481. Belle and Sebastian, "If You’re Feeling Sinister"

 


It is here, at #481, that we arrive at the first album that I both (1) owned on CD, and (2) still listen to regularly.  I might even still own it on CD, if I knew where my CDs were.  I left a bunch of them at my old apartment, which became my ex-wife's apartment, and then they went into storage, and then I got some of my stuff out of storage, but that's a story for another time.

It seems fitting that the first album on here that I personally owned is this twee, gentle nerd-pop record from this charming band, Belle & Sebastian, a Scottish band named after a children's TV show, naturally, because it reflects my own gentle nerd-pop sensibilities.  I would say this is a perfect album to put on while, say, making a brunch of croissants and carefully sliced fruit and peach bellinis for your hipster friends in the late 90's, but it probably doesn't have enough guitar for that so maybe it's a perfect album to put on while painting abstract still-lifes in your studio in the Mission in the late 90's.

I have two specific memories of listening to this album, out of the many hundreds or thousands of times I've listened to it.  The first is when I was out on the town and ran into some friends and we all came back to my apartment and I put it on and they scoffed and asked if I didn't have anything "more rocking."  Cretins.  The second was driving back to SF with a friend after a polysubstance music festival day feeling completely wrung out and barely hanging on and this album felt like a total salve to every part of my system.

I love this album for the intricately constructed songs and the beautiful melodies and Stuart Murdoch's lovely art-student voice and the witty lyrics.  I urge you to listen to it the next time you need soothing which, in today's world, is every day.

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