En we hebben een top-100

1. My Wandering Days Are Over 10,00
2. Lazy Line Painter Jane 10,00
3. Like Dylan in the Movies 9,80
4. Seeing Other People 9,78
5. Dirty Dream Number Two 9,75
6. Nobody's Empire 9,65
7. Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying 9,65
8. If You're Feeling Sinister 9,65
9. Judy and the Dream of Horses 9,60
10. Piazza, New York Catcher 9,65

11. Dress Up in You 9,60
12. I'm Waking Up To Us 9,60
13. Dog on Wheels 9,55
14. She’s Losing It 9,55
15. Expectations 9,50
16. Another Sunny Day 9,50
17. Is It Wicked Not To Care 9,45
18. Sleep the Clock Around 9,40
19. Mary Jo 9,40
20. Electronic Renaisscance 9,40

21. I Didn't See It Coming 9,35
22. Me and the Major 9,35
23. Photo Jenny 9,35
24. Beautiful 9,35
25. A Century of Fakers 9,30
26. I'm a Cuckoo 9,30
27. Mayfly 9,30
28. Seymour Stein 9,30
29. Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie 9,30
30. Put The Book Back On The Shelf 9,25

31. I Could Be Dreaming 9,20
32. Desperation Made a Fool of Me 9,20
33. (My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique 9,20
34. I Fought in a War 9,15
35 Play for Today 9,10
36. Marx And Engels 9,10
37. I Don't Love Anyone 9,10
38. Jonathan David 9,10
39. Enter Sylvia Plath 9,05
40. If She Wants Me 9,05

41. Nothing in the Silence 9,00
42. Funny Little Frog 8,95
43. Fuck This Shit 8,95
44. It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career 8,90
45. Ease Your Feet in the Sea 8,85
46. I Know Where the Summer Goes 8,85
47. I Can See Your Future 8,80
48. Lord Anthony 8,75
49. I Want the World to Stop 8,75
50. Dear Catastrophe Waitress 8,70

51. Shoot the Sexual Athlete 8,70
52. Chickfactor 8,65
53. Legal Man 8,65
54. Heaven in the Afternoon 8,65
55. Belle & Sebastian 8,60
56. Act of the Apostle I 8,55
57. Allie 8,55
58. Simple Thing 8,50
59. Ever Had a Little Faith? 8,50
60. I Love My Car 8,50

61. Judy is a Dick Slap 8,50
62. Paper Boat 8,50
63. A Summer Wasting 8,45
64. (I Believe in) Travellin' Light 8,30
65. I Took a Long, Hard Look 8,25
66. Big John Shaft 8,15
67. Act of the Apostle II 8,10
68. Read the Blessed Pages 8,10
69. Blue Eyes of a Millionaire 8,05
70. Born to Act 8,05

71. Nice Day for a Sulk 8,05
72. Passion Fruit 8,05
73. A Politician's Silence 8,00
74. A Century of Elvis 8,00
75. If You Find Yourself Caught In Love 7,95
76. Family Tree 7,90
77. Meat and Potatoes 7,90
77. Come on Sister 7,85
79. Asleep on a Sunbeam 7,80
80. Love on the March 7,80

81. Roy Walker 7,75
82. For the Price of a Cup of Tea 7,75
83. Black and White Unite 7,75
84. Piggy In The Middle 7,75
85. Perfect Couples 7,70
86. Olympic Village, 6AM 7,70
87. Don't Leave the Light on, Baby 7,70
88. I'm Not Living in the Real World 7,40
89. I Don't Want to Play Football 7,40
90. Mornington Crescent 7,30

91. Mr. Richard 7,30
92. Cassaco Marron 7,15
93. A Space Boy Dream 7,00
94. Long Black Scarf 6,70
95. Last Trip 6,65
96. Final Day 6,50
97. Beyond the Sunrise 6,40
98. Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John 6,40
99. Calculating Bimbo 6,25
100. Crash 5,75

Schaduwlijst volgt aan het eind, dus blijf vooral cijfers geven

There's Too Much Love, Johan & Luigi's Belle & Sebastian Top 100 on Spotify

Slow Graffiti (1998)

What's up with 1998 Deze b side van de This Is Just a Modern Rock Song EP uit hetzelfde jaar treffen we hier aan. Ook te vinden op Push Barman en de soundtrack The Acid House naar een boek van Irvine Welch. Mooie song wel, zowel de muziek als tekst is vrij reflectief and "pensive". Het start kaal met alleen piano en Stu, maar gelukkig komt er snel wat bij. Fijn die drums en gitaar als een soort hakmessen die sneetjes zetten. Past mooi bij de rimpels en scars waar Stu over zingt. Wat blazers en strings erbij maken het plaatje compleet. Fijne song, ik kende het nog niet.

