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Crap/not crap: Belle & Sebastian

Are Belle and Sebastian crap

  • They are crap

  • They are not crap


Results are only viewable after voting.
Is the comic sans a deliberate bit of visual trolling, or was this back in the 90s before they had irony and that? Also, I wonder what £85 is in today's money.
it sound very affordable at this distance, but I was on £3 an hour in 1999 so maybe not
 
I love them and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Much like I'm not ashamed to love my crocs.

They have so many great tunes;

I'm a cuckoo
Step into my office baby
We rule the school
Funny little frog
Seymour Stein
The Boy with the Arab strap
If she wants me
The Blues are Still Blue
Seeing other people
Me and the major
Get me away from here, I'm dying
Judy and the Dream if Horses
The State that I am In
Shes losing it
I could be dreaming
Jonathan David

I did see them live once at Brixton academy. It was rubbish. Too quiet and you could hear the hubbub of the crowd above the music the whole set
 
I do like them. Some good tunes, witty and interesting lyrics, seen them live a few times, and bought all the albums up until some point I can't pin right now, but after seeing this awful film
which is like a Belle & Sebastian song brought to life, I suddenly realised that I'd been projecting my own very different reality onto their stuff and even though it was always an issue brought up, I started to think old-as-me Stuart Murdoch's fixation with youthful themes had really started to get weird.
 
I love them so much, I think they’re my favourite band.

There’s a huge catalogue and some of it is a bit pants but their music is so important to me. I think the earlier albums just perfectly captured a time a stage in my life.

I’ve seen them loads of times. They did two anniversary gigs at the Albert Hall for Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister which I went to. It was perfect, just the loveliest gig ever except it was Brexit referendum night and we came out to news of the exit poll.
Last I saw them was in Brighton and I went on stage for Arab Strap which I thought I wanted to do but I really was panicked when I got up there and realised what was happening.
I know they’re fairly hated and people think they’re twee and all that but I really don’t care. 😊
 
I love them so much, I think they’re my favourite band.

There’s a huge catalogue and some of it is a bit pants but their music is so important to me. I think the earlier albums just perfectly captured a time a stage in my life.

I’ve seen them loads of times. They did two anniversary gigs at the Albert Hall for Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister which I went to. It was perfect, just the loveliest gig ever except it was Brexit referendum night and we came out to news of the exit poll.
Last I saw them was in Brighton and I went on stage for Arab Strap which I thought I wanted to do but I really was panicked when I got up there and realised what was happening.
I know they’re fairly hated and people think they’re twee and all that but I really don’t care. 😊
The Boy with the Arab Strap is one of the best songs ever recorded imho.
At the risk of sounding like a nanna, it has a really good beat going.
 
Yep. Come to think of it, B&S sort of fit the "guilty displeasures" topic for me - not that there's any guilt attached to any of my tastes because everything I like is objectively correct, but I feel like they're... an important part of the canon for a lot of the music I like, but I can't really stand them in their own right?
The thing is, B&S fit the "guilty displeasures" category of "bands I should like but don't" category so well, that I really hope the reason I didn't mention them at the time is just because I hadn't thought of them, but I can't help suspecting that I had an attack of paranoia and decided that if I posted about my dislike of Belle & Sebastian I'd essentially be doxxing myself because of how I make sure that everyone I meet instantly knows about how much I dislike B&S. :hmm: God knows what I was thinking back in February 2021, it was a different time.
 
I love The Boy With The Arab Strap, but haven't found much I enjoy beyond that. On the basis of that one album they're not crap though, cause it's wonderful.
That, and “If you’re feeling sinister” are incredible. I think we have the first 4 albums here but those two are the ones.
 
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some great tunes, but yes i don't listen to them ever anymore. will crack a smile if one of the classics comes on the radio, which is rarely. can maybe do 1 or 2 songs a year max. not crap
 
The thing is, B&S fit the "guilty displeasures" category of "bands I should like but don't" category so well, that I really hope the reason I didn't mention them at the time is just because I hadn't thought of them, but I can't help suspecting that I had an attack of paranoia and decided that if I posted about my dislike of Belle & Sebastian I'd essentially be doxxing myself because of how I make sure that everyone I meet instantly knows about how much I dislike B&S. :hmm: God knows what I was thinking back in February 2021, it was a different time.
I’d say it’s the opposite and lots of people can’t stand them.
Their fans are very devoted though.
 
it sound very affordable at this distance, but I was on £3 an hour in 1999 so maybe not

I remember working for £5 a day during the summer holidays (school student)...1991.
8am to 6pm Mon to Wed and Sat.
8am to 10pm Thur Friday...
Got £6 on those days.
 
I remember working for £5 a day during the summer holidays (school student)...1991.
8am to 6pm Mon to Wed and Sat.
8am to 10pm Thur Friday...
Got £6 on those days.
That was proper exploitation :eek:. My first part-time job (when I was still at school) in 1987(?), I was on £1.31 an hour working in a bakery/cafe. By 1991, I was working part-time in pubs and the standard wage for brewery-owned pubs was round £3 an hour.
 
That was proper exploitation :eek:. My first part-time job (when I was still at school) in 1987(?), I was on £1.31 an hour working in a bakery/cafe. By 1991, I was working part-time in pubs and the standard wage for brewery-owned pubs was round £3 an hour.

It was very difficult getting anything in Ireland. It was a coffee shop / bakery.
I was 14 / 15 ish? And the guy who owned the place didnt declare the teenage workers.

Tbh I was just glad to have the money.
 
I still rather like some of the tracks on The Boy With The Arab Strap, but they've made some awful, irritating stuff since.
 
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