Belle & Sebastian Announce 'BBC Sessions' Album

The set is out on 11/17. It'll feature:

Disc One
'The State I Am In'
'Like Dylan In The Movies'
'Judy And The Dream Of Horses'
'The Stars Of Track And Field'
'I Could Be Dreaming'
'Seymour Stein'
'Lazy Jane'
'Sleep The Clock Around'
'Slow Graffiti'
'Wrong Love'
'Shoot The Sexual Athlete'
'The Magic Of A Kind Word'
'Nothing In The Silence'
'(My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique'

Disc Two
'Here Comes The Sun'
'There's Too Much Love'
'The Magic Of A Kind Word'
'Me And The Major'
'Wandering Alone'
'The Model'
'I'm Waiting For The Man'
'The Boy With The Arab Strap'
'The Wrong Girl'
'Dirty Dream #2'
'Boys Are Back In Town'
'Legal Man'

Visit B&S on MySpace.

MP3: Belle & Sebastian - Dear...

Retro Clip: Belle & Sebastian Visits Jools Holland, Circa '01

Enjoy 'I'm Waking Up To Us' below. Download an MP3 at bottom of post.


MP3: Belle & Sebastian - Step Into My Office, Baby

B&S, Cat Power & The Moldy Peaches Contribute To 'Juno'

The dark comedy is out on December 5th, while the soundtrack will be released on December 11th. View the complete track listing below. Learn more about the film here at IMDB. Moldy Peaches MP3 at bottom.

'All I Want Is You' - Barry Louis Polisar
'Rollercoaster' - Kimya Dawson
'A Well Respected Man' - The Kinks
'Dearest' - Buddy Holly
'Up The Spout' - Mateo Messina
'Tire Swing' - Kimya Dawson
'Piazza...' -­ Belle & Sebastian
'Loose Lips' - Kimya Dawson
'Superstar' - Sonic Youth
'Sleep' (Instrumental) - Kimya Dawson
'Expectations' - Belle & Sebastian
'All The Young Dudes' -­ Mott The Hoople
'So Nice So Smart' - Kimya Dawson
'Sea Of Love' - Cat Power
'Tree Hugger' - Kimya Dawson & Antsy Pants
'I'm Sticking With You' - The Velvet Underground
'Anyone Else But You' - The Moldy Peaches
'Vampire' - Antsy Pants
'Anyone Else But You' - Ellen Page & Michael Cera

MP3: The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #256

Belle & Sebastian - Live On KEXP

Setlist:
A Century Of Fakers
She's Losing It
To Be Myself Completely
No Matter What

Listen to KEXP here.

MP3: Belle & Sebastian - Live On KEXP

Belle & Sebastian Covers Elvis For Oxjam Glasgow

Enjoy a clip of Stuart & Stevie tackling 'Suspicious Minds' below. B&S MP3 at bottom.


MP3: Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day

In the Dark of the Matinee...

So last night, Skyeness managed to wangle an invite to the gala opening of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and U.K. premier (red carpets'n'all) of Billy Elliot Jamie Bell's new movie Hallam Foe, a disturbing tale of voyeurism and creepiness set against the rooftops of Edinburgh. And he has to report that the film was a bit meh although it was beautifully shot and had some top notch performances. Of special note, however, is the soundtrack, featuring slutty faves Sons & Daughters, King Creosote and Franz Ferdinand. The film has already won a Silver Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival for its soundtrack.

And the aftershow party at the Edinburgh College of Art was a showcase for Franz when they came on for a 4 song acoustic set, which included the new Hallam Foe song, Dark of the Matinee and Jacqueline and another one which Skye was so stoked on free booze for that he's completely forgotten what it was (the free sausages on sticks were tip top too! yum!)

It was a really nice set - though the movie song wasn't all that to be honest, but it was great to hear some old faves in a much more intimate setting (last time for FF was in Princes St gardens, which was lacking on the intimate side), although a bit disappointing that only two of the band showed up. Where were the other two slackers!?