9,4


There's a portrait
In a back room
Which I keep for days upon
Which I relent
And gaze for hours on
The muscle, skin and bone of some
Imaginary friend.

So how about it?
Show me please how I
Will look in twenty years
And let me please
Interpret history
In every line and scar
That's painted there in front of me.

It doesn't matter what I'm thinking
What I tell myself to do
I'll end up calling.

I stay in to defrost the fridge
Now the kid has gone to bed
A feeling of dread
At least when she's around
The trouble's there
It's worse to wake up with her
Falling round the room.

Listen Johnny, you're like a mother
To the girl you've fallen for,
And you're still falling

Listen Johnny, you're like a mother
To the girl you've fallen for,
And you're still falling

And if they come tonight
You'll roll up tight
And take whatever's coming to you next

Fantastisch liedje, zeker een van mn faves

9,8

Song for Sunshine (2006)

What the heck doet Stevie Wonder op The Life Pursuit Zo klinkt het in ieder geval wel als de song start... SoulBelle Of Herbie Hancock of zoiets... Maar het is een fraaie en groovy song en dan vooral het open en hemels zonnige refrein, damn wat een bliss. Ik ga al weer naar dat zorgeloze van de zomer verlangen De coupletten zijn ook wel aardig, maar dat refrein heeft iets weg van CT's helderheid en schoonheid. Zonnige tekst ook. Ik zet Heaven or Las Vegas even op

9,4


Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away
Millions of people never start in the race
There's stuff on out plates that has not been alive
Someone pays full price for my cheap flight life

Sunshine, we all see the same sky

I am a man filled with longing desire
The gifts of creation are ready for hire
A look and a label are all I require
Enough's not enough, I never ask why

Sunshine, we all see the same sky
Looking, learning, asking the same 'why?'?

Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away
Millions of people never start in the race
There's stuff on out plates that has not been alive
Someone else pays the real price of my cheap flight life

Wheel of fortune spins,
But the wheels on fire come crashing on you
Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away

Sunshine, we all see the same sky
Looking, learning, asking the same 'why?'
Sunshine, we all see the same sky

Voor mij altijd de skip-track van TLP geweest.
Nu ik hem weer eens hoor valt het me nog mee.
Maar toch wel een fillertrack voor me.

6,5

Had wat meer aciiiiid kunnen gebruiken

Peper was ook al fijn geweest

Stay Loose (2003)

Tijd weer voor eentje van de desastreuze serveerster Wat mij betreft zeker niet een van de beste songs van het album, maar toch zeker meer dan aardig om te horen. Een van hun langste songs ook wel geloof ik. Vanaf het begin van de song moet ik denken aan een beroemde song van een beroemde band, maar ik kan er totaal niet op komen Otherways doet t mij een beetje Doe Maar en Police achtig aan met een Zombies feel. Mijn fave part van de song begint vanaf ongeveer halverwege als de gitaarsolo begint met Belle gitaarloopjes die verderop ook terugkomen

Daarom toch een 9

I was choking on a cornflake
You said "Have some toast instead"
I was sleeping maybe three hours
You said "You should get to bed"
I was waiting at the church door
For the minister to show
I was looking at the new year
You said "Walk before you crawl"

I was feeling like a loser
You said "Hey, you've still got me"
I was feeling pretty lonely
You said "You wanted to be free"
I was looking for a good time
You said "Let the good times start"
With a quiver of your eyelid
You took on someone else's part

Maybe I'm a little greedy
You said "Think before you speak"
Sometimes I'm a little seedy
You said "Everyone is weak"
Now I feel a little better
Is there something I can do?
But I never heard the answer
I never had a clue

But what about me
I don't really see
How things will improve
If all you want is to stay loose

There's a little echo calling
Like a miner trapped inside
If I tell her of this moment
She will in me doubts confide
And she's on me like a blanket
Like a stalk of wilting grass
I'm not sure about her motives
I'm not sure about her past

