Bellend Sebastian

Apropos of nothing, the TC Electronics Magus Pro distortion pedal is a 23 quid on Amazon and Thomann at the moment. 

It's basically a copy of the original RAT distortion pedal and has two extra modes that mimic the Turbo RAT and I believe Fat Rat.

These used to be about £70 and I waited ages for a deal and paid about 50 because I'm a tight arse, so why they're so cheap now I've no idea but DON'T QUESTION IT, it's great

13 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

I bought Hatful of Hollow on vinyl from a second hand record shop somewhere (I think) near where High Street meets St Nicholas Place in 1990/91. I clearly remember getting home and playing it for the first time. It was one of those moments you have during your teenage years when you feel a whole new world has opened up and your taste in music will never be quite the same again.

 

It turned out the copy I picked up was a rare first edition. It went in my parents' loft along with the rest of my records after I went to live overseas for a while in my 20s. Four years ago I purchased a new record player and told my parents I wanted my records back. It turned out my mum had given them all to a second hand store several years before without telling me to "make space". "I didn't think you'd need them again," she said.

Cheers mum 

My mum did and does a lot of fairly inexplicable things but giving away my possessions was not one of them, thankfully. 

Not a big Smiths fan though

1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said:

How do you know if it has been boiled already or not when you come to it?

A brew made with reboiled water is one of the very worst things made by man. If reboiled more than once then it's automatic referral to The Hague

22 hours ago, Costello said:

"Hatful of Hollow" was and still is a classic album. I'd recommend it to anyone who is too young to have seen or even remember The Smiths. In the process of re-buying all the Smiths 12" singles - sold them all before joining the Navy in 1987, and it's gutting seeing them all being sold for at least 10 times more ! Worth it though. 

It was the first Smiths album I bought, in about 1990, I think. I'd not long been given Bona Drag (which I'd similarly not realised was a compilation) as I adored 'Suedehead', Morrissey's first solo single, and that just blew me away. 

I'd always liked The Smiths without diving in as I didn't feel I was their target audience (I was only 12 when they split) so I went for Hatful of Hollow because it had a lot of singles on that I remembered. It didn't grab me as quickly as Bona Drag, as a lot of those session tracks are a bit brash and direct compared to what I was used to, but I was hooked within a week or so and made it my mission to get my hands on everything that Morrissey and The Smiths had ever recorded, which I pretty much managed to do but took a while.

The original incarnation of Rough Trade went down the pan around that time, and it was actually quite difficult to get your hands on even the albums until The Smiths' catalogue was bought up by Warner's and they were re-released in about '94.

I still remember the little HMV in the Market Place having all the Smiths CD singles (which probably came out after the band game to an end) in stock, not buying them and regretting it weeks later when the whole catalogue got deleted

16 hours ago, Dr Marco said:

 

Do you like it? I really like Makeup is a Lie now, but this feels like a struggle and I've heard live versions of it a few times before. 

Interesting to see Alain Whyte credited with backing vocals, thought he was out of the fold again

2 hours ago, davieG said:

Mix of The Young Ones and Bottom 

I was thinking a Leonard Rossiter vibe.

Bloody hell, I'm ageing myself there, aren't I, and I'm not THAT old

5 minutes ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

A meter story, Norwich, 1983....

 

- Upstairs: 3 bedsits, occupied by Beardy Hothead Lad, Smarmy Pink Beret Lad & Beery Scruff Lad (me), plus a shared kitchen....and shared coin meter.

- Downstairs: Aging landlady Vera with her work-from-home poodle parlour and ample supply of Daily Mails, make-up and blue rinse hair dye.

 

One day, Vera confronted me with (unfounded) accusations of thieving. Someone had broken into the meter and attached bits of Bluetac to the wheel, slowing down its movement so as to reduce the need for 50p coins. I was prime suspect, but pled Not Guilty. Despite being Vera's golden boy, Smarmy Pink Beret Lad eventually confessed.

 

Strangely, about 6 years later, I bumped into Smarmy Lad outside an independent cinema in Brighton. He was still smarmy, still wearing a beret but I'm not sure it was pink any more.

Like a Dick Emery character, Vera was a sucker for good-looking young men. I had a mate who looked like then noted "beefcake" snooker player Tony Knowles and I still remember Vera simpering excitedly over him when he showed up on the doorstep. 

You've got the premise and characters for a pretty solid 70s/80s sitcom beloved by millions right there. Who would have played you?

On 27/01/2026 at 15:44, Olm74 said:

Hi...just started playing guitar again after years away concentrating my attention on synths.

Got my early 90's Japanese Jazzmaster out but I think it needs some attention....probably just re-setting up.

