everything from Autechre to Denver Gentlemen to Arab Strap to Do Make Say Think to tons of other cool, smaller bands and artists.
posted by almostcool at 8:37 PM on June 12, 2001


Well, everyone else is doing it. This is my music review/article site. If you bookmark it, you get a lollipop (maybe, definately not from me). Seriously though, why aren't you listening to the Peter Brotzman Sextet? I'm upset that I missed him when he came through town a month or two ago.
posted by bonzo at 8:44 PM on June 12, 2001


man.. i thought you meant belle and sebastian from Disney's Beauty and the Beast...
posted by o2b at 9:42 PM on June 12, 2001


What hip to some great bands? Can't go wrong with a little Matador.
posted by dong_resin at 9:47 PM on June 12, 2001


Sounds just as fey, wankerish, out-of-tune, slapdash, faux-earnest, charmless and whitebread as ever.
posted by textist at 9:54 PM on June 12, 2001


i've heard of mark eitzel. "if you have to ask" from west is just beautiful.
posted by bluishorange at 10:48 PM on June 12, 2001


the only matador bands i've gotten into are pizzicato 5 and yo la tengo, really. if you're looking for some great music, look no further than my username -- the smiths, or morrissey in his solo career (i prefer the smiths by a bit). but i won't recommend much more, simply because i listen to far too much; i would be plugging like ten groups, and that'd just be scratching the surface.
posted by moz at 11:36 PM on June 12, 2001


Fans of Belle & Sebastian should check out The Clientele. They have been getting a lot of press lately and are often compared to B&S (to their dismay). They released a CD on March Records a while back and Merge recently released "Suburban Light" which is a collection of singles.
posted by shoepal at 12:41 AM on June 13, 2001


huh...a new b&s single. i really loved legal man, i thought it was a great single, a lot of fun..and then i was profoundly disappointed with 'fold your hands child'.. the songs were pretty weak, i thought.

tweebiscuit: i'd have to disagree with you :) i don't think lazy line painter jane is anything to write home about..i think that boy with the arab strap and if you're feeling sinister are two of the most perfectly put together albums ever. tigermilk is amazing, but it has flaws that i don't think the other two have.
posted by chacal at 6:08 AM on June 13, 2001


Fans of Belle & Sebastian should check out Donovan...the similarity is eerie
posted by preguicoso at 7:31 AM on June 13, 2001


ok Lazy Line Painter Jane is their best song, so there chacal.
posted by dancu at 7:53 AM on June 13, 2001


in case anyone cares, the single was posted on filepile
posted by chacal at 10:21 AM on June 13, 2001


Sounds just as fey, wankerish, out-of-tune, slapdash, faux-earnest, charmless and whitebread as ever.

Hey, I never said they were for everybody... (although the title song is out of tune purposefully, it seems.)

chacal: I've never been able to say which B&S is my favorite (or least favorite, for that matter) -- I just have trouble thinking in those terms. In my opinion, though, Tigermilk is the most immediately affecting, and thus the best introduction...

insomnia: Dammit. I love the Lucksmiths. I'll be seeing them when they come to NY, you can be sure...

If you want my opinion on the single, I've blogged about it. Superlatives were used.
posted by tweebiscuit at 10:29 AM on June 13, 2001


My favorite indie artist.
posted by owillis at 10:47 AM on June 13, 2001


I like the new B&S single a bunch...but it's a straight Zombies pastiche. If you like it, for the love of god, check out The Zombies' magnificent album Odessey And Oracle (yes that's how it's spelled).
posted by alexfw at 11:25 AM on June 13, 2001


alexfw:

i dig the zombies. some day, when i've got enough money, i'm gonna pick up zombie heaven (or whatever that box set is called)..is it worth the money, or are there just 1 or 2 albums to buy?
posted by chacal at 11:43 AM on June 13, 2001


mmm, I really like the zombie singles 'Time of the Season' and 'She's not there' that the classic rock stations play every once in a while. So now I'm definately compelled to spend the afternoon downloading some music. Sometimes I need to reminded about what it out there.

Lately I've been sampling some Shoutcast streams to find new music. I keep going back to MonkeyRadio and it's wonderful mix of Trip Hop and Downtempo and other labels that don't quite describe some nice music to listen to (at least according to my tastes).
posted by mutagen at 1:53 PM on June 13, 2001


mutagen -- in that case, I'll consider the topic worth it. ;)
posted by tweebiscuit at 1:58 PM on June 13, 2001


I don't have Zombie Heaven myself -- I've heard many say it's great, but I'm not sure I need their obligatory early album-padding R&B covers, alternate takes etc. I'd say a good singles collection and Odessey And Oracle would do the trick.

It's O+O that Belle & Sebastian are, er, paying homage too, at least to my ears. The keyboards, the massed vocal breaks (see "Care of Cell 44" and "Maybe After He's Gone"), the halting, sweet lead voice (well done Stevie Jackson)....
posted by alexfw at 5:03 PM on June 13, 2001


is it me, or did belle and sebastian's earlier work sound like they were in your own bedroom, singing songs to you that were written about you, for only you to hear? i have always felt that, and that is what i found so charming about them after hearing "if you're feeling sinister" for the first time - it's almost tangible intimacy and the feeling that listener/performer were cultivating a deeper and more meaningful relationship every time the play button was being pushed on the cd player.

for me, their recent output has felt like the bedroom door has been opened and belle and sebastian are now aware that the world is listening.
posted by iceblink at 11:33 AM on June 14, 2001


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