Anyway, skye was most excited of all when he bumped into Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian fame (no photos, mind, so you'll just have to take my word for it). Of course, by this point skye was uber-chutnied, and could manage only to bumble on about how much he loved the Murdoch, which got the response "oh, you don't really". Embarrassment ahoy, but you know, you're only drunk every Friday once.

MP3: Franz Ferdinand - Matinee

My heart's in the.... lowlands?

Belle & Sebastian at the lowlands festival last year: a fabulous DVD version of which is available at Dimeadozen, and is well worth investigation. You'll need to register, though!

Belle And Sebastian
Live at Lowlands 2006
Biddinghuizen, Holland, 20 Aug. 2006

Running time: 78 mins. approx.

Setlist:
Another Sunny Day
Funny Little Frog
She's Losing It
Sukie In The Graveyard
Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie
Song For Sunshine
We Are The Sleepyheads
Lord Anthony
The Blues Are Still Blue
If You're Feeling Sinister
I’m A Cuckoo
Jonathan David
White Collar Boy
The Boy With The Arab Strap
Sleep The Clock Around

Download the torrent here.

Cerys, Stuart & Jarvis: Doin' It For The Kids

Via NME: Jarvis Cocker, Cerys Matthews and Belle & Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch all feature on a new compilation of children's songs. 'Songs For The Young At Heart', released on February 26, was put together by members of Tindersticks. It was inspired by "memories from their childhood of music from the radio, school room and television".

The collection first comes in a limited edition run packaged in a hard paged children's book featuring the tale of 'Albert The Lion' with illustrations by cult artist Sexton Ming. A video of Jarvis Cocker telling the story of 'Albert The Lion' - where Cocker sits in an actual lion's cage with the lion - will also be available.

Tracklisting:
'Theme For The Young At Heart' - Stuart Staples
'Uncle Sigmund's Clockwork Storybook' - Sung by Robert Forster (The Go-Betweens)
'Florence's Sad Song' - Sung by Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian)
'White Horses' - Sung by Cerys Mathews
'The Lion & Albert' - Told by Jarvis Cocker
'Robinson Crusoe' - Performed by Tindersticks
'Hushabye Mountain' - Sung by Stuart Staples
'Morningtown Ride' - Sung by Suzanne Osbourne
Inch Worm' - Sung by Kurt Wagner (Lambchop)
'Mary, Mungo & Midge' - performed by Tindersticks
'The Three Sneezes' - told by Martin Wallace
'Puff, The Magic Dragon' - Sung by 'Bonnie' Price Billy and Red
'Hey, Don't You Cry' - Stuart Staples

Intriguing! Somebody send a copy over to us as fast as you possibly can!

The truth behind Roy Walker

Actually, not that much of a story really, except that the Belle & Sebastian track named above was written for Roy Moller, occasional collaborator with the Belles, and who has just released his own debut record, Speak when I'm spoken to on book club records. But don't run off just yet, because it's nowhere near as twee as you might think. Mixing some recognisably belleish instrumentation (expected given that Stevie Jackson has been on producing duties) with some 60s style psychedelic sitar and Beatlesesque vocals, Moller's produced some lovely little ditties. You can check out his myspace page to listen to what's in store on the album.

New boots and...

Well, actually just new boots.

Okay, so they're not even new.

But - they were worn by Stuart Murdoch at Glastonbury. And they can be YOURS if you bid high, bid often!! (You've got a day and a half left, btw!)

From the B & S website:

A pair of Stuart Murdoch's wellies, worn at Glastonbury 2004, are on sale on internet site eBay in a charity auction to raise money for MAG (Mines Advisory Group). The wellies come with a a signed authentication certificate.

Shoes have been donated by 60 high-profile male and female celebrities, from the world of pop, film, TV, sport and the arts.

MAG employs more than 2,500 people worldwide to help provide safer futures for lives affected by conflict in countries such as Lebanon, Angola, Afghanistan and Cambodia. MAG has cleared millions of landmines and unexploded bombs across the world and saved millions of lives and limbs with its programme of conflict recovery.