Is the https://leicestershire-luthier.co.uk/ still the best place locally to get this work done or anyone know anybody closer to the city? I used to use In

On 27/01/2026 at 15:44, Olm74 said:

Hi...just started playing guitar again after years away concentrating my attention on synths.

Got my early 90's Japanese Jazzmaster out but I think it needs some attention....probably just re-setting up.

Is the https://leicestershire-luthier.co.uk/ still the best place locally to get this work done or anyone know anybody closer to the city? I used to use Intersound on Narb road but I think that's moved now.

 

tersound on Narb road but I think that's moved now.

 

That's well nice. Have you got it booked in?

Danny and Nat at Leicestershire Luthier are great, and their work excellent.

Their place is in Hathern on the A6 and it's not much harder for me to go there than try and park in Clarendon Park to go to Howard Smith who is also very good, and still in business as far as I know

You keep everything inside, like a bashful clam!

Stick with the plan guys! Making America Great Again just involves making it really shit again first

2 hours ago, Raj said:

Bet she looks like @Bellend Sebastian without all the tonnage of make up and stuff.

 

 

You have no idea what I look like without the tonnage of make up and stuff

23 minutes ago, fox_favourite said:

Your internet history is questionable 

I'm just trying to Make America Great Again. 

So far it's going pretty well

Everyone's going on about Trump's decline but I've seen loads of weird MAGA AI art where he's got his shirt off and he looks pretty ripped, let me tell you and why would they lie about that

Not the farmer, obviously

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c931ng11x4ro

I should be pleased about the equaliser but when I shut my eyes I can still visualise a Mercury back page with the headline SPARE US FROM THIS PATIENCE TESTING WANK

There's a lot going on in this and I am absolutely not saying he's right, but it's interesting all the same. Apologies if already posted:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/18/tech-ai-bubble-burst-reverse-centaur

4 hours ago, VLC86 said:

Yeah they make a right racket.

 

I’ve got a few that come in my garden so I’ve been leaving dog food out for a while. Now I think they are getting better food elsewhere so they rarely come so the neighbours now have very fat cats.

If I did that I'd just get bigger rats, and to be honest they're plenty big enough as it is

3 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Maybe he was looking for his mate, Foxy Peter, who he hasn't seen for years.

In fairness, I've seen a couple of decrepit looking ones of late that could pass for Peter himself.

Imagine if he came back now. I think people would say "what is this?" even more, and more angrily, than they did back in the day

1 hour ago, Spudulike said:

I actually thought that a woman was being assulted the first time I heard it. Scared the bejeebers out me. 

Yes, it's mental isn't it? I was like 'I THINK that's a fox, but I'd better check', was quite relieved to see it was

Another fox visitation last night, this time one sauntering down the middle of the road in front of the house, doing that horrendous screaming thing they do. I've heard it before but it's usually in the middle of the night and very brief, but this lad was screeching his head off at about 9.30.

I knew what it was and saw old Foxy having a good old shout, but if you didn't know what it was you'd wonder WTF was going on, as evidenced by nearly everyone on the street peaking out of their curtains 

If there's one thing that can save Britain it's a party featuring large chunks of the more amateurish elements of the last widely adored Tory administration

Just now, spacemunky said:

I was not expecting an Olivia Rodrigo song, covered by David Byrne, to be my favourite song of 2026.

I know it's early but it's definitely mine.

My kids are horrified by it but were slightly pacified when told she'd very much endorsed it. 

In Olivia we trust!

Have we had this? I can't believe how well it works.

I'm delighted to admit that I think Olivia Rodrigo is an absolutely top notch pop talent, but I think she will be thrilled at how this turned out (which I think happened because she asked him to do it)

The second series of Things You Should Have Done appeared with so little fanfare on the iPlayer recently I didn't even realise it was out. 

It's not going to be for everyone but I love this programme so much, it's just ridiculous. 

No Selin Hizli this time which was a shame at first but this has made room for Bridget Christie who's brilliant in it

On 10/01/2026 at 12:58, Bellend Sebastian said:

After all that fuss got myself a pair of New Balance 860s that seem to fit pretty well. Bit annoyed to see them for £15 less on THEIR OWN WEBSITE when I got in, though 

Very impressively, I've been refunded the difference despite not even saying which store I visited or providing any proof of purchase. They must have traced the transaction via my email address. 

Runners Need/Cotswold Outdoor have therefore earned themselves the much coveted Bellend Sebastian Seal of Approval*

An actual seal, that is massive and makes that terrible honking sound and also stinks but looks benignly upon you bringing a sense of peace and fulfillment