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Rating: Dear de-metal friend,
This "review" is for you...
The only thing I ask is for you to take off, for a few minutes, those dark, heavy glasses that usually rest on your nose.
And to wear these, colored in blue, green, or pink, I'm not even sure myself.
I swear that if you do, you won't regret it, and I, to reward your trust, promise that I will listen to at least one of the dark/death/doom/etc., etc. metal albums that you will suggest to me.
After all, know that the one writing to you is a "complicated" person, in no way exempt (as you will understand later) from mental ramblings (so dear to you) about the meaning of life, the sad fate of man who comes from nothing and is (perhaps) destined to return to nothing, etc., etc.
Sure, you won't find growls and things of that type, but I assure you the journey is worth the expense.
A little diversionary holiday, after all, we all deserve it.
So, what I want to talk to you about today is Belle & Sebastian, or rather how they were until 2001 (what comes after is, in my opinion, little to speak of, with some exceptions, but that is clearly my personal opinion).
I will try to go in order...
In the beginning was, and still is, the voice of Stuart Murdoch.
What do you mean??
The voice of Stuart Murdoch, dear de-metal friend, is a whisper.
It's a whisper, starting in a private sphere, that reminds you of your mother's reassuring voice telling you a bedtime story when you were a child.
It's a whisper, moving into a public sphere and more appropriate for a musical "review", escaped from the young Leonard Cohen's voice, the guy from the "songs of love and hate", a whisper offered to a girl, the trees, and the fields of the Scottish highlands rather than the gray metropolitan asphalt of North America.
It's the whisper, only slightly less "relentless" and somber, of Nick Drake's voice, the guy from the Pink Moon songs, resurrected and singing carefree with a group of friends the lighter songs forgotten at the bottom of his relentless melancholy.
Then came the "old" music of Belle & Sebastian (1)
In what sense?
The "old" music of Belle & Sebastian is the "light" music that is needed when you have been with a Drunken Californian Ogre (2) whom you have hopelessly infatuated with, and you hear nothing but him and his stories (more or less, with necessary distinctions, dear de-metal friend, what you experience with your beloved metal).
The "old" music of Belle & Sebastian is a mystical marriage between Nick Drake's sensibility (always him) and the hyper-musicality of T. Rex (Marc Bolan's band, the one who died young "dancing and singing").
The "old" music of Belle & Sebastian is what you need when you're tired of asking yourself questions about the meaning of the world, of consciousness, of the collapse of the quantum wave function (see, dear de-metal friend, that I also have my problems?), about life after death, about the origin of the universe, or about the future... of your love life.
And you just want to take a sip of water from the source of your memories, with detachment.
In short, dear de-metal friend, I've given you my advice, now it's up to you to follow it, if you want.
If not, no hard feelings, I hope also on your part....
Affectionately,
An aspiring de-metal
(1) This collection that brings together their EPs until 2001, in case it wasn't clear, is a splendid summary. Among the most significant and my favorite tracks, I would cite: "Slow Graffiti", "You Made Me Forget My Dreams", "Lazy Line Painter Jane", "Beautiful", "String Bean Jane".
(2) The Ogre mentioned, in case it wasn't clear, is the Great Tom Waits, the one who played the disciple of Dracula in a movie a few years ago, to whom, among other things, I will be eternally grateful for freeing me from the smoking habit...
