Belle & Sebastian - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

YOhio · 03-28-2008, 07:31 PM

A friend of mine recently shared with me their entire discography. I'm having a hard time getting into it. So far they just sound like a bunch of whiny Scots.

Any advice on where to start? Which albums/songs?

landpoke · 03-28-2008, 07:41 PM

I'd start by boosting your estrogen levels.

YOhio · 03-28-2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by landpoke

I'd start by boosting your estrogen levels.

Is that what worked for you?

TripletDaddy · 03-28-2008, 07:49 PM

B&S are one of my all-time favorite bands. I find their music to be really happy, uplifting, humorous, and fun. I am actually surprised you have not listened to them previously because I know you know your stuff.

One of the most intriguing things about them is their genesis. Stuart formed the band and wrote most of the first disc, Tigermilk, as part of a thesis project. The project was sucessful and he was eventually sponsored to lay down tracks for the whole disc. He and a few other band mates were actually living above an old church during this time. They acted in a groundskeeper/caretaker type role in exchange for free rent. Stuart actually stayed there until a few years ago, despite the bands success and fame.

They also are fun to see live and have been known to do some really cool stuff in concert. When I saw them for Dear Catastrophe Waitress, they started taking requests from the audience....for cover songs. They went into "Sweet Caroline" and did the entire thing, with the audience filling in the "whoa oh oh" part.

What some people find difficult to absorb is their purposely "under produced" sound. The music is often not very layered, but in later albums they explore more interesting arrangements.

If you want fun stuff or more "catchy" stuff:

Tigermilk: The State I am in, She's Losing It, Expectations

If You're Feeling Sinister: Me & the Major, Get me away from here Im Dying, If you're feeling sinister, and one of the most popular Indie standards of ALL time....Judie and the Dream of Horses

The Boy with the Arab Strap: Sleep the Clock Around, The Boy with the Arab Strap, and the beautiful "Dirty Dream Number 2"

Dear Catastrophe Waitress: literally the entire disc

The Life Pursuit: We Are the Sleepyheads, Another Sunny Day, Funny Little Frog, most of the disc, actually.

Some of their more famous B-sides include "Legal Man" and "Dog on Wheels."

Wow, I really hope you like these guys because they are simply fantastic.

Check out their video for Dirty Dream #2. I love it.

UtahDan · 03-28-2008, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YOhio

A friend of mine recently shared with me their entire discography. I'm having a hard time getting into it. So far they just sound like a bunch of whiny Scots.

Any advice on where to start? Which albums/songs?

I like them on a pretty limited basis. I'm definitely not one who owns albums or has B&S play lists. With that said, I do like Beautiful quite a bit. There is another track I like but I'll have to look at home. Bottom line, I only have two of their songs in rotation.

TripletDaddy · 03-28-2008, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UtahDan

I like them on a pretty limited basis. I'm definitely not one who owns albums or has B&S play lists. With that said, I do like Beautiful quite a bit. There is another track I like but I'll have to look at home. Bottom line, I only have two of their songs in rotation.

That track is on Push Barman to open....which is a collection of B-sides, which are, almost always, the weakest remnants of the recording sessions for an album. It is NOT a good album to start out with.

Check out The Life Pursuit or Dear Catastrophe Waitress in full. You will likely enjoy them more.

landpoke · 03-28-2008, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YOhio

Is that what worked for you?

Possibly. It was either that or chemical castration which seemed a bit rash just to enjoy a band.

UtahDan · 03-28-2008, 08:00 PM

here is one of my recent discoveries that I really like. "Love knows how to fight" by M. Craft. This is not a video (couldn't find one) but it does have the song. Its starts slow so give it a minute.

YOhio · 03-28-2008, 08:14 PM

Thanks for the post DDD. Very helpful. OTOH, landpoke was useless.

YOhio · 03-28-2008, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UtahDan

here is one of my recent discoveries that I really like. "Love knows how to fight" by M. Craft. This is not a video (couldn't find one) but it does have the song. Its starts slow so give it a minute.

Not bad.

03-28-2008, 07:31 PM	#1
YOhio AKA SeattleNewt Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 7,055	Belle & Sebastian A friend of mine recently shared with me their entire discography. I'm having a hard time getting into it. So far they just sound like a bunch of whiny Scots. Any advice on where to start? Which albums/songs?

03-28-2008, 07:49 PM	#4
TripletDaddy Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 9,483	B&S are one of my all-time favorite bands. I find their music to be really happy, uplifting, humorous, and fun. I am actually surprised you have not listened to them previously because I know you know your stuff. One of the most intriguing things about them is their genesis. Stuart formed the band and wrote most of the first disc, Tigermilk, as part of a thesis project. The project was sucessful and he was eventually sponsored to lay down tracks for the whole disc. He and a few other band mates were actually living above an old church during this time. They acted in a groundskeeper/caretaker type role in exchange for free rent. Stuart actually stayed there until a few years ago, despite the bands success and fame. They also are fun to see live and have been known to do some really cool stuff in concert. When I saw them for Dear Catastrophe Waitress, they started taking requests from the audience....for cover songs. They went into "Sweet Caroline" and did the entire thing, with the audience filling in the "whoa oh oh" part. What some people find difficult to absorb is their purposely "under produced" sound. The music is often not very layered, but in later albums they explore more interesting arrangements. If you want fun stuff or more "catchy" stuff: Tigermilk: The State I am in, She's Losing It, Expectations If You're Feeling Sinister: Me & the Major, Get me away from here Im Dying, If you're feeling sinister, and one of the most popular Indie standards of ALL time....Judie and the Dream of Horses The Boy with the Arab Strap: Sleep the Clock Around, The Boy with the Arab Strap, and the beautiful "Dirty Dream Number 2" Dear Catastrophe Waitress: literally the entire disc The Life Pursuit: We Are the Sleepyheads, Another Sunny Day, Funny Little Frog, most of the disc, actually. Some of their more famous B-sides include "Legal Man" and "Dog on Wheels." Wow, I really hope you like these guys because they are simply fantastic. Check out their video for Dirty Dream #2. I love it. __________________ Fitter. Happier. More Productive. "Everyone is against me. Everyone is fawning for 3D's attention and defending him." -- SeattleUte

03-28-2008, 08:00 PM	#8
UtahDan Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Bluth Home Posts: 3,877	Since we're back to music... here is one of my recent discoveries that I really like. "Love knows how to fight" by M. Craft. This is not a video (couldn't find one) but it does have the song. Its starts slow so give it a minute. __________________ The Bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go. -Galileo

03-28-2008, 07:41 PM	#2
landpoke Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: North Central God's Country Posts: 1,534	I'd start by boosting your estrogen levels. __________________ I see a hobo. And when I see the hobo, I think to myself, "This man is poor. His monetary value is low, and my monetary value is high, and it's a shame that he is himself. What can I do?"

03-28-2008, 08:14 PM	#9
YOhio AKA SeattleNewt Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 7,055	Thanks for the post DDD. Very helpful. OTOH, landpoke was useless.