The MAG auction can be seen on eBay at www.ebay.co.uk and www.magclearsmines.org . It will last for ten days until 8th December 2006.

Please bid generously!

You can bid for the boots, and "step into stuart's boots" (and then perhaps into his office, baby) here.

You can visit MAG here.

mp3: Love on the March

The monkeys are breaking out of the zoo!

Yes, they are: at least, after Belle & Sebastian's Mick Cooke decided to get together with some other groups such as The Flaming Lips and Snow Patrol (whose Gary Lightbody "is an astronaut", covering Marty Wilde) to put together the children's record Colours are Brighter.

Having been unable to find a place for "The Monkeys are Breaking Out of the Zoo" ("where are the monkeys? They're skipping down the street!") on Belle & Sebastian's last record, it's been put together with a group of songs for children and adults that include Franz Ferdinand's Jackie Jackson - which is about a boy who eats cakes until he bursts ("he'd stopped eating cakes, but only because he'd run out of cakes"). Kind of a public health warning (kinda appropriate given Scotland's expanding waistline).

The Divine Comedy, taking a different tack, have put together a medley of excerpts from AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh. Four Tet's "Go Go Ninja Dinosaur" is immense (download via the Colours are Brighter website).

And the best bit of it - the proceeds are to go to Save the Children's Rewrite the Future Campaign, which plans to provide education for children in areas caught in conflict and warfare.

You can buy the record via the colours are brighter website, where you can also listen to some of the tracks being streamed; you can also play a game based on monkeys escaping the zoo (addictive), and download a colouring sheet. Given that I have yet to finish the Roman Army colouring book that I bought last year, I think that I'll hang on for that one.

The myspace page is here.

You can buy the record from play.com, amazon.co.uk, and a handful of tracks are available from itunes UK. US buyers can get an import from amazon.com. It's great, and it's a worthy cause, so get a copy today!


Track listing:

1. Four Tet featuring Princess Watermelon - Go Go Ninja Dinosaur
2. Rasputina - A Skeleton Bang
3. Franz Ferdinand - Jackie Jackson
4. Snow Patrol - I am an Astronaut
5. The Divine Comedy - Three Cheers For Pooh, Cottleston Pie, Piglet Ho
6. The Kooks - The King & I
7. Half Man Half Biscuit - David Wainwright's Feet
8. The Barcelona Pavilion - Tidy Up Tidy Up
9. Jonathan Richman - Our Dog is Getting Older Now
10. Ivor Cutler Trio - Mud
11. Belle and Sebastian - The Monkeys are Breaking Out the Zoo
12. The Flaming Lips - The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now
13. Kathryn Williams - Night Baking

Your mom's a cuckoo*

Ureshii yo, kimi no yume wo mita
Panku na kakkou de
Odori ni iku tokoro datta
Demo kimi wa wakasugite oboetenai**

Here's a bit of fun (that I've blatantly nicked from the Bowlie forum) - a b-side of Belle & Sebastian playing 'I'm A cuckoo', from the Japanese release of the single. The fun part - it's entirely in Japanese. Now you know what 'thin lizzy-o' sounds like in Japanese!

Enjoy!

Belle & Sebastian - 'I'm A Cuckoo', Japanese version (yousendit / megaupload)

Read the thread on Bowlie, here.

**Transcript by Bowlie Midori, from a post made on 2nd July 4.48pm - cheers!
*Apologies. My office is a hub of "your mom" jokes at the moment.

Belle & Sebastian @ Battery Park: Twee-rific!

This one's for you, Skye...

B&S put on the best free Battery Park show I've seen since Ryan Adams back in '04 (or was it '03? hmm). In spite of the torrential downpour which began the exact moment B&S were slotted to take the stage, the Scots put on a stellar show by bringing sunlight and warmth to Lower Manhattan.


The set was a combo of the classics interwined with selections from the latest and much-loved The Life Pursuit. Opening track 'I Fought In A War' provided many smiles and sing alongs from the rain-drenched crowd. As did pretty much all of the set.