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Dog on Wheels (03:11)
When I was a boy I was confounded by you
Now I'm still a boy I am indebted to you
Every song I ever wrote was written for you
Written for you
Now I'm feeling flat you seem mile away
I'm so tired that down on the pavement I'll lay
Till the blossom on the tree comes
falling on me
Fall on me
From my window I can see the
mountains in snow
From my window I will shut my eyes
and let go
Promise me you'll always be around when I call
And when I fall
On the river bridge up on the wall,
looking down
On the river bridge, to me a vision was shown
If I could hold on to things till I was full grown
Peace would I know
To my dog on wheels I'll tell my
pleasures and woes
To my dog on wheels I'll tell my
secrets and more
Then one day in spring I'll take you down to
the road
Anything goes
02 The State I Am In (04:59)
I was surprised, I was happy for a day in 1975
I was puzzled by a dream, stayed with me all day in 1995
My brother had confessed that he was gay
It took the heat off me for a while
He stood up with a sailor friend
Made it known upon my sisters wedding day
Got married in a rush to save a kid from being deported
Now she's in love
I was so touched, I was moved to kick the crutches
From my crippled friend
She was not impressed cause I cured her on the Sabbath
So I went to confess
When she saw the funny side, we introduced my child bride
To whisky and gin
The priest in the booth had a photographic memory
For all he had heard
He took all of my sins and he wrote a pocket novel called
"The State I Am In"
So I gave myself to God
There was a pregnant pause before he said ok
Now I spend my day turning tables round In Marks & Spencer's
They don't seem to mind
I gave myself to sin
I gave myself to Providence
And I've been there and back again
The state that I am in
Oh love of mine, would you condescend to help me
I am stupid and blind
Desperation is the Devil's work, it is the folly of a boys empty mind
Now I'm feeling dangerous, riding on city buses for a hobby is sad
Why don't you lead me to a living end?
I promised that I'd entertain my crippled friend
My crippled friend
03 String Bean Jean (04:43)
I got my fingers dirty at the school of rock
Yeah I got my fingers dirty so I took a walk
I went up to the country park and hung around till after dark
Till the girls got home
Till the girls got home
Did I tell you 'bout the one I know, she's on the rag
She spent the summer day inside her sleeping bag
Yeah she spent the summer day inside until it's time to work
And she works all night
Cause the girl's all right
The girls have got a house that's like a caravan
And it's like your holidays whenever you go round
And we always have a laugh and then we all get in the bath
To save on the leccy bill
Me & Jo & Phil'
I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys around the way
I had to catch a bus
I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys down in the caf'
I had to go to work
And when Jo was short of cash I had to give her some
But I didn't really mind cause I was fit for once
So she paid the leccy bill and got the shopping and she still had
Some for the cinema
So we all went out
She asked me "Do I need to lose a bit of weight?"
And I told her "Don't be stupid 'cause you're looking great"
And I call her String Bean Jean because the label on her jeans says
Seven to eight years old - well that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old - that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old - that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old
04 Belle and Sebastian (04:36)
I left the school I left my job
You saw me looking like a slob
When I was young you were the only fun in town
Everyone thought it was a shame
For Belle and the boy Sebastian
Belle was ok but oh Sebastian
Went too far again
Crashed his car in the rain
He wants to love and he wants to care
But when the boys are queuing up to tell her she's a star
Poor Sebastian is heading for a fall
Everyone thought it was a shame
For Belle and the boy Sebastian
Everyone thought it was a shame
Belle was ok but oh Sebastian
Went too far again
Crashed his car in the rain
Oh Sebastian wrote his diary that
He would never be young again
But you will
Fellow, you are ill
You'd better take a weight off of your mind and listen
To what other people say
Cause things are going wrong your own way
05 Lazy Line Painter Jane (05:49)
Working the village shop
Putting a poster up
Dreaming of anything
Dreaming of the time when you are free from all the trouble you're in
In the mud, on your knees
Trying hard not to please
Anyone, all the time
Being a rebel's fine
But you go all the way to being brutal
You will have a boy tonight
You will have a boy tonight
On the first bus out of town
On the first bus out of town
So let's see your kit for games
All the girls look the same
You are challenging styles for running miles
You're running miles in some boys jumper
Boo to the business world!
You know a girl who's tax free on her back and making
Plenty cash
While you are working for the joy of giving
You will have a boy tonight
You will have a boy tonight
On the last bus out of town
On the last bus out of town
You will have a boy tonight
You will have a girl tonight
And you hope that they will see
And you hope that they will see
You are in two minds
Tossing a coin to decide whether you should tell your folks
About a dose of thrush you got when licking railings
But you read in a book
That you got free in Boots
There are lotions, there are potions
You can take to hide your shame from all those prying eyes
Lazy Jane, all the time
Painting lines
You are sleeping at bus stops
Wondering how you got your name
And what you're going to do about it
You will have a boy tonight
You will have a boy tonight
On the last bus out of town
On the last bus out of town
You will have a boy tonight
Baby, you will have a girl tonight
On the last bus out of town
On the last bus out of town
etc
08 Photo Jenny (03:14)
I'm in a mess, I'm in a dress
There's nothing from here till tomorrow morning
How will I get there?
