A third great scottish band (there is no order to this, neither alphabetical nor greatness, just how highly I rate them).
Belle and Sebastian first entered my world in 1996 when a friend at university leant me their second album If You’re Feeling Sinister. Their debut, Tigermilk, had already been released earlier that year and was already as rare as hens’ teeth. One of my proudest claims to fame is going round to one of the band’s flats for a cup of herbal tea, and actualy managing to play it cool. One of my more embarassing moments was drunkenly yelling at one member of the band in a pub in Glasgow two years later: ‘ ‘ere, that track [‘Stay Loose,’ off Dear Catastrophe Waitress], are you taking the piss out of Elvis Costello or what?!?!’ (Just for the record, I no longer drink). It would be an exaggeration to say that they were one of the reasons moved to Scotland in 2001, but not that much.
Anyway, there’s lots of Belle and Sebastian that I could point to as to why they are one of the great scottish bands, but as I was asked to re-post the two belle and Sebastian sessions I posted earlier this year, why not these?
From May 11, 2001:
‘Shoot The Sexual Athlete.’mp3
‘The Magic Of A Kind Word (For Papa John).’ mp3
‘Nothing In The Silence.’ mp3
‘(My Girl’s Got) Miraculous Technique.’ mp3
And from July 25, 2002 (Live at Peel Acres):
‘You Don’t Send Me.’ mp3
‘Roy Walker.’ mp3
‘Love On The March.’ mp3
‘Sleep On A Sunbeam.’ mp3
‘Desperation Made A Fool Of Me.’ mp3
Belle and Sebastian’s official sites are here
Thanks to all those who sent me the mp3s originally, especially David and Ray.