Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap

As a somewhat sensitive Glaswegian student my fondness for Belle and Sebastian reached borderline pathetically obsessive levels. They were talking my language. With the distance of a decade and considerably more maturity, I still hold them dear though. Partly because of nostalgia, that recalls singing along to this tune countless times while waiting for service at the student bar. However they still hold up. Stuart Murdoch had a fantastic grasp of words and a wondrous ear for a pop melody. This song captures both elements at their finest. "We know you are soft cause we've all seen you dancing, We know you are hard cause we all saw you drinking from noon until noon again." Always struck me as fantastically well observed that, perhaps because it struck a few too many chords. As for the melody, despite being practically ubiquitous this past ten years, it still makes my ears prick up every time. Not my absolute favourite song of theirs but, I think, their best.