But my faith is like a bullet
My belief is like a bolt
The only thing that lets me sleep at night
A little carriage of the soul
If it starts a little bleaker
Then the year may yet be gold
Happiness is not for keeping
Happiness is not my goal

But what about me
I don't really see
How things will improve
If all you want is to stay loose
But what about them
You play mother hen
To a gaggle of gangling youth
All you want is to stay loose

I was living through the seconds
My composure was a mess
I was miles from tenderness
It was dark outside, the day it was lying in pieces
Everything is flat and dreary
I couldn't care what's in the news
Television is the blues
Television is hysterical laughter of people

And I know it could be me
I'm always asking for more
I keep running around in circles
I keep looking for a doorway
I'm going to need two lives
To follow the paths I've been taking

Inderdaad atypische Belle-song.
Beetje vroege Costello hoor ik er ook in.
Ik vind hem wel erg lekker.

9,2

Geweldig nummer, had een hit moeten zijn

8,5

Step Into My Office, Baby (2003)

En we blijven serveren Het werd ook wel weer eens tijd Ziehier de 1e single van het betreffende album. Beatles meets Beach Boys ofzo? Op het eerste gehoor vind ik het niet een heel geweldige song, maar het feit dat het maar doorgaat is wel een sterk element Een jolige song wel, beetje T.Rex feel ook wel, in de ritmesectie zeker. Deed t niet zo geweldig in de charts in de UK en bij ons nog minder met een 80e plek. Leuk nummertje dus, voor mij een typische 8,5

She called me up today
Meet me down at the old cafe
I jumped into the shower
I was getting my marching orders

We need to talk
Step into my office, baby
I want to give you the job
A chance of overtime
Say, my place at nine?

She'd never stand for any lies
She's got an Out Tray full of guys
I could sense a breath, a whole new feeling
Now she says she wants to call a meeting

We need to talk
Step into my office, baby
I want to give you the job
A chance of overtime
Say, my place at nine?

I'm a slave to work
I'm only living when I walk amongst the office staff
And catch up with the office wag
I'll be in bed by nine
My curtains drawn
My thoughts composed
I get to work on time

She gave me some dictation
But my strength is in administration
I took down all she said
I even took down her little red dress

We need to talk
Step into my office, baby
I'm going to give you the job
I'm pushing for a raise
I've been pushing now for days

My output is in decline
I was burned out after Thatcher
My banner I laid down with a sigh
Now I doubt if I'll ever catch her

I've got to change my ways
Dress for business every day
A smart suit and a kipper tie
A big arrow pointing to my fly

Have you shaved for work yet baby
Don't go out the boss is waiting

We need to talk
Step into my office, baby
I want to give you the job
A chance of overtime
Say, my place at nine?

Dit vind ik een van hun minste singles.
DCW begint eigenlijk pas bij track 2 voor mij.

7,0 nog net

Not much love then

7.7

Ergens was ik dit vergeten dit te volgen...da’s stom.

Nee hoor, wij waren vergeten verder te gaan

9,5
Alleen het intro is al goud

Zal de Office nog weer open gaan?

Stop, Look and Listen (2004)

Voor deze site er helemaal de brui aan geeft is er nog wat unfinished business En wat beter om een topic te herstarten dan met een übervrolijke b side. Van de I'm a Cuckoo single in dit geval van Dear Catastrophe Waitress, te vinden op de Third Eye Centre compilatie. Lekkere track wel, vooral de wah wah vibe staat me wel aan All male duo vocals dit keer. De song voelt aan als een stoomlocomotief of mantra, zeker ook qua tekst. Zo een song als deze doet denken aan 60s en 70s werk, maar dan met 80s janglegitaarwerk met een countrytwang. Toch weer heerlijk hoor!

