Education Not Missles July 13, 2007 – Posted in: Aberrant Normalcy, Sybil's Garage

“The path of excess just led to boredom…”

So goes the lyrics to the Maximo Park song, “Girls Who Play Guitars.” I had the pleasure of seeing them last night at Webster Hall with my friend Arthur. I discovered them two years ago while listening to kcrw.com. They call what they write “Pop,” but they’re music is much more than that. With lyrics like “I testify to hide my guilty feelings; I must confess, I’d like to be caught stealing,” and “Night falls and towns become circuit boards; we can beat the sun, as long as we keep moving,” the crowd wailed along with lead singer Paul Smith and his English bowler hat. Everyone in the audience knew the words, including yours truly. It’s been a long time since I’ve been at a show where the crowd knew all the words. Afterward, we went to the Beauty Bar, a pub where they do your hair and nails while you sip a lager (Arthur and I thought our nails were fine, but we were glad we had that option.) Supposedly the band was coming, and every soul who walked in with a top-hat was accosted by eager fans. “Sorry, wrong guy,” they would inevitably say. On our way out, we saw the bassist, Archis Tiku, heading into the lounge. We both had to work in the morning, so a longer stay was out of the question. I woke up this morning humming their tunes.

In other news, thanks to all submitters to Sybil’s Garage. We’ve received 33 subs so far and have sent out five rejections. Please note that even though our response times can be very fast, we do read and consider every story sent to us. So far, I must say, the quality of the slush has been excellent, and we’re excited to see what we are going to find for this issue. Thanks for sending your fiction to us!