SCOl'TlSll ANDS
Mogwai young arm wrestling team
Arm
1997 has been good for Mogwai. Their debut album Mogwai Young Team reached Number 75 in the charts which, while not in the same league as The Spice Girls, is pretty damn respectable for a bunch of noise terrorists and means that around 10,000 folk reckon it was worth shelling out for the CD. Look out for their remix of the David Holmes track 'Don't Die Just Yet'. Here are Stuart Mogwai’s thoughts on 1997:
Favourite album 'Labradford's Mi Med/a Nara/ya lt's dead loud then dead guiet Serene ' r Best gig 'Wat(hing Pavement at the lowlands Festival in Holland '
iiilni oi the year lien: Hort/or), a 'ea"\.‘ good l"()(i(‘lli horror story that's not too stvl sed (i'l(i 's'i't like these films where the monsters arein staiy' ‘.""'lia‘t's Santa bringing? 'llie Joy D'MISIt‘i'i box set and the l):ddv Kong rat ing game ‘or my Nintendo' i he ’i'eletubbies: Suck or rock? 'l’eob'e who are up that early ‘n the day are (i(‘\.'l<lll’.
T'avoiii‘ite touring activity its not a ‘a\otir te but it's a (onstan! t'at tor we toured r‘ Amerira lat'ng al' the Ian}. lood avai'able in every (ountry we vs". 's ‘ii'i '
I've vomited exe'y state that
:iL‘sL thing about being a musician 'Not being exper ted to do any work It you l)'()(lt2((‘ ‘1‘) minutes of rniisir a year people give you a pat on
the ba( k ’
lt’s probable that few people were more surprised than Falkirk duo Arab Strap when Radio 1 picked up on their debut single 'The First Big Weekend' and turned it into a minor hit. If you've not heard the single, you'll have heard the music on the Guinness statistic ads. Their bleak debut album put in a respectable showing and this year’s 'Girls Of The Summer’ EP charted at Seventy Five. Their next album, Philophobia (the fear of love), should come out in
April. Aidan and Malcolm try and remember 1997.
Favourite albums
Aidan: ’Mogwai's Mogwai Young learn but that looks ’rke arse kissing l"i(‘ AiI Sa'nts one rs
very good '
Mairolm "lhe Naiinee Coleman album I've got to listen to Aidan singing every night so for recreation I'd rather listen to someone who ran really sing '
Best gig
Aidan 'It's lvlogwai again but they’ll take the piss out of me Smog were good at K'ng l‘ut’s ' Makoirri. 'Sprrituaii/ml at Finsbury Park But I've seen them three times and the other two were
pish so it must nave been the drugs.’ What's in Santa's sack?
Aidan 'lvle murii’s gett'ng me an At-At You know, the |.'lll)(‘l‘(li waiker thing ‘rorn Star Wars,’ Makoim ’Tomb Raider // and a delay pedal. I’ve (ornpleted Tomb Raider three times. 8m. I do
have a sooal 'ife ' Teletubbies: Suck or rock? Malcolm ’Surk a root '
Aidan: ’F:i( kin’ pish lt jllSl shows that a( id tasiia'ttes (an get work ten years later '
Highlights of 97 Makolm: ‘l've not had any.’
Aidan 'Startrng .my sexual re'ationship With my girlfriend'
Top touring time waster Malcolm: ' orie so I went off =n a hu‘f '
d /
Another completely irrelevant Belle and Sebastian picture
6 THE “ST 19 Dec 1997 r 8 Jan 1998
laying Hangman \Nlli‘ swear words but when it (ame to my turn I (ouldn't think of
For a band who have resolutely refused to play the music biz game, Belle and Sebastian look like they’re going to have the last laugh. Vinyl editions of the limited edition debut album Tigermilk are worth their weight in gold, the follow up album, If You’re Feeling Sinister has sold 25,000 copies while the three EPs they released last summer have sold 75,000 copies and each one has charted successively higher than its predecessors. Whether or not we will ever see them on Top Of The Pops remains a moot point. Guitarist Stevie Jackson ponders the meaning of 1997.
Favourite album ’Does it have to be contemporary '(os I don't think I’ve bought any this year, I mainly listen to (ompilation tapes that people have made for
FT] (7
Arab Strap: happy, happy, joy, joy
Best gig 'Our own would be in a former synagogue at the CM} lestival in New York We sold out both gigs and while we have a deserved reputation for being a shambles, they were the best we've done Astrid at the Halt Bar do i)lli"(l.'ll pop musir ’
Tele'tulibies: suck or rock? 'l know nothing about
them '
‘.fl.’liat would you like Santa “to bring? Hie Pet Sounds box set '
Highlight; of the year ’(ioing to New York for the first
time It's the mundane things like the yellow (abs and the delis '
Favourite touring activities 'We’ve not really done any tours When we started we made a (onsr ious derision to keep everything low key'