At one point, Stuart asked if anybody had some mascara and if they could give it for him during the following number. Of course, I saw at least 10 girls in the front few rows scrambling to find their Maybelline. One lucky girl (as you can see in the accompanying photo) got to it quicker than the rest and in turn had the opportunity to apply (liberally might I add) some make-up to Stuart's face for a good 3 minutes. Stuart seemed extraordinarily thankful.


I can't remember the complete setlist (full one to come) but it included: Sukie In The Graveyard, Another Sunny Day, Funny Little Frog, If You're Feeling Sinister, I Fought In A War, Don't Leave The Light On Baby, Your Cover's Blown, White Collar Boy, The Star Spangled Banner (haha) and an encore of The Boy With The Arab Strap.

A fantastic Independence Day, indeed!


UPDATE! SETLIST!!
I Fought in a War//Another Sunny Day//The Model//Sukie in the Graveyard//Don't Leave the Light on Baby//La Pastie de la Borgiosie//Jonathan David//If She Wants Me//If You're Feeling Sinister//Lord Anthony//Dirty Dream Number Two//Funny Little Frog//I'm a Cuckoo//Your Cover's Blown//The Wrong Girl//White Collar Boy//Sleep the Clock Around//////Star Spangled Banner//Boy with the Arab Strap

Black Sessions

Earlier this month, Belle & Sebastian performed for French radio's Black Sessions, thanks to the kids at Bowlie, you can now download and enjoy the performance!

Either click here to stream the show, or follow this link and scroll halfway down the page. And then stay a while, Bowlie is such fun!

Belle & Sebastian, Black Session 04-05-2006

Tracklisting


THE STATE I AM IN
ANOTHER SUNNY DAY
FUNNY LITTLE FROG
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
SUKIE IN THE GRAVEYARD
ELECTRONIC RENAISSANCE
MIDDLE DISTANCE RUNNER
TO BE MYSELF COMPLETELY
DRESS UP IN YOU
FOX IN THE SNOW
THE BOY WITH THE ARAB STRAP
I’M A CUCKOO
JONATHAN DAVID
JUDY AND THE DREAM OF HORSES

KT in NYC

That cute little Scottish lass KT Tunstall will be at the Barnes & Noble in Chelsea, NYC tomorrow night at 6. She'll be signing autographs and doing a free in-store show. For all those who missed her at Mercury and got shut out of the Bowery show, here's your chance to see what we here at the Music Slut have been raving about for nearly a year.

I'd also like to bring to your attention, all you musicphiles in NYC, 90.7 WFUV Public radio from Fordham University. I've been listening to it for years because my father has always been such a big fan (when I was younger we'd listen to Mountain Stage on Friday nights as a family). The station has such heart and since it's public, their djs can go ahead and play whatever they are really into and want to share- I remember listening once and hearing the 23second 'Her Majesty' off of Abbey Road for example. Today, I heard Coldplay's 'Talk', KT's 'Other Side of the World' and Elliot Smith's 'Between the Bars'- all in a row. Tomorrow's schedule looks amazing so you might want to tune in while at work or on the commute home:

• Thursday 6am-10pm, City Folk: Scottish hipsters Belle & Sebastian in the spotlight.

• 8-9pm, The WFUV CD of the Week:Beth Orton's Comfort of Strangers in its entirety. [Radio only]

• 9pm, Words and Music from Studio A: A preview of the new CD from The Little Willies, with an interview hosted by Rita Houston.

• 10pm-Midnight, The World Cafe©: Canadians Broken Social Scene and the incomparable Laurie Anderson.

Yes, I know

So I'm back to my bad old B&S obsessed ways. The thing is, I'm hidden away in darkest Scotchland, and so nobody can stop me! Well, except Jen and Matt with their access to that evile delete keye....