I don't do drugs
All my friends are on their holidays
I go outside, it's not so bad
I saw my friend and he couldn't believe that
The girls were holding hands
The girls are holding hands
Don't be a fool
It's 1995, the girls are just friends
They got the drugs I could use but then I don't want any
All that I want is a photograph of Photo Jenny
How will I get one? I don't know
How will I get one? I don't know
How will I get her to strike a pose?
It's getting cold, I'll catch the bus
I saw my friend when she's finished working
Get some fish and chips
What's on the box?
'Man about the house' with Paula Wilcox
You see the boy/girl's at the bar
Everyone thinks she's really ugly
But I shut my eyes
I make a film
And the star of it is Photo Jenny
09 A Century of Fakers (04:29)
There are people going hungry far away
They've got nothing on their plates
And you're filling your fat face with every different kind of cake
And if you ever go lardy, or go lame
I will drop you straight away
That's the chance you've got to take
For every stupid thing you say
There are people going lonely, and they'll stay
Lonely far into the year
Because you make them think its fashionable
And fashionably you'll say
"All is equal in love and war" and
"I'm sorry, but I've got some things to do"
And you pretend to read a book you'll never finish till the day
That the author dedicates it
To A Century Of Fakers
They took your mould and they burned it on the fire in history today
Yeah, the author dedicates it
To A Century Of Fakers
He was an anarchist, he tried his best but it wasn't good enough
Did I say I would see you soon?
Well I'm sorry, but i just came off my bike
And my face is scarred
And chance has barred me seeing you tonight
I was over the other side of the city
And if the truth be known I'd say
That you look great from there before you shaved your golden hair today
Everybody's trying to make us
Another century of fakers
They took you mould and burned it on the fire of history today
Everybody's trying to make us
Another cool decade of fakers
Another century of fakers
10 Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie (03:10)
Sunbeam shone, mousy girl on the end pew
You'd stay home, oh if only they let you
Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie
Municipal pool, you're a junior life saver
But your friends are all serious ravers
Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie
Reading Judy Blume
But you came too soon
You're too tall, much too tall for a boyfriend
They run and hide, from your buck tooth and split ends
Don't be scared, like the books you've read
You're the heroine
You'll be doing fine
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Bestowing the memory of good and evil
On the ones you left behind
The heartless swine
And you love like nobody around you
How you love, and a halo surrounds you
Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie
In the Autumn cool
Say cheerio to school
Listen Dear, I've been watching you lately
If I said all these things you would hate me
Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie
At the church bazaar
I nearly went too far
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Kerouac's beckoning with open arms,
And open fields of eucalyptus
Westward bound
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Give yourself up to the allure of
Catcher In The Rye
The future's swathed in Stars and Stripes
11 Beautiful (05:13)
She lay in bed all night watching the colours change
She lay in bed all night watching the morning change
She lay in bed all night watching the morning change into green and gold
The doctor told her years ago that she was ill
The doctor told her years ago to take a pill
The doctor told her years ago that she'd go blind if she wasn't careful
They let Lisa go blind
The world was at her feet and she was looking down
They let Lisa go blind
But everyone she knew thought she was beautiful
Only slightly mental
Beautiful, only temperamental
Beautiful, only slightly mental
Beautiful
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
They let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind
They let Lisa go blind
She's looking like a queen
But if you knew what's going on in her life
There'd be a thousand barren mothers there to talk to her
If you knew what's going on in her life
There'd be two hundred troubled teenagers to sit with her
And to talk to her
If you knew what's going on in her life
What's going on in her life
What's going on in her life
There would be a documentary on Radio 4
She made herself a pair of orthopaedic shoes
She thought it was the answer to the fashion blues
She thought it was an answer to the fashion blues
But she walked with a limp
They let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind
They let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind
They let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind
They let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind, let Lisa go blind
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