SOUNDTRACK: STEREOLAB-“High Expectation” (1991).
In Stuart David’s book, In The All-Night Café, he lists the songs on a mixtape that Stuart Murdoch gave to him when they first met.
Although I’ve been a fan of Belle & Sebastian for a long time, I knew almost none of the songs on this mixtape. So, much like Stuart David, I’m listening to them for the first time trying to see how they inspire Stuart Murdoch.
In the book, David writes how much he does not like “rock,” especially music based around bluesy rock. Most of these songs, accordingly, do not do that. In fact, most of these songs are (unsurprisingly) soft and delicate.
Stereolab have been around forever (I saw them live two years ago) and their music has gone through several transformations over the years.
This song comes from their second release, an EP called Super-Electric, and was then released on the Switched On collection. It’s a pretty quiet song, with a kind of soporific feel–muted guitars, no drums, and a kind of gauzy sheen over all the music.
One of the best things about Stereolab is that their lyrics are usually absolutely different from what you think they might be about given the music and Lætitia Sadier’s delivery. She sings softly and, because French is her native language, her emphases are not always where one might expect, so she can sing a line like: “There is no sense in being interested/In a child, a group, or in a society” (in the song Spark Plug”) and it sounds like a pretty pop song with lovely backing vocals.
In “High Expectation,” she sings gently over this chill-out song:
Do you really want to love someone who does not love you
Do you really want to stab your enemy in the back. Stab him in front.
and then the understated but still catchy chorus:
I don’t, I don’t, I don’t, I’m sorry.
Stereolab were unique right from the get go.
[READ: June 1, 2020] Check Please Book 2
Check Please is a two-part graphic novel. Book 1 followed college freshman Eric “Bitty” Bittle through his freshman and sophomore years. In book two Bitty is now a junior (and senior) Samwell College and is taking on more responsibilities.
The book is written as a vlog from Bitty. As the opening blurb tells us
I’m a junior on the Samwell men’s hockey team and not only do I have new teammates and responsibilities I’ve got a new beau–remember Jack? Dating a professional hockey player wasn’t anything I expected to do in college. My parents don’t know, my teammates have no clue, and Jack and I aren’t sure that we want to keep it a secret.
Jack Zimmerman is now playing pro hockey for the Falcons. He has a hockey nickname–Zimmboni–and the respect of his team. Despite the high profile games dn Bitty’s schooling, they do manage to see each other (Zoom meetings before they were what everyone was doing).
Most of our favorite players from the first book have graduated. Lardo is still here, although she is graduating and needs a replacement. And, everyone’s favorite player, Shitty, is now in law school (!). But he does make a few appearances, fear not. The new recruits ask about all of the rumors they’ve heard and don’t realize they’re pretty much all about Shitty.
Bitty is also responsible for a lot more baking. He also has to send baked goods to Jack’s hockey team as well (which makes Jack rather popular).
Jack and Bitty are having a really hard time keeping their relationship a secret–there’s just so much going on and so many eyes to hide from. So they get up all their courage and invite the team (current and former players) out for brunch where they make the big announcement–which doesn’t phase anyone. They had all figured it out weeks ago.
I absolutely love have LGBTQ-friendly this book is. Samwell College is warm and accepting, the hockey team couldn’t care less and even, ultimately, Bitty’s parents don’t react harshly.
The next step is for Jack to tell his agent. She is very cool about it and tells him he’s going to have a lot more people in his corner than he realizes.
The year moves along with Jack’s team getting ever closer to the playoffs. And then as part 1 ends, there is a huge climatic moment in game 7.
Senior year starts and there is so much to talk about. The biggest news of course is that Bitty’s parents finally know that he is gay. His mom is fine with iit but his dad doesn’t seem to want to accept it.
On the ice, Bitty is now a captain which means he is in charge of hazing the new recruits. Bitty has new ideas about how the hazing should be done–they are less severe but still weird–all in the spirit of team building.
Then comes family weekend. Bitty sees his dad for the first time since coming out. His dad is friendly and nice, but things curdle when he continues to call Jack Bitty’s “friend.” But Bitty’s dad isn’t a jerk, he just has a hard time coming to terms with things. Soon enough he is opening up to the idea especially since Bitty’s mom loves Jack to pieces already. So they are both invited home for dinner.
The build up to the big family dinner is pretty nerve wracking. Bitty is tense. Things get very heated between him and his mom when he reveals that… he’s been using Aunt Judy’s jam recipe instead of hers.
As spring semester arrives, Bitty has to write a senior thesis. And the Haus goes into full lockdown mode–not letting him bake anything until it’s done. The team puts up a poster telling other students to not let him bake, even in the student kitchen.
On the ice, Bitty’s reputation is on the line. Every year for the last six years, Samwell has made it to the playoffs. As captain it all rests on Bitty’s shoulders. Good thing so many people have his back.
The book has some extras at the end which are as much fun (and often funnier) than the main story line. Clearly these were ideas that didn’t have to be drawn, so they work just as text. There’s some characteristics of hockey speak: monotone, spontaneous Canadian accent, an empty stare that suggests an inner void. There’s also examples of pranks–cutting laces, loose water bottle lids, tape on skate blades–ways to bond as a team.
And then there’s the tweets.
This time all the tweets are from Bitty and they give a rich detailed life that was not covered in the story. Including the fact that Bitty was offered a book deal!
But most importantly we learn Shitty’s real name and the origin of his more famous nickname!
I realize that Bitty has graduated, so the series is technically over, but I really wish there was more.
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