8,9

I finally gave myself the time to see you
I finally gave myself the time to see you
I finally gave myself the time to see you for a while
If only we could see past the veneer we'd see another side of you

Simone said she would think about not seeing me
Simone said she would think about not seeing me
Simone said she would think about not seeing me for a while
I hung around with her for forty days and forty nights, it was a wilderness

If only you would stop, look and listen
If only you would stop, look and listen
If only you would stop, look and listen you'd be fine
But being deaf and being blind just seems to be the way you spend your time

Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Your words are true and all I do is dream

Spent summer in the city of my childhood
Spent summer in the city of my childhood
Spent summer in the city of my childhood for old times
But there's no going back for me, the faces had all changed I was a stranger

He made the same mistake 'til he got wiser
He made the same mistake 'til he got wiser
By then it was too late and he despised her, what a crime
If he was cruel to be kind, he would've saved the trouble and the time

Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Your words are true and all I do
Think of you, your words are true and all I do
Think of you, your words are true and all I do is dream

I live alone the silence it can make you
I live alone the silence it can take you
I live alone the silence it can break you after a while
Not long ago I made a deal, the ghosts around the house all seem to like me

My life is falling down I am surrounded
My life is falling down I am confounded
My life is falling down I am dumbfounded, what a mess
I lay back silent as a cat and let you work your mysteries of healing

Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Your words are true and all I do
Think of you, your words are true and all I do
Think of you, your words are true and all I do is dream

9 had ook een Bietels liedje kunnen zijn

Wel een geinig liedje maar ik kan er verder niet heel erg veel mee.

7,1

Weleens aan meeklappen gedacht

Nee, eigenlijk niet, ik zal het eens proberen

Storytelling (2002)

Zijn we aanbeland bij het titelnummer van de gelijknamige film van Todd Solondz. Ik heb wel eens een film van hem gezien geloof ik, maar niet deze. Lekker nummertje wel! Ik heb niet een van mijn beste dagen vandaag (nee, het heeft niet met voetbal te maken ), maar ik zette deze track net op en mijn humeur werd meteen een stuk beter Knap wel hoe veel (misschien wel bijna alles) van deze band zo vrolijk en uplifting is Classic Belle track wel Storytelling. Typische Belle pianoritmes en melodie, een dansbare schwung zit altijd wel in veel hun songs. Dit is wat mij betreft bijna 3 minuten perfectie. Geen grootse song, maar wel allervermakelijkst. Een perfecte mengelmoes van verschillende pianoriedeltjes, female en male vocals en female backing vocals, gecomplementeerd met een heerlijke fluit hier en daar en wat blazers op de achtergrond. Van begin tot eind een joyeuze treat voor the ears

9

Picture a scene in your mind
Looks at all the people and take note of the setting behind
Listen, watch, and wait
A plot begins to take shape

There's a story
And then characters will come to you
Relating events as they choose to
But all their words and actions come entirely from you

If you're a storyteller you might think you're without responsibility
And you can lead your characters anywhere you want
You have immunity
Have you considered the way

People might react to all the things that your characters say?
And are their actions hand in hand with what you want to portray?
Are you sick?
Are you crippled? Insane?

Expressing the desires that daren't speak their name?
Are you the one to be blamed?
Now you're a storyteller you might think you are without…

Heel lang niet gehoord. Moet hem eerst weer eens luisteren voordat ik hem kan beoordelen

Wel leuk met die fluit, maar mij iets te lichtvoetig.

7,2

Lichtvoetig als een zonnetje op een grijze dag

String Bean Jean (1997)

Hier een track van Belle's debuut EP Dog on Wheels. Ook weer een fijn nummer, wat minder memorabel en opgetogen dan het nummer zojuist, maar dat mag de pret niet drukken. De track start prettig met een spaghettiwesterngitaar en ook de Ringo Starr-y drums zijn aangenaam en zorgen voor een driving ritme. Verderop krijgen we nog een Felt-sy gitaar en spacey synths, maar op de voorgrond staat toch wel de fijne zang van Stu in dit nummer. Ik heb toch wel het idee dat in dit soort nummers de zang/het verhaal op de voorgrond staat en de muziek als een soort vervoersmiddel dient. Een best wel mooie in dit geval

8,8

got my fingers dirty at the school of rock
Yeah I got my fingers dirty so I took a walk
I went up to the country park and hung around till after dark
Till the girls got home
Till the girls got home

Did I tell you 'bout the one I know, she's on the rag
She spent the summer day inside her sleeping bag
Yeah she spent the summer day inside until it's time to work
And she works all night
Cause the girl's all right

The girls have got a house that's like a caravan
And it's like your holidays whenever you go round
And we always have a laugh and then we all get in the bath
To save on the leccy bill
Me & Jo & Phil'

I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys around the way
I had to go to work
I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys down in the caf'
I had to catch a bus

And when Jo was short of cash I had to give her some
But I didn't really mind cause I was fit for once
So she paid the leccy bill and got the shopping and she still had
Some for the cinema
So we all went out

