#The Boy With The Arab Strap

[archivist-crow]

Belle & Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap (1998)

Twenty-six years ago today, on September 7, 1998, The Boy with the Arab Strap, the third studio album by Belle & Sebastian, was released. After their second album came out in 1996, Scottish indie outfit Belle & Sebastian opted to release three EP’s the following year, delaying the release of their third album. However, the EPs all successively climbed the higher on the charts, introducing the band to US college radio audiences, and setting the stage for the new album. Released to acclaim in 1998, the album peaked at number 12 in the UK and was the band’s first real presence in the US.

[reckonslepoisson]

The Boy With the Arab Strap, Belle and Sebastian (1998)

Perhaps my writing about Belle and Sebastian, too, will become a mere impersonation, an embarrassing cliché of my earlier pieces about the band. Critical accusations of The Boy With the Arab Strap as stale or tired have proven false; more delightful twee pop, lyrically and instrumentally as fresh as the day Belle and Sebastian first wrought it. 

Pick: ‘Sleep the Clock Around’

[thequietabsolute]

soberly and without regret I make another sandwich

— Belle & Sebastian, from Ease Your Feet into the Sea [1998]

[punkrockmixtapes]

Belle & Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap

[senorboombastic]

Live Review: Belle and Sebastian at Manchester Academy 21 July 2023

Words: Ben Forrester On my way to the Academy in Manchester this evening, I’m calculating how long it’s been since I was first introduced to Scotland’s premier indie group, Belle & Sebastian. Turns out it’s been 20 years, as it was their 2003 album ‘Dear Catastrophe Waitress’ that switched me on to the Glaswegian’s glistening pop melodies. I’ve therefore waited two whole decades to see them…

[tomcat-radio]

Some Belle and Sebastian sketches because I love their album covers and wanted some value practice. Anyway I’m so normal about this band it’s insane.

[polaroidblog]

“Memoria polaroid” – un blog alla radio S23E18

Bentrovate e bentrovati a una nuova puntata del podcast di “Memoria polaroid – un blog alla radio”, la trasmissione in onda ogni settimana da Bologna sulle frequenze di NEU Radio. Apriamo le danze celebrando il ventennale di Candinista, il leggendario album d’esordio delle Black Candy, e poi viaggiamo da Vancouver a Göteborg, dalla Nuova Zelanda alla Gran Bretagna, passando anche per il nostro…

[ghosts-of-love]

god once you start relating a song to a person it's so hard to snap out of it

[square-braxket]

boy with the arab strap is filled with so many emotions it makes me cry through the whole album

my absolute beloved

[musicalsiphonophore]

rb with yours!

[musicalsiphonophore]

i LOOOOOOVE BELLE AND SEBASTIAN !!!!!!

i saw them live recently they were sooooo good and also i have vinyl of boy with the arab strap and SIGNED vinyl of if youre feeling sinister and i love them sooooooooo much

We’re rocking out to Belle and Sebastian today

Specifically late developers

[bunnyscryptarchived]

jason todd as a lover <3

sfw

a real lover boy. he's obsessed with you and everything about you, doesn't even try to hide it. everyone can see and feel how much love he has for you. physical touch is definitely one of his love languages —he always has to be touching you, whether it's a grip on your waist or a hand resting on your neck. why look for a chair when he has a perfectly good lap right there? he just wants to feel on you at all times.

rarely calls you by your first name unless he's upset. it's always beloved, baby, habib albi, rouhi, hayati, etc (i will be making a post about all the things he calls you in arabic)

quality time! yes jason loves books and you'd definitely have moments reading together but he also canonically likes punk rock and heavy metal. you two would absolutely have your own concerts in your room listening to joy division, the chameleons, killing joke, and black sabbath etc..

he will teach you arabic. he loves flirting with you in the language, watching with a smirk as you get flustered (and annoyed) cause he knows you don't understand.

(speaking of i do want to expand more on that and even do that "surprising my lover by speaking their language" trend)

c l i n g y. personal space is not in his vocabulary. he can't help that he's addicted to you.

he's one possessive mf!! (so are you) do i even need to say more? but let's not get it twisted. he's not the type to control what you wear or who you talk to or what you do —you're your own person. you can do whatever you want. he knows your his and he's yours so he's not all that worried. besides...... he can fight (and he's strapped)

spoils you to no end. will definitely just give you his card with a kiss on the cheek and tell you to treat yourself to whatever. staring at something a little too long at the store? liked an item on social media? he's already ordering it, he doesn't gaf. if you want something its yours.

late night drives on his motorcycle. you're upset? had a bad day? he's already strapping a helmet on your head, putting you on the back of his bike. “tanks all full, we can drive for as long as you want”

nsfw:

loves every position. he just wants to be with you but missionary and cowgirl are his top favorites. missionary —he loves to look your eyes as he whispers sweet and dirty words to you. watching every expression you make as he hits it deep. cowgirl —that's when its your turn. holding him close, tugging his hair, whispering whatever in his ear as you grind down, forehead touching his.

free use!! but him wanting you to use him whenever you want. sad? just want to be close to him? youre just in the mood? use him, he wants you to. whenever you're hesitant, he just reminds you that “baby im yours. whenever you want, alright. i got you. whenever or wherever you need me"

he is a certified munch. gets off just getting you off. loves when you tug his hair pulling him closer. doesn't even want anything in return, he just wants to taste you. he's a messy eater

praise kink praise kink!!! both ways. wants you tell him how good it feels, will also tell you how good you make him feel.

loves when you act bratty cause he knows you just want him to be rough and fuck the attitude out of you.

a moaner and a talker! will talk in arabic without realizing it sometimes. "take it so well baby" "look at me baby, that's it" "pussy feels so fucking good"

[fursasaida]

"What is described here is not 'use of human shields', but rather a much more severe crime: forced conscription of a civilian to act as a suicide bomber on behalf of the IDF. That being said, there is ample evidence that the IDF is also using human shields in recent weeks"

this man was arrested by the IDF, had explosives and a camera strapped to him and a leash put on him, and forced to walk down tunnels so soldiers could check for Hamas fighters via the camera - and detonate him if they saw any. (Presumably of they saw anyone at all, given their disinterest in making any distinctions.) After they let him go they specifically chose "someone younger" to do the same - a 15 year old boy.

The horror is unimaginable.

Note: this is from eyewitness testimony, via a translator, via Mouin Rabbani. Rabbani notes it has not been further verified. The thread does include commentary regarding what makes this account credible. The Arabic account this is translated from is here.