Anyway. For anyone outside Scotland who missed B&S's performance on BBC2 Scotland's The Music Show, or isn't going to buy the special edition of The Life Pursuit which comes with the show on a lovely lovely shiny-disc-thing, Cable & Tweed have posted a rip of the TV broadcast. You can download it from them here. It's hefty, and it's not a torrent... so expect to wait a while for it...

story time

Come on, I've been good for ages and ages... I haven't mentioned Belle & Sebastian for at least a week! But I can't wait for the new album, nor can I wait for the B&S comic anthology, Put the Book Back on the Shelf that's coming out in Feb too! As I've said before, it's coming from image comics, and it has some great talent working on it. Here's the 'tracklisting':


The State I'm In by Rick Spears & Rob G.
Expectations by Chris Butcher, Kalman Andrasofszky & Ramon Perez
I Could be Dreaming by Andi Watson
We Rule the School by Mark Smith & Paul Maybury
Me and the Major by Tom Hart
Fox in the Snow by Jacob Magraw
Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying by Catia Chen
Dog on Wheels by Kako
Lazy Line Painter Jane by Janet Harvey & Laurenn McCubbin
You Made Me Forget My Dreams by Matthew S. Armstrong
Beautiful by Charles Brownstein & Dave Crosland
Ease Your Feet into the Sea by Bruno D'Angelo
The Model by Jennifer de Guzman & Brian Belew
The Chalet Lines by Erin Laing & Matt Forsythe
Nice Day for a Sulk by Rick Remender & John Heebink
There's Too Much Love by Leela Corman
Legal Man by Joey Weiser
Marx & Engels by Jamie S. Rich & Marc Ellerby
Step into My Office, Baby by Ian Carney & Jonathan Edwards
Dear Catastrophe Waitress by Mark Ricketts & Leanne Buckley
Piazza, New York Catcher by David Lasky
If She Wants Me by Ande Parks & Chris Samnee
Asleep on a Sunbeam by Nicholas Bannister
If You Find Yourself Caught in Love by Steven Griffin

I've already set this up as an iTunes playlist, and it makes a great B&S greatest hits package...

an interesting development in the world of downloading....

Okay, okay, I know some people might say 'enough with the B&S already'. But this ad is the current frontpage to Belleandsebastian.com...



Looks like a regular ad, doesn't it... but look at the bottom of the text: if you find our record online, have a listen; you'll want to buy it anyway...

This comes after the band's manager has been contributing to a thread on bowlie discussing the merits sof The Life Pursuit with people who really shouldn't have their hands on it yet...

Now, doesn't this seem like a much more sensible way to think about music downloading? Better than prosecuting 12 year olds?

Anyone think the record industry (at least starting with people like B&S) are going to be sensible with downloading as a promotional tool?

Wrapped up in Books

More exciting B&S news - early in '06 Image comics will be putting out an anthology of stories based on Belle & Sebastian's songs. From Amazon.co.uk:


With their infectious brand of Scottish indie pop, Belle and Sebastian have been cult and critical favorites for years. The band's colorful lyrics and gorgeous, full bodied melodies have provided "Image Comics" with the inspiration for a new kind of comic anthology. With "Put the Book Back on the Shelf", a stellar collection of independent comic creators and cartoonists put their own spins on a cross section of Belle and Sebastian's songs, crafting stories inspired by the band's music, drawn from the band's entire catalog.



Sad to say, I've already pre-ordered mine.

Here's some B&S book-related nonsense...

Belle & Sebastian - Wrapped up in Books
(buy Dear Catastrophe Waitress)

B & S silliness continues...

From the bowlie forums (posted by the band's manager):

"Look out, here comes the cavalry...


Double Lp. Gatefold sleeve. Going to look fantastic. And as an added little bonus, it comes with a voucher getting you a free download of the album from 7 Digital, so people with decks and iPods get the best of both worlds. I don't think any has ever done that before. I have to say it was Beans' [Chris Geddes] idea.

As has been mooted, the initial run of the CD will have a bonus DVD of the BBC performance. It will be limited, but not so limited that folk who want one won't be able to get one. The packaging will be a bit like "Push Barman"."

I can't wait!

[thread here]