She asked me "Do I need to lose a bit of weight?"
And I told her "Don't be stupid 'cause you're looking great"
And I call her String Bean Jean because the label on her jeans says
Seven to eight years old, well that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old, that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old, that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old

I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys around the way
I had to go to work
I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys down in the caf'
I had to catch a bus

Suicide Girl (2010)

Een wat recentere Belle dit keer, wat meer amped up ook en dat is fijn Dit was een extraatje op een cd single die gelimiteerd werd weggegeven bij aankoop van het album Write About Love. Qua stijl past het inderdaad niet op het album, maar van mij had het er wel op gemogen. Het was een welkome aanvulling geweest, omdat het reguliere album naast voor de helft erg mooie songs ook een aardig aantal mindere songs bevat. De song begint meteen goed met een vrolijke sfeer (ondanks het thema) en die heerlijke 80s synths. Upbeat, uplifting, Stu die achter de muziek aan zingt en dan vanaf bijna halverwege die heerlijke kling kleng klang heldere gitaarsolo
Het staat ook op compilatiealbum The Third Eye Centre.

9,2

My friend,
She wants,
To be a suicide girl.
I'll take her picture,
For the whole wide world.
I've known her for a long time,
You could say that I'm a fan,
But I always thought that I would be her man.

My friend,
She wants,
To be the girl of suicide.
She wants a number,
For her radical side.
I know that she is special,
I can see what she has got,
But without her gloves and garnered clothes (?)
She will take them to the world,
Exposed, she gives it all away.

My friend,
She sometimes gets anxiety and stress.
She got a man,
From the NHS.
She proclaims a week of sadness!
She's abstained from telling jokes!
The world will see her poor image, (?)
A butterfly to empathy.
I know that I can do it,
I'm in to light, I'm in to shade.
But let's face the facts,
We ain't goin' back,
When she takes off her clothes we'll never be the same again!

Twee favorieten van me!

SBJ: heerlijke onbezorgde early Belle-track. Had op zowel het eerste als tweede album niet misstaan.

8,9

SG: Prachtige late Belle-track, mijn favoriet van The Third Eye Centre. Had zeker op Write About Love gekund, was dan een van mijn fave tracks geweest.

9,2

Sukie in The Graveyard (2006)

Afkomstig van het album The Life Pursuit deze track. Een beetje andersoortig dan we van ze gewend zijn, genoeg Belle elementen dat wel. Lekker begin met die wah wah van de Hammond orgel. Stu's stem klinkt ook een beetje anders en hij zingt ook T.Rex like ofzo. De song heeft zelf ook wel een glammy en bluesy feel, zeker met die gitaar vanaf halverwege. Fijn baswerk ook wel als ondertoon. Kortom een leuk nummer, niet heel memorabel, maar ik mag m graag horen.

8,5

Sukie was the kid, she liked to hangout in the graveyard
She did brass rubbings, she learned you never had to press hard
When she finished hanging out she was all alone
She decided that she better check in at home
There was an awful row between her mum and dad
They said she hadn't done this, she hadn't done that
If she wanted to remain inside the family home
She'd have to tow the line, she'd have to give it a go
It didn't suit Sukie
So she took her things and left

Sukie was the kid, she liked to hang out at the art school
She didn't enrol, but she wiped the floor with all the arseholes
She took a bijou flat with the fraternity cat
She hid inside the attic of the sculpture building
She had a slut slave and his name was Dave
She said 'Be my photo bitch and I'll make you rich'
He didn't believe her but the boy revered her
He got her meals and he got her a bed
He watched behind the screen and she started to undress
He never got far
Just lookin' and playing guitar

Autumn hanging down all the trees are draped like chandeliers
Sukie saw the beauty but she wasn't wet behind the ears
She had an A1 body and a face to match
She didn't have money, she didn't have cash
With the winter coming on, and the attic cold
She had to press her nose on the refectory wall
They served steamed puddings she went without
She had to pose for life for all the scholars of art
She didn't feel funny, she didn't feel bad
Peeling away everything she had
She had the grace of an eel, sleek and stark
As the shadows played tricks on the girl in the dark

Sukie was the kid, she liked to hangout in the graveyard

Ja, leuk nummertje wel, maar mij iets te gimmicky.

7,4