we'd rather be watching football

so as every music blog in the know universe has already covered, there's a new Belle and Sebatian record entitled the Life Pursuit that is releasing this week. i know "another sunny day" has been available for download since leaves where still falling from the trees last year and i liked it quite a bit, enough to ride my anticipation out for a few months. it's hard to believe Belle and Sebastian have been around like ten years now. they've always been one of my favorite bands and yet i always felt guilty stating as much because compared to my other favorite bands, they didn't come off as being around long enough to prove themselves.

in 1997 i flew out to new york to catch the band's first shows in the states. i still remember it quite vividly. the first show i was right up against the stage. i was on the guest list and so no one stopped to see if i had a camera or anything. thus, i took a bunch of pics that ended up being used in magazines around the world, which was kinda neat back when i was just some dumb college kid way in love with a band. the highlight of the show, or moreso the story i recollect most, is when i followed matt from the Push Kings backstage, basically coming off as we belonged there. i found myself speechless in a conversation between B&S and members of Pavement and American Music Club...starstruck amidst down-to-earth indierockers and such. ah what a silly boy. anyway...months later i saw a B&S bootleg cd that had one of my pics that i took on the sleve. naturally i picked it up. after researching a bit, i figured out it was a recording from the groups bbc radio 1 evening session appearence, recorded in summer of '97 and eventually aired that fall a month prior to my seeing them. it's not the best recording in the world, but i thought i'd share a pair of tracks from it for everyone else who is a fan. the session actually includes an early version of "wrong love," but it has lots of interview attached to it, so i opted for two other familiar songs.

Belle and Sebastian "Seymore Stein (live)"
"Lazy Line Painter Jane (live)"